Herd Quitter™ Blog
The PBR Finals
Deanna and I spent last Saturday and Sunday at the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Finals in Fort Worth, Texas. Deanna’s sisters Donna and Debbie and Debbie’s husband Ron went with us. We always have a great time – no matter where we are. As I said last week,...
Small Producers
This article is a follow up to last week’s "Business or Hobby" article. It was first shared in January of 2022 in response to a question I had been asked by a relatively new subscriber in Arkansas. He asked, “What would be your recommendations for a small producer -...
Business or Hobby
When most people think of cattle ranches, they think of wide-open spaces in the arid west where several hundred cows have thousands of acres to roam about. Those ranches exist – but they are not the norm. They probably never were the norm. The size of the average...
Is Average Good Enough?
In commodity agriculture, average is breakeven at best. Below average producers are losing money. The only way they can stay in business is to subsidize the farm or ranch with outside income. At that point, the business becomes a hobby. Above average producers, on the...
Competition
Sam Altman had a good piece of advice in the Farnam Street blog this week: “I think one thing that is a really important thing to strive for is being internally driven, being driven to compete with yourself, not with other people. If you compete with other people, you...
There is a Difference!
I put together several groups of replacement heifers last year with the goal of selling them as bred heifers. I made sure to buy reputable heifers as I didn’t want to deal with all the issues of sale barn cattle. I put together over 400 heifers and planned to expose...
Wasted Time
According to my cowboy calculations, I waste 30 to 40 hours every year waiting on hot water. In ten years, I can spend as much as 400 hours waiting on hot water. In addition to wasting time, I am wasting water. I guess I could use cold water – but I much prefer to...
Competitive Advantage
No matter what business you’re in, having a competitive advantage is a good thing. It is often the difference between mere survival and amazing success. There’s no reason you cannot have a competitive advantage – if you want one. Who wouldn’t want one? There are three...
Change Before You Have To
Make Ranching Great Again The business of ranching can be much better than many people have been led to believe – but only for those who are not being restrained by outdated traditions and paradigms. We believe the sky is the limit for those who have enough courage to...
Bad Decisions
We all make poor decisions. Some are minor, like eating that second donut for breakfast. Some are major, like losing all your money in the stock market. Even worse, sometimes the fear of making the wrong decision paralyzes us and keeps us from making any decision....