RANCHING Business


How Pasture Management Affects Your Ranch’s Bottom Line


By Lorie Woodward Cantu


E


FFECTIVE PASTURE MANAGEMENT CAN INCREASE AN OPERA- tion’s bottom line by maximizing forage avail- ability and decreasing the need for supplemental


feed, particularly hay. For most cattle operations, one of the largest expen-


ditures is pasture and feed, valued as input and lease expenses and/or opportunity costs of owning pasture. Because it is a large budget item, it’s important to man- age the associated activities and costs related to pastures and feeding. Well-managed pastures with an appro- priate stocking rate usually lead to lower feed costs. “A producer should strive to minimize the need to


offer hay and other feeds, because it’s easier — and usually more cost-effective — to take the cattle to the grass/feed than it is to take the grass/feed to the cattle,” says Hugh Aljoe, producer relations manager at The


Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. “It all starts with a good pasture management plan.” Minimizing hay feeding can directly impact the


bottom line, he says. Noble Foundation economists recommend that producers keep their annual pasture/ feed costs per cow unit at or below the $300 to $400 range, even in today’s historically high market. It’s not uncommon for some producers to feed up to 6 bales or 3 tons of hay per cow per year at a cost of $100 per ton. In this scenario, producers have expended $300


per cow unit on hay alone during the winter feeding season, leaving the pasture expenses for the rest of the year to accumulate and drive the pasture/feed costs to unsustainable levels. “Effi cient, effective producers make the most of what they have,” says James Locke, a soils and crops


Editor’s Note: This is the fourth installment in a 12-part series on “The Realized Value of Management Decisions” that was developed in conjunction with the advisors in the Consultation Program of the Agricultural Division of The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. The independent, non-profi t Noble Foundation, headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., assists farmers and ranchers and conducts plant science research and agricultural programs to enhance agricultural productivity regionally, nationally and internationally.


64 The Cattleman April 2015 thecattlemanmagazine.com


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