College Essay On Cattle Ranch
You can enter the cattle business without owning either land or cattle. You can lease land and take in pasture cattle. You can also pasture someone else’s cattle on leased land for a monthly per head fee. Once you get a reputation for paying your bills and taking good care of other people’s land, ranch lease opportunities will come to you. You won’t have to look for them.
This is an excellent way for young prospective ranchers to get into the business without having to have a lot of capital.
Don’t put more than 20% of your own capital into the ranch. Here is what it would look like (the figures are not meant to be “real” but they are meant to be “round” for simplicity and understanding of the principle:
Total Cash flow $100,000. …show more content…
Ten times that = $1,000,000
Equity at 20% = $200,000
Amount of Loan at 80% = $800,000
Interest on the loan at 7% = $56,000 which leaves a
Free Cash flow of $44,000 (100,000 – 56,000) which provides a
Return on Equity of 22% (44,000 ÷ 200,000) The cattle business, in particular, looks attractive, where a young person with ingenuity can get a start with a few cows and grow. I don't think you can do it now with hogs or poultry. But with cattle, you can see the potential for an income that competes with the city job.
There are significant economies of size in ranching. Unless there are sources of income besides cattle The duties of a beef farmer may include feeding, administering medication, maintaining facilities, monitoring the herd for signs of illness, assisting with calving, performing artificial insemination, and managing waste.
They also may be responsible for marketing their animals, transporting sales stock, baling hay or harvesting other forage for use as feed, maintaining farm equipment, and maintaining facilities. Cattle ranchers work with veterinarians to maintain the health of their cattle through vaccination and medication protocols. They may also rely on advice from animal nutritionists and livestock feed sales representatives to create balanced rations for their herd.
Cattle ranchers may also benefit from having personnel management experience, as most commercial farms have employees to manage and direct. Even smaller family cow-calf operations may hire outside help when needed. Farm managers must be able to schedule employee shifts, address employee concerns, and oversee the day to day activities on the farm.
As is the case with many livestock careers, a cattle rancher may work long hours.
It is not uncommon for cattle ranchers to work weekends, evening, or holiday shifts. The work many involve working in extreme temperatures and varying weather conditions. It is also important that cattle farmers take safety precautions when working with these large and potentially dangerous animals.
Most cattle ranchers have a high school diploma, though an increasing number hold college degrees in animal science, agriculture, or a closely related field. Coursework for such degrees generally includes animal science, beef production, meat science, anatomy, physiology, reproduction, genetics, nutrition, ration formulation, crop science, farm management, technology, business, and agricultural marketing.
Many future cattle ranchers get their start by participating in youth programs such as Future
Farmers of America (FFA) or 4-H clubs, where they have the opportunity to handle a variety of farm animals and participate in livestock shows.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) salary survey indicates that farm and ranch managers earned a median wage of $60,750 annually ($29.21 hourly) in May of 2010. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $29,280 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $106,980. Income can vary widely based on the costs of feed, varying weather conditions, and the sale price of beef at the market.
A 2012 survey by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA/ERS) estimated that profitability per cow will increase significantly over the long term, rising from a current average profit of $96.11 per cow in 2012 to a $252.98 per cow profit in 2021.
People often think that things will "take care of themselves." Cattle require significant care.
People often buy small ranches only to discover that all of their free time is now devoted
to management activities. Also, they fail to consider commuting time to and from the property, or time spent commuting to a job.
More than 20 hours of labor per week may be needed on small ranches. If you cannot provide the time and labor, you will have to hire someone. This will increase cost and diminish the potential for profits.
Four your ranch to be successful you must plan ahead. Carefully consider the time required for the care of animals and ranch maintenance (fences, water, etc.). Also, consider how living in the country will affect your social life and that of your family
Cattle ranchers must factor in several expenses when calculating their salary for the year. These expenses include the costs of feed, fuel, supplies, labor, insurance, veterinary services, waste removal, and equipment maintenance or replacement.
Cattle farmers may find additional educational and networking opportunities through professional organizations such as the National Cattleman’s Beef Association, the Beef
Improvement Federation, the American Angus Association, the American Hereford Association,
Beefmaster Breeders Universal, the American International Charolais Association, or the
American Simmental Association.
All ranchers struggle to be profitable and sustain a good standard of living. However small ranchers run by people with off-farm jobs can be very profitable if they keep it simple and keep their overhead low. Small ranchers can compete very well with medium-sized ranches where the operators only work on the ranch.
Many ranches have more cost that aligns with cows than land associated costs. I know of many ranches that run 800-1,200 cows or cow and yearling equivalent per cow quite low. There are very few situations where grazing more and feeding less won’t be more profitable. This may mean you begin to graze former hay land. There are usually two kinds of responses. There are those who keep debt –to –equity ratio low. I’ve seen too many cases for a rancher wanting to develop water and buy some fencing to graze better but his operation’s debt-to-equity ratio was too high. To borrow money low debt gives you the failure. They get in too deep before recognizing that changes are needed. Cuts on overhead are the one most ranches have the most difficulty with. Too much stuff like equipment, buildings, and facilities. It just doesn’t take very much stuff or many people to run a good-sized ranch.
Gross margin is total dollar returns minus direct costs. All returns come from how many units you’re able to sell. Gross margin is driven by the input if you are confident it will pay for itself plus, make a profit. To make money you have to clear your overhead cost. To clear your overhead cost I have to sell my cattle without loss and calculate my feed.
Agricultural finance relationship manager Matt McKamey from Montana says a ranch that can support the labor and management of one family unit is in the 300 to 500 cow range. For example, he says if 300 calves are sold at 550 pounds at an average of $1.60 a pound. Those are feeder calves with gross sales of over $260.00. All the cost associated with that land equipment fuel cow’s health are inflated. It will take at least 3000 acres of land and a line of credit in the area of 250,000. You can lease land for cows and manage your bills. You make $19/hr. for a day the average bonus $1,127 and you can make an average base salary of $38,602 at the end of the year. Average ranch hands make $10.98 per hour and an average farm hand makes $10.45 per hour.
This is an excellent way for young prospective ranchers to get into the business without having to have a lot of capital.
Don’t put more than 20% of your own capital into the ranch. Here is what it would look like (the figures are not meant to be “real” but they are meant to be “round” for simplicity and understanding of the principle:
Total Cash flow $100,000. …show more content…
Ten times that = $1,000,000
Equity at 20% = $200,000
Amount of Loan at 80% = $800,000
Interest on the loan at 7% = $56,000 which leaves a
Free Cash flow of $44,000 (100,000 – 56,000) which provides a
Return on Equity of 22% (44,000 ÷ 200,000) The cattle business, in particular, looks attractive, where a young person with ingenuity can get a start with a few cows and grow. I don't think you can do it now with hogs or poultry. But with cattle, you can see the potential for an income that competes with the city job.
There are significant economies of size in ranching. Unless there are sources of income besides cattle The duties of a beef farmer may include feeding, administering medication, maintaining facilities, monitoring the herd for signs of illness, assisting with calving, performing artificial insemination, and managing waste.
They also may be responsible for marketing their animals, transporting sales stock, baling hay or harvesting other forage for use as feed, maintaining farm equipment, and maintaining facilities. Cattle ranchers work with veterinarians to maintain the health of their cattle through vaccination and medication protocols. They may also rely on advice from animal nutritionists and livestock feed sales representatives to create balanced rations for their herd.
Cattle ranchers may also benefit from having personnel management experience, as most commercial farms have employees to manage and direct. Even smaller family cow-calf operations may hire outside help when needed. Farm managers must be able to schedule employee shifts, address employee concerns, and oversee the day to day activities on the farm.
As is the case with many livestock careers, a cattle rancher may work long hours.
It is not uncommon for cattle ranchers to work weekends, evening, or holiday shifts. The work many involve working in extreme temperatures and varying weather conditions. It is also important that cattle farmers take safety precautions when working with these large and potentially dangerous animals.
Most cattle ranchers have a high school diploma, though an increasing number hold college degrees in animal science, agriculture, or a closely related field. Coursework for such degrees generally includes animal science, beef production, meat science, anatomy, physiology, reproduction, genetics, nutrition, ration formulation, crop science, farm management, technology, business, and agricultural marketing.
Many future cattle ranchers get their start by participating in youth programs such as Future
Farmers of America (FFA) or 4-H clubs, where they have the opportunity to handle a variety of farm animals and participate in livestock shows.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) salary survey indicates that farm and ranch managers earned a median wage of $60,750 annually ($29.21 hourly) in May of 2010. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $29,280 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $106,980. Income can vary widely based on the costs of feed, varying weather conditions, and the sale price of beef at the market.
A 2012 survey by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA/ERS) estimated that profitability per cow will increase significantly over the long term, rising from a current average profit of $96.11 per cow in 2012 to a $252.98 per cow profit in 2021.
People often think that things will "take care of themselves." Cattle require significant care.
People often buy small ranches only to discover that all of their free time is now devoted
to management activities. Also, they fail to consider commuting time to and from the property, or time spent commuting to a job.
More than 20 hours of labor per week may be needed on small ranches. If you cannot provide the time and labor, you will have to hire someone. This will increase cost and diminish the potential for profits.
Four your ranch to be successful you must plan ahead. Carefully consider the time required for the care of animals and ranch maintenance (fences, water, etc.). Also, consider how living in the country will affect your social life and that of your family
Cattle ranchers must factor in several expenses when calculating their salary for the year. These expenses include the costs of feed, fuel, supplies, labor, insurance, veterinary services, waste removal, and equipment maintenance or replacement.
Cattle farmers may find additional educational and networking opportunities through professional organizations such as the National Cattleman’s Beef Association, the Beef
Improvement Federation, the American Angus Association, the American Hereford Association,
Beefmaster Breeders Universal, the American International Charolais Association, or the
American Simmental Association.
All ranchers struggle to be profitable and sustain a good standard of living. However small ranchers run by people with off-farm jobs can be very profitable if they keep it simple and keep their overhead low. Small ranchers can compete very well with medium-sized ranches where the operators only work on the ranch.
Many ranches have more cost that aligns with cows than land associated costs. I know of many ranches that run 800-1,200 cows or cow and yearling equivalent per cow quite low. There are very few situations where grazing more and feeding less won’t be more profitable. This may mean you begin to graze former hay land. There are usually two kinds of responses. There are those who keep debt –to –equity ratio low. I’ve seen too many cases for a rancher wanting to develop water and buy some fencing to graze better but his operation’s debt-to-equity ratio was too high. To borrow money low debt gives you the failure. They get in too deep before recognizing that changes are needed. Cuts on overhead are the one most ranches have the most difficulty with. Too much stuff like equipment, buildings, and facilities. It just doesn’t take very much stuff or many people to run a good-sized ranch.
Gross margin is total dollar returns minus direct costs. All returns come from how many units you’re able to sell. Gross margin is driven by the input if you are confident it will pay for itself plus, make a profit. To make money you have to clear your overhead cost. To clear your overhead cost I have to sell my cattle without loss and calculate my feed.
Agricultural finance relationship manager Matt McKamey from Montana says a ranch that can support the labor and management of one family unit is in the 300 to 500 cow range. For example, he says if 300 calves are sold at 550 pounds at an average of $1.60 a pound. Those are feeder calves with gross sales of over $260.00. All the cost associated with that land equipment fuel cow’s health are inflated. It will take at least 3000 acres of land and a line of credit in the area of 250,000. You can lease land for cows and manage your bills. You make $19/hr. for a day the average bonus $1,127 and you can make an average base salary of $38,602 at the end of the year. Average ranch hands make $10.98 per hour and an average farm hand makes $10.45 per hour.