tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012091795932325815.post7303024910362434781..comments2018-11-29T21:54:37.049-06:00Comments on Watch Out For The Bull: No-Kill Cropping and Pasture Cropping - Still Trying To Figure It Out, But Getting CloseRichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412944120622315804noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012091795932325815.post-63581118164241513852014-11-04T22:24:50.467-06:002014-11-04T22:24:50.467-06:00I've used a similar program and found out ther...I've used a similar program and found out there was more money being spent in some areas than I originally thought. I paid more attention to that sort of spending after that, which for me seems to be the best way to use that sort of information.Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11412944120622315804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012091795932325815.post-38476628640125428492014-11-04T08:37:38.175-06:002014-11-04T08:37:38.175-06:00Along the same lines, I should mention that my par...Along the same lines, I should mention that my parents farm a significant chunk of land for an absentee landowner. My family has been farming for this family for nearly 60 years. After about 50 years, they decided to shake things up a bit and hired a farm manager right out of college with some relevant degree. After ten years of working for him now, I'm not sure my father feels that he is making better decisions than he has been but then, my father might be a bit biased. He is a nice enough kid though and the biggest benefit is that my father just gives him all the figures and doesn't have to explain what they mean to the owner who is a the wife of a doctor and knows nothing about farming.Edhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13214319366049620074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012091795932325815.post-60853759915399746902014-11-04T08:34:11.227-06:002014-11-04T08:34:11.227-06:00Years ago I helped my parents set up a program to ...Years ago I helped my parents set up a program to manage their farm. I think it was called FarmWorks. It was great for creating end of the year balance sheets but like you said, it didn't give you the whole picture. Those cows eating that pasture contribute fertilizer which makes your wheat grow better. At the end of the day, I think most farmers like you kind of go with their gut and the bottom line and do the best they can.Edhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13214319366049620074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012091795932325815.post-4409628442939708892014-11-03T13:01:39.317-06:002014-11-03T13:01:39.317-06:00"...I think the key is that you are looking a..."...I think the key is that you are looking at it as a return on your investment instead of how many dollars you end up with in the bank..."<br /><br />One of the tougher subjects I deal with on the farm (and it might be that way with every business) is determining exactly what makes me money and what loses me money. <br /><br />An economist or accountant would probably factor in a bunch of stuff like lost opportunity costs, depreciation costs, etc. and would isolate every part of the farm (cattle in one column, wheat in another column, hay in another) to determine what should be expanded and what should be cut.<br /><br />I've never been able to wrap my brain around any of that sort of thinking because everything seems to part of the whole and it's impossible to put a value on a lot of it, so the best I can usually do is try to figure the ROI on some things to try to get a rough idea on whether it's worth doing or not. Sometimes I play games and figure how much I'm making per hour, I probably made about $250/hr from the wheat on that pasture which doesn't really tell me that much. <br /><br />But saying all that, if I could make more money per acre with a much lower ROI, I'd opt for the lower ROI, which sort of defeats the whole purpose of figuring ROI when I think about it.<br /><br />In the long run, I'd like to get the yields high enough in these pasture cropped areas that I can make as much money per acre as I make in the other wheat fields.Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11412944120622315804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012091795932325815.post-55915627733743330802014-11-03T08:40:55.467-06:002014-11-03T08:40:55.467-06:00Very interesting and on a topic I knew next to not...Very interesting and on a topic I knew next to nothing about. Since we don't have cattle, we never had pastures. But back when we raised wheat, we almost always had clover in the field so after wheat harvest, we could get a couple cuttings of clover to sell later. <br /><br />I think the key is that you are looking at it as a return on your investment instead of how many dollars you end up with in the bank. So many look at the latter and thus never do something like that and end up with worn out pastures and needing to buy lots of hay. By looking at it in the former way, you end up with better pastures and less expense of buying supplemental hay and some money in the bank as well.Edhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13214319366049620074noreply@blogger.com