PHARO CATTLE COMPANY
CHEYENNE WELLS, COLORADO PHONE 1-800-311-0995 ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————– Buy your bulls from someone who raises cattle the way you ought to.
May / June 2002 NEWSLETTER
Drought Management
In preparation for our bull sale, I had the opportunity to visit with hundreds of ranchers from Texas and New Mexico all the way north to Montana. For many ranchers, in an enormous area, drought has become a very real and a very threatening concern.
Here at home, we are going into our third year of drought. Even though our cowherd is less than one-half it’s normal size, our grass is still over stocked. It takes several nibbles for a cow to get a mouthful of dead, brown grass. In fact, I don’t think the grass on our ranch has looked this bad since the dust storms of the 1950’s.
In previous newsletter articles we have talked about developing a drought plan. Believe it or not, some ranches really do have a plan they can implement to limit their losses. If you don’t already have such a plan, it may be too late to do so, but we can still review some possible options and ideas.
1. Know when to quit. Most ranchers are determined to hang on and fight until it is no longer possible. That’s an admirable trait, but it may lead to financial ruin. Some are willing to spend every penny they have to hold their cow-herd together through a drought, but when the drought finally does end they have no grass, no cows and no money. There is a big difference between “giving up” and “limiting your losses”.
2. Do not feed cows. Avoid feeding hay and other expensive grass substitutes to cows because they are a depreciating asset. Cows must be able to survive on cheap available forages. If you don’t have an adequate supply of cheap forages, you must start selling cows. Don’t wait until your forage resources are depleted and your cows are thin. Your hay and other feeds should be reserved for calves and stockers which can appreciate in value. Many ranchers are making a big mistake by feeding hay to cows on pasture. Along with eating the hay, the cows will continue to graze any grass they can find which will eventually decimate the grass plants. When it finally does rain the plants won’t be able to respond.
3. Sell the bottom 20 to 50 percent. Every cowherd has a bottom 20 to 50 percent, and they aren’t that difficult to identify. This group will consist of all open and dry cows, and all cows with small, poor-doing calves. It will also include your older and thinner cows, as well as all cows with bad eyes, bad udders and other structural problems. Most ranchers need a good drought every now and then to force them to get rid of their junk cows. The sooner you start selling your worst cows, the more forage will be left for your best cows.
4. Early weaning. A cow’s nutritional requirements will decrease dramatically after her calf has been removed. It’s much more cost effective to feed your calves than it is to feed your cows. Many producers have successfully weaned calves as young as 60 to 90 days of age. Early weaning makes it much easier for your cows to maintain body condition and breed back on minimum forager resources.
5. Take a vacation. Stan Parsons, founder of Ranch Management Consultants, says, “One of the best drought plans is to shut the ranch down and take a vacation until it is over. There is no way you can fight or feed your way out of a long drought.” I agree. Why not take a vacation or get a job in town? Sell your livestock, pay off your debts, put the remaining money in a savings account, and go do something else until the drought breaks. Why continue to work so hard if you know you’re not making any money? We continue to pray for rain, but we realize God has his own timetable. Therefore, we also pray for God’s guidance to help us through times like this. Please call, if you know of any pasture we can send our remaining cows to.
~ Kit Pharo