Choosing the Best Ranch Management Plan: Key Considerations

Feeding and Seasonal Management

Having a plan to manage fencing, water, and feeding is vital. You have to take into consideration that different climates present different labor challenges. I happen to live in a mild four-season climate, which is very conducive to running a ranch part-time while managing a second job that takes up the majority of my schedule. Our winters are fairly mild. Breaking ice is a challenge in the winter, but our weather is mild enough that ice doesn't have to be broken every day. Also, we feed very little hay on traditional grazing operations. If you stock your ranch properly, the livestock can graze year-round; you only need to feed hay if the snow is deep enough to cover the grass. In most winters, I only have to put hay out a couple of times. To help supplement the cattle in the winter, most ranchers in this region use protein blocks, cattle cubes, high-energy liquid feed, or protein tubs. I prefer protein tubs. I drop them off at my pastures every seven to ten days. The short grasses this region grows are high in protein and fat, so when they go dormant in the winter, they still provide good feed, but adding a little more fat and protein to the diets of the cattle helps to get them through the cold winter months and the third trimester of their pregnancies. In colder, typically more northern climates, winter can be more labor intensive. Ranches in these regions usually require fewer acres per animal unit, but feeding hay and dealing with frozen tanks and water systems can be time-consuming. On ranches that receive rainfall all year, we sometimes find issues with the nutrients being washed out of the grasses. Some ranchers have to put up hay before the nutritional value is diminished. They then feed it back to their livestock while those nutrients are captured in the hay.

Fencing and Maintenance

Keeping up fences is very important for the safety and health of your herd. An old adage observes that good fences make good neighbors. This simple but accurate saying defines relationships for landowners in areas where fences define boundaries and also create confinement for livestock. It takes time to check fences and make consistent repairs, but a property owner who makes time to do it regularly has a much easier task. Solid fences last longer, and repairing them properly also helps sustain the lifespan of your fences. Learning how to properly build a fence is important to a landowner, but if you don't have time or simply aren't interested in spending time in the heat and cold dealing with broken wires and replacing posts, you need to build a relationship with local fencing professionals. Knowledgeable people in this field are worth their weight in gold. I have hired out miles of fencing building to an amazing neighbor I have. He has also come to the rescue to help me repair a ¼ mile of fence that had been wiped out by tumbleweeds after a harsh windstorm and again when a rogue driver took their vehicle through my fence and back out a different place in the fence of one of my pastures. Those random events are unpredictable and make ranching hard when you don't see your pastures or animals daily.

Managing as an Absentee Owner

If a new owner prefers to be an absentee, they should find a local cattlemen or rancher to help them manage their property. Some ranches are large enough to justify hiring a full-time ranch hand to oversee the day-to-day operations. However, not all ranches warrant a full-time employee. I have a great working relationship with a neighbor just down the road from my Doppler Ranch in Boone, CO. We have an established schedule in which he helps to check my cows and another neighbor's cows at least once a week. Any time it is cold enough that he has to break the ice for his cattle, he will break the tanks on my ranch. He does the same for the other neighbor. If my cattle count is off, he will let me know how many I am missing. I have a low-producing well that runs off solar; we had some shady days, so it wasn't keeping up with the consumption of the cattle. So, he hauled a few loads of water to keep the cattle watered until the sun came out and the cattle had plenty of water again. He charges me for each trip to check the cattle or load of water he hauls to my place. I try to make it to the ranch the opposite half of the week he does, so the cows are being checked every few days, and he doesn't have to break ice when I am available. He has helped with welding corrals, putting cattle in that had gotten out, and pulling me out when I got my pickup and trailer stuck in the snow. He is very knowledgeable about livestock health, so he helped me doctor a sick calf and, on another occasion, a cow who wasn't cleaning properly several days after giving birth. Having a part-time ranch hand who doubles as a great neighbor is an ideal solution for my limited availability to spend time on the ranch, and it might be for you, too, if you are a more absentee landowner.

I know another family who hired a local rancher to take care of their ranch as well. The family has jobs in town and has limited time to spend on the ranch. They all come together to brand and wean, but in the meantime, the local rancher splits time every week taking care of his cattle herd and theirs. Somedays, the hired ranch split time on both operations in a single day. Both operations are of the larger size for our area, so he is a very busy man. The income he earns from managing the family-owned ranch is a great way to cash flow his ranch operation. Since the majority of a rancher's income comes when they sell their yearlings or weaned calves, it's not easy to cash flow the operation throughout the year. If you can find a hard-working, knowledgeable rancher who is looking for a second income, it can be a great opportunity to hire good help. I have seen this work for several ambitious cattlemen who want to generate multiple income streams. This can also work for an absentee property owner whose operation is straightforward. The absentee owner will most likely have to hire a few other laborers to build big stretches of fence, repair water lines, and fix other large issues, but the basic operations and management decisions can be handled by a part-time employee who works their place and yours.

Another approach I have seen work for absentee owners is to partner with local cattlemen. Of course, leasing out the ranch for passive income is an option, but it won't generate the most money a ranch can produce for an owner. The partnerships I have seen work well are when each partner has a vested interest in the cattle and the productivity of the ranch. The owner stocks half of the carrying capacity, and a trusted local cattleman stocks the other half. The agreement is something along the lines of the local partner keeping up the fences, checking water, and generally taking care of the cattle. The local partner isn't charged for a pasture lease. The absentee owner of the property is not charged for the local's care for the animals and upkeep of the property. When the yearlings or calves are sold at the market, the proceeds will be split between the parties. Agreements can vary, but they follow a common theme of divided responsibilities and split income. I know of a family who works on a ranch for no monthly wages. They are provided housing and are allowed to keep their horses on the ranch. They are allowed to run a set number of cow/calf pairs on the ranch at no charge. They take care of those cattle while they manage the entire ranch operation. The income they earn from the sale of their calves is their annual pay. In this particular case, the ranch hands make much more each year than someone who is paid a typical ranch hand salary to manage the same type of operation.

Grazing Options and Finding the Right Professionals

Grazing yearlings instead of running pairs can also reduce the amount of time a landowner needs to devote to their property. The seasonality of yearlings is appealing to some people, especially if you lease your land out and are responsible for the fence, water, and other items such as salt and minerals.

Leasing your property out for hunting can also turn into an opportunity to have a person on-site to monitor the property's security. This can help the landowner earn some additional income, and if negotiated properly, the possibility of help with the maintenance of water systems and improvements that are beneficial to hunting. The same things can be worked out with a full cattle grazing lease. Some lessees are responsible for all upkeep and repairs of the property. The absentee landowner earns income from the grazing lease and can retain hunting rights and recreational use without having to lift a finger when it comes to livestock operations.

There are companies that help connect ranch managers to owners. Ranch management schools are also a good resource for finding potential talent to hire. There are some websites that also help to connect landowners to interested cattlemen. Developing connections in the area where you are purchasing property is invaluable. Figuring out how much labor your operation might require is a key step to aligning with the right people to make your ranch a success. Qualifying livestock operations can keep your property in Ag Zoning, which typically creates reduced property taxes, a huge benefit for landowners. Finally, working with an agent who has knowledge of ranching operations and connections to other ranchers and skilled professionals in the fields that we all depend on to operate is very beneficial in planning and executing a successful ranch management plan.