Rachael Rowden has had a lifelong love of ranch living. Rowden runs the Bella Star Ranch and loves every minute of it. There are few careers she believes can be as satisfying as running a ranch. If you have always had a passion for ranching and want to know some tips for running one successfully, Rachael Rowden can assist.
The first step Rachael Rowden recommends to running a successful ranch is to make sure costs and revenues are aligned. If a ranch is going to produce cattle, the cattle futures market can help predict costs. It’s also possible to lock in prices for different necessities like feed. Projections should always be obtainable, and any surprises should come in the way of surpluses.
Speaking of surprises, preparation is essential. All of the worst-case scenarios should be considered. For instance, what’s the plan if there’s a drought? What’s the plan if a key farmhand leaves? What’s the plan if a crop is underperforming? Preparation is essential. When you can weather the storm (or lack thereof), it becomes a lot easier to run a successful business. There are a lot of insurance options available for ranchers. While it can seem like an unnecessary cost, it could keep a ranch afloat in times of distress.
Rachael Rowden believes that ranch owners need to love data. They have to be able to look at numbers and pick up on problem areas quickly. The quicker a problem can be identified, the quicker it can be solved. Noticing that projections are coming in lower than expected, for example, allows a rancher to adjust expenditures in real-time. This is a huge element of running a successful business.
Superior Farms is an American lamb producer and explains that running a ranch is no different than running any other successful business in that you must learn from failures. It’s okay to make mistakes. Rachael Rowden explains that a lot of her mistakes as a ranch owner have helped her make adjustments that have paid dividends for years. One mistake she learned she was making was prioritizing doing the tasks she enjoyed doing the most first. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the best way to ensure that the most important jobs are completed daily. An owner must be willing to do what is necessary over what is convenient.
When a ranch owner starts to keep track of things that could be going better, they also start to track things that are going well. It’s always a good idea to track progress and reward yourself and the team for accomplishing goals. Goal setting is a good thing and so is celebrating the victories along the way.