Facilities & Equipment

The daily grind of ranching life – an honest one, working animals on the land – is rewarding. The practice reaches backward through our bloodlines to the earliest days of the American dream.

Investing in new equipment is always a big conversation to have because it plays an integral role in your operation. Cattle handling systems influence the efficiency of your workflow and the safety of handlers and cattle. In some scenarios, a stationary system is ideal, whereas in others, it is better to have a portable working system. In some cases, there are ranches that even have both.

Davy Crockett once said, “I must say to what I have seen of Texas, it is the garden spot of the world. The best land and best prospects for health I ever saw is here, and I do believe it is a fortune to any man to come here.

Winter grazing patterns or dry lot forage and hay feeding is on the horizon for many cow-calf producers. With pregnancy checking and the necessary culling of open or deficient females completed, the finalized herd is likely in place until calving season.

The presence of wolves in the Western states has led to many conflicts between wolves and humans, primarily in agricultural communities. As wolf populations rise, there is no doubt that the frequency of these conflicts will increase as well.

There is virtual fencing (VF) for dogs, and now researchers are studying ways to make this idea possible for beef producers. When available, VF technology will benefit cattle, ranchers, rangeland and wildlife.