Range Management Consultants (RMC) of Wheatland, WY, have been in the business of helping ranchers succeed both financially and environmentally for four decades. Founded by Stan Parsons, noted expert in agricultural economics and reproductive physiology, and continued today by owner Dallas Mount, the company provides business management tools, economic planning and grazing efficiency guidance to help ranchers grow and be successful.
“We were founded on the principle of ‘knowing how to raise livestock is different than knowing how to run a business that raises livestock,’” said Mount. “And we make it work by looking at the business from an economic and financial perspective. We try to break it apart and figure what is working and what is not. We look at the costs, the people, the production and the ecology. They all have to work together to be successful.”
“At every step along the way, we challenge paradigms—this way of thinking, the belief system engrained in us.
RMC combines classroom and field training in a weeklong Ranching for Profit (RFP) school followed by their Executive Link (EL) program if desired. In EL, groups of RFP graduates are placed into “board of directors” meetings three times a year to offer strategic input and hold fellow members accountable in their operations.
Combining economics with ecology
While RMC’s focus is the economics of ranching, nothing can be achieved in a vacuum, says Mount. Economics must run hand in hand with sustainability, stewardship and management systems.
“At every step along the way, we challenge paradigms—this way of thinking, the belief system engrained in us. And while we hold them as truth in livestock and agriculture production, sometimes they are unhealthy paradigms.” Mount says as these are examined, they find some work and apply, but others need to be thought about differently.
“People often tell us when they come to the school, they feel they’ve been a part of something they’ve never felt before. It’s a unique way of thinking. We’re very much in control of our own fate, rather than this victim mentality prevalent in agriculture today.”
“Look at the ecology side as the engine running the business. We want to keep special oil in it, tune it up and keep it running at top performance,”
Mount says they spend a large amount of time focused on ecology, helping people learn the skills of being better grazing managers. And for many ranchers, it’s not how they normally think.
Those in the livestock business often spend their time and energy focused on the animals and have never been taught to look beyond and down—at the ecology—not only the grass but the microbes in the soil and the interrelationships building soil health.
“Look at the ecology side as the engine running the business. We want to keep special oil in it, tune it up and keep it running at top performance,” Mount said. “When we get good at grazing management, we’re making sure the engine is running at its absolute best with the cows as the combine harvesting the production.”
Grazing principles with location
Taking care of the environment and ecology of the pasture systems is paramount no matter where a ranch is located. “If we get good at grazing, we can hit the gas, hit the lever on increasing turnover. When more can be done with an existing set of overheads, businesses work well.”
We never tell anyone what they should do with management practices, but we offer tools to help develop workable systems.”
RMC proposes a set of grazing principles Mount believes work anywhere in agriculture.
• Required rest in a pasture should be matched with growth rate. Seasons, climate, number of pastures available plus the speed at which animals are moved through them will dictate this. Longer rest periods will be needed for slower growth conditions while shorter rest is acceptable during faster growth. Flexibility is critical.
• Grazing periods should be short to improve animal performance. Since percentage of bodyweight consumed declines during prolonged grazing due to the reduction in forage quality, additional pastures with shorter time allotments provide a more consistent intake. Time spent grazing must be balanced to provide adequate recovery for plants.
• Higher stock density will improve the uniformity of use. Fifty cattle grazing a small pasture will make better use of the forage than only a handful of animals. This will vary on irrigated pasture versus native rangelands.
• Use the largest group possible that can be handled with stockmanship and husbandry. The concentration of activity will more quickly rejuvenate grass, water and mineral cycles by breaking through soil crust, helping to reseed desirable plants and hampering the growth of undesirables.
• Match stocking rate to carrying capacity. Year after year, match supply to demand by grazing up or down depending on speed of growth, supply of available forage and the energy needs of the livestock.
“The principles we use are universal. Our students talk about them, look at them and decide how they apply to their situation. We never tell anyone what they should do with management practices, but we offer tools to help develop workable systems.”
Mount believes it all ties together, but nobody gets everything right all the time. “Let’s face it. We all overgraze one time or another. We want to look at how we can minimize it. How can we let those areas have extra recovery in the years they need it? We encourage people to be stewards of the resources they’re managing. When we can find the right balance, we can be successful.”
100th Meridian Ranching
Justin and Bryn Rader own and operate 100th Meridian Ranching on 99 percent leased land in the Texas Panhandle. Their main enterprises include custom grazing, leasing bulls and selling bred heifers.
Although the fifth-generation ranchers have always been immersed in the lifestyle, it was their dream to build their own operation.
[inline_image file=”eb0e6a6b896c6f0f3d9d377f5c8365e7.jpg” caption=”Calves at 100th Meridian Ranching. Photo courtesy of the Rader family.”]
As part of this vision, the Raders completed the RFP school and later joined the EL program. “RFP helped us tremendously. We are amazed how far RMC and our EL board have pushed us toward living our dream of owning a profitable, fun, sustainable and beneficial ranching business,” said Justin. “The board has become like family to us. They coach us through extreme highs and lows of ranching life, hold us accountable and drive us to be successful. As a result, we’ve focused hard on our grazing management and are excited about the rangeland improvements we’re seeing after just a few short years.”
He believes RMC is successful as it empowers ranchers to think for themselves and gives them the tools and thought processes to work through serious ranch issues.
“Now that my wife Bryn and I have been trained to think in terms of our ranch’s purpose and what we want it to provide for our family, ecosystem, and community, we’re able to strategically take baby steps towards accomplishing our goals.”
Kimmel Ranch Partnership
When Patrick and Tricia Kimmel of Turner, MT, first attended the RFP school in the fall of 2017, they were searching for a new direction. “We were working our tails off, putting up every stick of grass and hay we could, hauling all of it just so we could feed it to the cows for six months. We never once thought there might be a different way to do it until we went to RFP.
We’re improving our watering facilities, monitoring soil health, plus we’re more in tune with the wildlife.”
“It was our first introduction to regenerative agriculture and their program made us think about the reasons why we were doing things the way we were. So many times, you hear, ‘Well, it’s always been done that way,’ but it made us question the process,” said Tricia.
The program had a dramatic effect on the Kimmels. “We went to the school in September and when we got back, we made a drastic decision to sell our 500 cows in November. It was definitely a gut check.”
They have since transitioned their ranch to running stockers matching their environment. The cattle are kept in large groups, grazing their own hay fields, native rangeland and neighbor’s cover crops. “We move cattle every day now. It changed everything for us. We’re improving our watering facilities, monitoring soil health, plus we’re more in tune with the wildlife.”
Tricia says focusing on soil health becomes more than just the practical—it becomes human health and community health. “Instead of all the inputs like feed and fertilizer going to big corporations in other areas and states, we are hoping to help out our own struggling community. We want our kids to have the option of remaining in agriculture. RMC has been a big part of helping us get there. It’s one of the best things we’ve ever done.”
Cornerstone Grazing
Derek and Lesa Schwanebeck have been turning grass into cash for 25 years. Intensively managing their forage resources by focusing on increased plant diversity and stocking rate is the backbone of their operation.
[inline_image file=”8b7d906ae76e241522d3cb5137432e2c.jpg” caption=”Cattle grazing on lush pasture at Cornerstone Grazing. Photo courtesy of the Schwanebeck family.”]
The majority of Cornerstone Grazing’s rangeland is Nebraska Sandhills pasture with 10 percent in sub-irrigated meadows. Half the livestock the family runs are cow-calf pairs, calving in May when the forage is at its peak. Yearlings and custom grazing balance out the second half of the stocking rate.
Years ago, they began examining the state of their operation and enrolled in the RFP program. “The school helped us look at ranching from a business perspective,” said Derek. “We started asking why we were doing something. Was it profitable to our bottom line? Was it fulfilling to our lives? We joined EL through RMC and learned the value of peer review to help us answer these questions and steer our business. In the past 20 years we have accomplished things we would have initially thought impossible.
“I think Dallas’ heart for ranchers is his true gift. He listens with empathy and teaches with the understanding change can be hard for folks, especially with the ranch on the line. He asks, listens, asks again, and then gives you time to think about your answers.”
Custom grazing now adds flexibility in managing forages through the growing season for Derek and Lesa. A combination of rest, rotation and managed intensive grazing has boosted plant density and variety while also increasing stocking rate. “By working with nature, and maintaining a fluid stocking rate, Cornerstone Grazing now has the flexibility to move in several directions when any situation demands its attention.”
