Calendar of the Year Round Grazier

This book is an overview of Greener Pastures Ranching’s Year Round Grazing Systems school. It walks the reader through how to manage and run an economical and sustainable ranch. Currently most ranchers run their livestock in a manner that depletes the natural environment of nutrients and has the livestock in regular need of treatment or preventative maintenance. Rotational grazing has the potential to completely negate the need for preventative maintenance, all while improving the health of your soil. ‘The Calendar of the Year Round Grazier’ gives the reader a topic of concern by the month of the year. As ranchers we often hit a slow period throughout the winter, so this allows us time to work on the business side of our ranches. Starting in January we walk you through the Human Resources, Economics and Finances sides of ranching. These are very critical, but often overlooked aspects of ranching. Within these first three chapters I walk you through the basics of each topic and how to improve your business by using some practical techniques. In the spring and summer months, and the next five chapters; we walk through the grazing concepts, principles, how to know when you should move your animals; otherwise known as ‘How Much Gain is Left’, residual cash flow and how to measure for adequate stock density. These chapters are imperative to a productive rotational grazing system. If you don’t know why you’re moving your animals and are not following the concepts, you are just rotationally abusing your land. These chapters enlighten the reader on how to put a good rotation into practice, in any environment. In September we get back into the business aspect of ranching with a Gross Margin Ratio. I explain what exactly a GMR is, and the basics on how to figure out the gross margin ratio of any profit center in your business. This is important as it walks the reader through how to calculate out the profitability of your profit center. In the final three months of the year we walk through the more ‘fun’ parts of ranching. With the ‘Cow Combine’, Swath Grazing and Bale Grazing we conclude the book with what producers tend to find as one of the most interesting subjects in the Year Round Grazing School. I walk the reader through how to set up a bale grazing and swath grazing site, as well as the benefits and disadvantages to each.