The romantic notion of making a living off the land need not be seperated from the possible business reality. Yet too many people settle for one or the other and rarely attain both.
Humanity has long held an affinity for the things it can not control as though this somehow relieves the pressure of having to take action on the things we can.
Living off the land via agricultural means is about encompassing our control of sustainability and profitability, not sacrificing one for the other.
We have the ability to control how much money comes in and how much money goes out. We have the ability to be sustainable and profitable. This does not change because we were born into or have otherwise entered the world of farming or ranching.
Ranching is the agriculture business of making a living off the land. In agribusiness knowing the costs of production and controlling the expenses and overheads is what seperates the successful from the not so successful.
"It is not how much money you make, it is how much money you intend to keep." It is not how much you can spread the overhead costs across the acres it is how much the expense affects the dollar in your pocket at the end of the day.
Farmers and ranchers who are making a living at what they do control what percentage of their profit they keep, whether they know they are doing it or not.
In a nutshell, "it is about telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went." ~unknown source
The notes shared in these pages are a compilation of our notes taken while attending local agriculture courses and seminars. These bits and pieces are our highlights and insights that shed some light on how we view our ranch and how we make a living from a lifestyle.
Use gross profit margin as your indicator and guide
Find out where the hidden profit sources are in your operation and begin to value them
If you can not manage the resources and profit sources being made or lost in your own back forty you can not expect to have any control of them on an industry scale. Yet this is what many farmers and ranchers expect, complain about and therefore keep their focus on.
Good weather and good economies are not within our individual control. Keeping more profits is within our individual control.
If each us of took control of our profits in our own ranching business then collectively we might be in a position to influence economies. Then imagine the potential for living off the land.
