Today's cattle tip is the best one I will ever provide!
I've started a series called "Cattle Tips" in which I provide specific advice and tips for livestock producers pulled from my years in practice as a large animal veterinarian and a ranch management consultant.
And the tip in today's video comes to you from the wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon.
Proverbs 27:23-27 says:
23 Know well the condition of your flocks,
And pay attention to your herds;
24 For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations.
25 When the grass disappears, the new growth is seen,
And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in,
26 The lambs will be for your clothing,
And the goats will bring the price of a field,
27 And there will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
For the food of your household,
And sustenance for your attendants.
This seems simple but it is actually quite profound and far-reaching! This is the single most important advice a rancher can receive.
Every rancher should know their flock. The word in verse 23 for "condition" is the Hebrew word panim, which means "face." Just as every face is unique and individual, with its own combinations of features and lines and elevations and expressions, so every livestock herd is unique. Do you know your herd? What are your unique challenges and opportunities?
I find many ranchers and producers I work with are like this. They know their herd like the back of their hand. When they fire up Ranch Vision for the first time, they can add all those unique inputs into their ranch profile and input panel with ease. It takes them just a couple of hours. Then they are set. They know their herds!
Every rancher should pay attention to their herds. Be a student of your livestock operation! This speaks to ongoing monitoring and management. No two days are the same. Producers know this: From weather to markets to disease to pregnancy percentages and on and on, you have to be constantly vigilant and always paying attention because things can change.
This is why we tell our Ranch Vision users to log into their accounts at least once a week. It's not right to simply make a management plan, set it and forget it. If you are doing that, you're just not managing well! There is always something to update, finesse, fine tune, or test. Maybe you want to experiment with a management decision. Maybe you have a cost-benefit analysis you'd like to run on a new idea. Maybe there's a new vaccine you're considering. Maybe there's a new enterprise you've been inspired to start. Whatever it is, it's a sign of a great manager to be in your Ranch Vision program often, because it shows you're paying attention to your herds.
Ranching is a tough industry. The United States loses some 30,000 producers every year. There's nothing new about the challenges of the livestock business; Solomon addressed it way back in the days of ancient Israel! "Riches are not forever." If you want prosperity, you can't count on generational wealth or wisdom—doing things the way your father did. Innovation, diligence, and hard work are needed to remain successful in the ranching business.
Solomon then goes on to address grazing and haying in verse 25. These are also important aspects to monitor as a rancher. Grass is the essential element of your ranch. This is the major factor of your operation. At the end of the day, ranchers are grass farmers, converting forage to food and fiber through grazing livestock herds. In verse 25, Solomon calls attention in Scripture to this fundamental truth about animal husbandry, as timeless and ancient as anything in this world: When the grass disappears, the new growth is seen, and the herbs of the mountains are gathered in.
Ranch Vision reflects this by using a new unit of measurement: Grazing Unit Months or GUMs. This is a more precise measurement than the traditional Animal Unit Months or AUMs you may be familiar with. For more information on that, click here to read about GUMs. Your entire report system in Ranch Vision is built off of this precise measurement which takes into account the grass on your operation and the forage needs of your animals, so you can make the best and most profitable decisions for your ranch business.
Finally, Solomon says that if you pay attention to these things and follow the two essential commands of ranching in verse 23, you and your household will be provided for and prosperous.
Ranch Vision is a profit-planning program because profit is the ultimate test, proof, and reward of a successful business and a rancher who is doing things the right way.
Happy ranching in 2025, here's to your continued success and the achievement of all your goals for your ranch business in this new year!
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