Balancing your forage resources is critical to the long-term profitability of your ranch. The key here is ensuring stocking rate does not exceed carrying capacity, as overgrazing can cause long-term reductions in forage production, leading to decreased livestock production.

Forage programs can be a great way to diversify and feed a beef cattle herd, but ensuring the forage program is being maximized to its full potential can be tricky. 

The South is known for its high heat units, mild winters and abundance of land. While this may sound like a cattle producer’s dream, the key to success is found in the efficiency of a producer’s grazing system.

Drought is generally defined as a prolonged period during which annual precipitation is less than 75 percent of average.

“Is this Jenny?” “Yes. …” “This is John Q. Public. I heard you have a ranch available for lease, and I run some cattle. …”

The 2018 production year came and went about as fast as a three-legged cat can cover up poop. Knowing and understanding the passing of time appears to accelerate as a person grows older and hopefully wiser, one also must understand time appears to pass much quicker during periods of prosperity than during periods of hardship.

Often, in the course of our work as consultants in the Southern Great Plains, we work with clients through land management issues that have a relatively straightforward answer. For the most part, we address a producer’s concerns based on a particular land management goal.