Future-Proofing Your Ranch: Ranchermind's Roadmap to Sustainable Success
In an era with too much information and too little time to consume it all, how do cattle producers manage to sort through what matters most to them on top of all the day-to-day tasks on their never-ending to-do list? A small group of ranchers have turned to the RancherMind program to do just this while simultaneously building a community with ranchers from around the country.
RancherMinds is an online community for ranchers who are dedicated to continuously learning for the betterment of their operations and the future of the beef industry. The monthly Q&A calls with experts and quarterly community calls are casual in appearance but lead to impactful questions and conversations. RancherMind members vote on the topics they want to learn about and simply hop on the Zoom call from their office, truck, tractor or wherever they find themselves that day. In 2024, this group of cattlemen and women talked about risk management, supply chain collaboration, reducing input costs, feedlot relationships, estate planning, grazing cover crops and retaining employees. You might read this list and be surprised at the wide variety of topics, but the focus of each conversation all goes back to the same question – how do we build profitable operations that are attractive for the next generation?
Let’s break it down by topic and cover some of the key highlights from each conversation starting with risk management. Risk management itself is a broad topic. Often, risk management is considered insurance or price protection, but it goes far beyond those options. One tip shared was to know your cost of production to provide direction on what to protect. This could look like price protection or even retaining employees. Each operation is unique and that needs to be taken into account. Additionally, remember that zero risk isn’t the target. Risk is a part of any business.
Speaking of knowing your break-even and risk protection, how can value-added programs or supply chain partnerships be a part of this strategy? The answer, there are many options to choose from. These options include information sharing to some degree. It comes down to which cattle and management practices fit your environment, how much information you are collecting and willing to share and who you want to partner with to find the right market for your product. Regardless of the option, it comes down to being committed to continuous improvement and building relationships with other businesses through the supply chain to create negotiating power as ranchers and build trust with consumers that their food is safe.
Building relationships with feedlots is one step in this process. When you start building these relationships, remember that all good relationships require trust, transparency and accountability from both sides. So, search for feedlots that align with your goals and be willing to ask questions and try new things if this an avenue you want to explore when marketing your cattle.
The first three topics discussed above tied into a cattle marketing theme, but in April gears shifted to estate planning. Always visit with an attorney to get professional advice about setting up your estate plan and determining what your best options are, but there are a few general strategies to keep in mind. First and foremost, have a plan. The biggest mistake is not having a plan. Second, keep your plan updated because a lot can change in only a few years whether that’s ownership of land and other assets, marriages, divorces or a host of other events. One thing you can do to make the process easier for your family after you pass is to create a binder of contact information and next steps to simplify the estate transition while they grieve. Being as specific as possible and having the conversation with your family before you pass can reduce the risk of confusion and family feuds.
Input costs are always a hot topic for the quarterly community calls and one method of reducing input costs is an extended grazing season. One method of extending your grazing season and boosting soil health is the use of cover crops. Before diving in head first to cover crops, find a mentor for guidance and support. Additionally, one tip that was offered is to go all in on a small scale when you start instead of being halfway in on a lot of acres. This lowers the risk and helps you see maximum benefit on the acres you do put into cover crops. Do you want to farm and ranch forever? Is the question that was posed for all attendees to ask themselves anytime they are looking into new management practices.
Remember that point in the risk management section about labor and employees? Let’s dig deeper into that. The three biggest takeaways from this RancherMind call were that you need to grow with your employees, culture matters and set boundaries. To ensure you are hitting the mark in these areas; evaluate what opportunities you have or can create to encourage growth and learning for your employees, ask yourself how you show up to work and how others show up to work, and set boundaries with your employees or any other family members who work on the operation to create healthy relationships.
This is just the surface of the conversations and topics that occur during RancherMind events between experts and cattle producers. It’s refreshing and encouraging to see cattlemen and women coming together on a regular basis to learn how they can build profitable operations and improve the beef industry as a whole.
