When we talk about uses for profit some people roll their eyes. “Profit - yeah right! Like that ever happens in agriculture.” The reality is that most ag operations are…
My last ProfitTips article focused on the difference between being productive and being profitable and I used gross margin as a measure of profitability of an enterprise. In introducing gross…
North American agriculture could be described in one statement. “Productive but not profitable.” For decades the primary messaging to farmers and ranchers has been to become more productive. You see…
We recently wrapped up our two day Economics Intensive where alumni of the Ranching for Profit School prepared their economic plan for the coming year. For many of us, if…
If you’re ranching for profit, there is one way to define “a good cow”. She has a strong gross margin. In much of my writing and speaking it might seem…
Have you ever looked at a group of calves, heifers, cull cows and thought, “Well… maybe we should just keep those?” If you have, you’re not alone. Acting on this…
I often hear from people operating on a smaller scale that their limitations of size make it impossible for them to be profitable. “I only run 12 cows and operate…
I was having a conversation with a ranch family the other day about doing their own trucking. They haul cattle to corn stalks and back each year, so they hire…
ProfitTips is taking a different direction this time. Aaron and Tara Helmick recently shared with me a collection of “Lessons Learned” from the past 4 years as they have been…