The concepts presented on this page are broken down into four concept groups: general ranching concepts, beef cattle concepts, marketing concepts, and range management concepts.

General Ranching Concepts

1. The Golden Rule for sustainable ranching is never taking more from the land than the land can sustain over time.
   
   
2. Grazing livestock on indigenous rangelands is deemed fully sustainable provided that the agricultural and ecological integrity of the land is preserved.
   
   
3. In order to be sustainable, a ranching operation must be made financially viable, ecologically responsible, and socially acceptable.
   
   
4. Social values are often the underlying variable that hinders or encourages the development of a sustainable ranching system.
   
   
5. Degrading and subdividing large tracks of agriculturally and ecologically important rangeland poses the greatest threat to the future of vocational ranching in Texas and other range states and regions.
   
   
6. Years of instability and low profitability in ranching leads to ranchers degrading and subdividing their grazing land in an attempt to recoup financial losses, pay off debt, or have enough money to live on after retirement.
   
   
7. Pride of independent ownership and management are major stumbling blocks that impede establishing a sustainable ranching enterprise.
   
   
8. Substituting tame pastures, purchased feed, and/or baled hay for native range forage is a quick way to becoming history in the ranching business.
   
   
9. Being a part owner of a large-scale, professionally managed, financially viable ranching enterprise is a far better option than being a full owner of a small-scale, traditionally managed, unprofitable enterprise.
   
   
10. The hardest thing about the ranching business is achieving financial prosperity and happiness without degrading and ultimately destroying the ranch's soil, water, vegetation, and wildlife resources.
    
    
11. Most ranches in Texas and other range states and regions have been degraded and fragmented to the point were they no longer have enough animal unit grazing capacity to be financially viable on an one-operation, independent basis.
    
    
12. Operating a sustainable closed system ranching system requires having no less than approximately 500 head of breeding stock, and the EQUIVALENCE of no less than approximately 16,500 acres of mid-grass rangeland that's in good to excellent range condition.
    
    
13. Sustainable ranching on a small-scale sustainable basis requires local and regional producers working together according to a common method of livestock production and marketing.
    
    
14. Diversification plays an important role in making the ranching business profitable and sustainable.
    
    
15. The method of diversification that offers ranchers an opportunity to improve the profitability of their operations with the least amount of financial outlay is contracting with a government or private organization to graze fewer livestock and grow more range forage for carbon sequestration and climate control purposes.
    
    

Beef Cattle Concepts

1. Functional cattle are bred and selected for their ability to convert foodstuff that non-ruminant animals (swine, poultry and fish) cannot convert more efficiently than ruminate bovines can.
   
   
2. The only reason for raising beef cattle is to convert native range forage into meat, leather, and valuable by-products for human consumption.
   
   
3. The ability of cattle to convert range forage efficiently can be lost by the excessive use of grain and the selection of cattle without ample middles.
   
   
4. Cattle that have the ability to convert range forage efficiently do not require a heavy investment in supplementary feed in order to stay in good body condition and be productive.
   
   
5. Most beef cattle in the U.S. have lost the ability to convert range forage effectively without a heavy investment in supplementary feed.
   
   
6. Most cattle in the U.S. are bred to meet the needs of industrial agriculture (agricultural universities, commercial feed-yards, supply companies, etc.), not the needs of rangeland ranchers.
   
   
7. Most beef cattle in the U.S. are bred in open populations, and selected primarily on the basis of breed, breeding percentage, pedigree background, show-ring performance, color, size, growth, and/or milking ability.
   
   
8. Beef cattle bred in open populations are not predictable breeders and do not produce uniform quality offspring.
   
   
9. Cattle must be given additional protein and energy when the forage in their diet does not meet minimum nutritive requirements.
   
   
10. Highly productive cattle of any breed or cross do very poorly when moved to a lower elevation and a climate nearer the tropics (Alto Adams Jr.).
    
    
11. Cattle do best when bred in the environment in which they are raised. (Alto Adams Jr.)
    
    
12. Any animal that seems to be accident or disease prone should be culled from the herd rather than receive a lot of individual attention. (Alto Adams Jr.)
    
    
13. Multi-sire breeding of best bulls to best cows within a closed population preserves the strength and soundness of a herd of cattle. (Alto Adams Jr.)
    
    
14. Longevity is an inherent trait and should be retained in cattle. (Alto Adams Jr.)
    
    
15. Improving productive longevity in a herd of cattle requires selecting bulls out of dams with the best udders and most proven track records.
    
    
16. Large herds allow for greater flexibility in bull selection. (Alto Adams Jr.)
    
    
17. Preventing close inbreeding in a herd of cattle requires changing sires before they have a chance to mate with their offspring, dams, or sisters.
    
    
18. Herd replacements should be selected out of good cows that calved on schedule without assistance (Alto Adams Jr.).
    
    
19. A surplus of heifers should be saved and exposed to bulls at an early age (Alto Adams Jr.).
    
    
20. Heifers that breed first should be retained as cow replacements. (Alto Adams Jr.)
    
    
21. Maximizing calf-crop numbers at the lowest feasible cost requires scheduling each year's breeding season to coincide with time periods of peak forage quality.
    
    
22. Avoid the use of any breed or cross of cattle that have heavy birth weights, large frames, high milking ability, and maximum growth rates.
    
    
23. Best cattle for low-input ranching are moderate growth cattle with heavy muscling, low birth weights, small to medium body size, low to moderate milk, and dark pigmentation, and do not require large amounts of supplementary feed to be productive.
    
    
24. Best breed types for low-input ranching include but are not limited to purebred or crossbred Angus, Cracker, Yak, Dexter, Gyr, Hereford, Jersey, Kerry, Lowline, Muscles, Red Poll, and Shorthorn.
    
    
25. Best breeding plan for a sustainable ranch is using rigid, objective selection and closed population breeding to develop a distinct breed, strain, or bloodline of general-purpose cattle.
    
    
26. The fifteen most important traits in a herd of general-purpose range cattle are
    
    
    • temperament
    • early sexual maturity
    • fertility
    • calving ease
    • bunching instinct
    • herding ability
    • predator protection
    • mothering ability
    • acceptable growth
    • easy fleshing ability
    • active libido in bulls
    • hardiness
    • production longevity
    • visual appearance (conformation)
    • carcass merit
      
      
27. The key to developing highly prepotent cattle is rigid, objective trait selection within a closed breeding population.
    
    
28. Optimally adapted, general-purpose range cattle have the ability to produce top-quality acceptable slaughter animals and superior herd replacements while pasturing lightly stocked native range in a cost efficient manner.
    
    
29. A simple breeding plan centered around mating best sons produced out of one breeding group (within a closed population) to best daughters produced out of another offers ranchers an opportunity to raise highly acceptable slaughter animals and superior herd replacements.
    
    
30. It requires three or more generations of uninterrupted closed-herd breeding and rigid objective selection, following the protocol of a sound beef herd management plan, in order to develop a superior herd of general-purpose cattle.
    
    
31. Operating a closed-breeding system on a sustained basis requires maintaining a permanent gene pool of no less than approximately 500 head of adult breeders.
    
    
32. Large herd numbers offer greater genetic diversity, offer greater selection opportunities, and minimizes inbreeding problems in a closed population of cattle.
    
    
33. Three generations of culling inferior traits will eliminate most genetic problems in a herd of cattle unless the problems are reintroduced in the herd through outside bulls. (Alto Adams, Jr.)
    
    
34. Genetic improvement created by mating cattle within a closed population is measurable, cumulative and permanent, and can be sustained over an infinite period of time. (Alto Adams Jr.)
    
    
35. Lack of the right kind of replacements that will allow culling a herd properly is a serious problem and a major factor affecting the rapidity of developing a superior herd of general-purpose cattle. (Alto Adams, Jr.)
    
    
36. The exact amount of time required to develop a superior herd of general-purpose cattle is determined by the following three factors:
    
    
    1. Level of genetic merit in the producer's foundation cattle
    2. The producer's level of selection intensity
    3. How well the producer adheres to sound beef herd management protocol.
       
       
37. A superior herd of general-purpose cattle is developed on the basis of breeding the best to the best, year after year, within a closed population, and allowing temperament, reproduction, survival, and yearling weight largely determine which cattle are best.
    
    
38. There are no shortcuts, technological or otherwise, to developing a herd of most suitable cattle for a low-input ranching operation.
    
    
39. Developing and maintaining a functionally superior herd of general-purpose cattle involves mating mature cows to breeding-age bulls that meet the following sire standards:
    
    
    • Born naturally, without any help
      
      
    • Out of a cow that has been a regular breeder in a multi- or single-sire herd beginning around her first birthday
      
      
    • Out of a cow with a good to excellent udder
      
      
    • Good to excellent on the basis of weight and visual appearance when evaluated as a yearling bull
      
      
    • Optimum frame score, reflective of a bull that can sire herd replacements best adapted to the rancher's respective ranching environment.
      
      
40. Most any bull when mated to enough cows will sire a few top quality calves -- a good straight-bred or cross-bred bull will sire more -- but only a top-quality bull that has generations of closed herd breeding and rigid, objective selection behind him from both the sire and dam side of his pedigree will sire the most.
    
    
41. When selecting sires, close attention should be paid to bulls with above average yearling weights. (Lasater Ranch, Matheson Colorado)
    
    
42. Exposing virgin heifers to lightweight bulls that sire calves with low birth weight minimizes the chance of permanently injuring yearling heifers at mating time, and minimizes the chance of having calving problems with first-calf heifers.
    
    
43. Developing and maintaining a functionally superior herd of general-purpose cattle should be viewed as a never-ending process of extending the influence of superior animals and culling the influence of inferior animals within a closed population.
    
    

Beef Cattle Marketing Concepts

1. Small and medium-size ranching operations have little or no marketing power.
   
   
2. Small and medium-size ranching operations can begin overcoming their marketing disadvantages by organizing a local or regional marketing alliance.
   
   
3. In order for a cooperative marketing arrangement to work effectively, the allied ranchers must be willing opt for a common method of ranching, follow standardized operating procedures, and employ an experienced professional to coordinate the operation of their marketing co-op.
   
   
4. Emphasis in beef cattle marketing needs to be directed toward optimizing financial returns from ranching through the sale of unique quality "trade-name" breeding stock and unique quality "trade-name" meat.
   
   
5. Terms such as Rangemaster, Range-land, and Tex-land can be used as an effective trade name for promoting the breeding and marketing of highly valued breeding stock, as well as the marketing and consumption of highly valued meat.
   
   
6. Selecting when and which bulls to turn-out with the rancher's herd is the first step in a sound beef cattle marketing program.
   
   
7. Only animals that meet minimum performance standards for their contemporary group should be selected for marketing as breeding stock.
   
   
8. Animals that fail to meet minimum performance standards for their contemporary group should be removed from the herd and marketed as meat, never as breeding stock.
   
   
9. To be reputation building, grassfed beef must be tasty, tender, uniform in quality, and free of additives proven by scientific research or perceived by consumers as being unhealthy.
   
   
10. The highest valued grassfed beef in the world is produced out of cattle that have reached sexual maturity and are no longer growing addition carcass, and out of cattle that are born, grown-out, and finished on native range.
    
    
11. New technological breakthroughs such as precision flake cutting makes it possible to improve the market value of meat out of cull bulls and cows slaughtered straight-off grass.
    
    

Range Management Concepts

1. Sound range management is the cornerstone of a sustainable ranching system.
   
   
2. The primary objective of range management is to manipulate the grazing of large herbivores so both plant and animal production can be maintained or increased.
   
   
3. Projecting the long-term carrying capacity of the rancher's native grazing land is the first step in a sound range management program.
   
   
4. Five essential practices in sound range management are:
   
   
   1. Keeping stocking rates 30 to 40% below projected long-term carrying capacity;
      
      
   2. Keeping cattle bunched together while they are grazing (rather than allowing them to spread out over the range), and never allowing cattle to linger around their preferred grazing areas (Be sure to keep cattle moving so they can't spot-overgraze the ranch's grazing land);
      
      
   3. Minimizing lingering time around watering points and riparian areas.
      
      
   4. Never allowing cattle to re-graze a particular range area until it has fully recovered from the previous grazing period;
      
      
   5. Giving key forage species a chance to product a seed crop, especially on years following a long extended drought.
      
      
5. The stocking rate of rangeland should never exceed 60 to 70% of its projected long-term carrying capacity.
   
   
6. When stocking rates are figured on the basis of annual forage production, desert rangelands should be stocked for 10 to 15% usage of key forage species, short-grass rangelands for 20 to 25% usage, mid-grass rangelands for 30 to 35% usage, and tall-grass rangelands for 40 to 45% usage.
   
   
7. Loss of range forage because of grazing, browsing, trampling, rodent and insect damage, prescribed burns, wild fires, and drought must be taken into consideration when determining the stocking rates.
   
   
8. If a drought lasts long enough, a light stocking rate can become an extremely heavy stocking rate.
   
   
9. Developing programs that offer ranchers an opportunity to financially benefit from managing their grazing land for ecological purposes plays an important role in making sound range management ecologically viable.
   
   
10. The root cause for overstocking and overgrazing is ranchers overloading their grazing land with grazers and browsers in an attempt to improve the profitability of their operations.
    
    
11. Overstocking is a function of numbers and overgrazing is a function of both numbers and time.
    
    

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