Sunday, March 28, 2010

Decision Time

Every decision made in a cattle operation is important, but one decision is bigger than any other in determining the success of your operation: "Define Your Goals". This is not just a decision that someone new to the cattle business needs to do either. It can be done at any point in the life of your business.

If you don't know where you want to go, how will you ever know what you need to do to get there? The goals can range from; a certain breed of cattle, between commercial, show, dairy, or breeding cattle, red, white, black, or rainbow colored cattle, or more specific low birth weight Angus cattle that can wean 600 lbs. steer in the mountains of Wyoming. I will say that the more specific your goals are defined, the better the daily decision making process will become. Also, as your cattle operation evolves, the goals you have set need to be evaluated and revised if necessary. Some goals may be too aggressive, some not challenging enough, and some may not be able to be accomplished with the current resources available, be it pasture available, time, or in some cases financially.

Once your goals are defined, then you can begin making decision on which cow to buy, which replacement heifers to keep, or which bulls to breed your cows too. It may even mean which cows to cull. Some people have been so drastic as to completely sell out, and start over. None of these choices can be accurately made without GOALS.

Gotcha' thinking now!