Cattle Ranches for Sale: Three Key Factors Buyers Should Consider

Anybody who engages in cattle farming aims for profitability. While some cattle farmers operate ranches by leasing lots, others have pockets deep enough to buy their own ranches and manage their cattle business more freely. If you’re in the market for cattle ranches for sale, you have to look beyond the fresh air, recreation, and prestige and instead brace yourself for the business side of a rancher’s life.

Make no mistake: there’s no foolproof guide to ensuring high cattle ranching profitability. By considering these key factors before you make a purchase, however, you’ll be way ahead of some potential challenges associated with running a cattle business.

Carrying capacity
A critical ranch management parameter, carrying capacity is measured not by the size of the property but by how much of it is suitable for foraging. For instance, a ranch with generally flat terrain may be considered ideal for grazing because there are no slope restrictions. That advantage, however, would be diminished if a significant portion of the grazing areas were to remain unused due to sheer distance from water sources.

To improve your ranch’s carrying capacity, you may consider developing stock water. Drought and moisture conditions can affect forage conditions, so find an expert who can help you make sense of factors such as soil type and precipitation.

Labor needs
Even if you intend to let livestock roam around freely most of the time, cattle still require care. You may find yourself spending more time on management activities if you don’t have enough help around. Small ranches alone demand more than 20 hours of labor each week; think how much more work thousands of acres of land may entail. You may need to make adjustments to accommodate the demands of cattle ranch ownership, especially in case you decide to live in the country rather than be content with being a weekend farmer.

Cattle quality
Amateur ranchers often make the mistake of buying genetically inferior bulls and produce low quality product as a result. Your seed stock supplier will play a significant role in livestock quality, so he must understand your objectives well and provide you fine bulls that meet your requirements. Furthermore, how well your cows fare will also depend on your animal handling practices. For instance, stress is found to adversely affect the tenderness, taste, appearance, and perishability of beef.

Ranch ownership, in other words, requires you to think holistically. You can turn to reputable brokers like Mirr Ranch Group for professional ranch management advice as well as help in finding the kind of ranch for sale that meets your investment and lifestyle goals.

Source:

Seven Keys to Ranch Profitability, BeefMagazine.com

Things to Know Before Buying a Ranch, Noble.org