Western Stock Ranching

Author:

Mont H. Saunderson

Mont Saunderson was a western range economist with the United States Forest Service. He also served as a ranch economist at Montana State College. Much of the material in this volume is based on field surveys and range management studies in which he worked closely with modern stock ranch operators.

Chapter I. RESOURCES AND RANCHES 3
Ranch Country, 3. Western Ranches, 26. Ranch Problems, 40.
Chapter II. LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT ECONOMICS 56
Choice of Kind, Breed, and Type of Livestock, 57. Range Livestock
Husbandry Practices, 63. Ranch Improvements for Livestock Manage-
ment, 71. Some Livestock Management Standards, 73. Labor Require-
ments for Range Livestock Management, 82.
Chapter III. GRAZING LAND USE 84
Range Management: A Brief Description, 84. Plans for Grazing Land
Use, 97. Grazing Land Improvement and Development, 99. Marginal
Rangelands, 101. Regional Contrasts in Rangeland Management, 103. A
Look at the Future, 107.
Chapter IV. CHOICE OF FEED CROPS FOR RANCH USE 109
General Considerations in the Choice, 109. Suitabilities of Different
Crops, 110. Labor Requirements for the Production of Feed Crops, 119.
Water Requirements for Irrigated Feed-Crop Production, 120. Feeding
Periods and Feed Requirements, 121. The Place of Feed Crops in the
Management Plan of the Ranch, 123.
Chapter V. MARKETS, PRICES, AND INCOMES 125
Basic Factors in Western Cattle Marketing, 125. Market Classes and
Grades of Cattle, 127. Cattle Marketing Methods, 129. Markets for West-
ern Range Cattle and Market Movements, 130. Western Lamb Produc-
tion, Consumption, and Markets, 131. Market Classes and Grades of
Lambs, 133. Markets for Western Range Sheep and Lambs and Market
Movements, 134. Wool Market Grades, 135. Wool Marketing, 137. Sheep
and Wool Prices and Ranch Incomes, 139. Cattle Prices and Ranch In-
comes, 141. Production and Price Averages for Western States, 143.
ix
x WESTERN STOCK RANCHING
Chapter VI. BUSINESS MANAGEMENT 147
Operating Cost Standards, 147. Net Income Standards, 154. Budgets and
Financial Plans for the Ranch, 156. Accounts and Records, 157. Cost
Analysis, 164. Investment Requirements and Investment Financing, 168.
Chapter VII. PLANNING THE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
OF THE RANCH 186
The Size of the Ranch, 186. Land Ownership and Tenure, 188. Ranch and
Range Improvements, 192. Improvement of Rangeland and Cropland
Capacity and Balance, 194. Livestock Management Practices, 198. Plan-
ning for Possible Changes in Kind of Livestock, 199. Markets and Mar-
keting Methods, 200. Operating Costs, 201. Ranch Investment Values and
Finance, 202. Planning for the Ranch as a Management Unit: A Sum-
mary, 204. Replanning the Management Program of a Ranch: A Case
Illustration, 205.
Chapter VIII. THE USE OF FEDERAL PUBLIC LANDS 209
Kinds and Importance of Federal Public Lands, 210. Federal Grazing
District Lands, 211. National Forest Lands, 221. Indian Reservation
Lands, 232. Land Utilization Project Lands, 233. General Land Office
Lands, 235. Possible Changes in the Use of the Public Lands for Graz-
ing, 236.
Common and Botanical Names of Range Plants 240
Bibliography 241
Index 244
LIST OF TABLES
1. Capital Values, Rental Values, and Tax Costs per Acre for
Rangelands 53
2. Capital Values, Rental Values, and Tax Costs per Acre for
Ranch Haylands 54
3. Production and Feed Capacity per Acre for Feed Crops Used
by Western Stock Ranches 110
4. Average Labor Requirements for Feed-Crop Production and
Harvest 120
5. Beef Production and Consumption in the Eleven Western
States, 1945 126
CONTENTS xi
6. Lamb Production and Consumption in the Seven Far West-
ern States, 1945 132
7. Medium High, Medium, and Low Prices to Growers for
Western Lambs, Wool, and Sheep 139
8. Average Annual Market Production of Different Types of
Sheep Ranches 140
9. Gross Income per Head of Sheep for Western Sheep
Ranches 141
10. High, Medium, and Low Prices to Growers for Western Beef
Cattle 142
11. Average Annual Market Production per Head of Cattle for
the Principal Types of Western Cattle Ranches 142
12. Gross Income per head of Cattle for Western Cattle Ranches 143
13. Average Annual Beef and Lamb Production per Head of
Stock Maintained on Ranches and Farms in the Eleven
Western States for the Period 1931-1944 144
14. Average Prices Received by Growers for Beef Cattle and
Lambs in the Eleven Western States for the Period 1935-
1939 145
15. Operating Cost Standards per Ewe for Western Sheep
Ranches 148
16. Operating Cost Standards per Head of Stock Cattle for West-
ern Cattle Ranches 149
17. Net Income Standards for Western Sheep Ranches
18. Net Income Standards for Western Cattle Ranches 155
19. Production Costs per Head for Cattle of Different Ages 166
20. Average Investments of Foothill Cattle Ranches and Moun-
tain Valley Sheep Ranches, 1935-1940 169
LIST OF FIGURES
1. Range Resource and Ranch Management Regions of the
Western United States 4
2. A Management Plan for an Upland Summer Sheep Range 98
154
xii WESTERN STOCK RANCHING
3. Grazing Districts under the Taylor Grazing Act, Department
of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management 213
4. Seasonal Uses of Grazing District Lands in the Intel-mountain
Region 216
5. An Illustration of Management Planning for a Cattle Allot-
ment on Federal Grazing District Lands (Magdalena District,
New Mexico) 220
6. National Forests and Administrative Regions for the Eleven
Western States 224
7. Seasonal Grazing Use of the National Forest Lands of the
Rocky Mountain Region 226
8. Location of Sheep and Cattle Ranges in the Bighorn National
Forest 227
LIST OF FORMS
A. Estimates of Cash Expenditures for a Sheep Ranch 171
B. Estimates of Cash Receipts for a Sheep Ranch 173
C. Balance Sheet Accounts for the Stock Ranch 174
D. The Income Statement 175
E. Work Sheet for Closing the Accounts and Preparing the Fi-
nancial Statements 170
F. Accounting for Cash Receipts and Cash Payments without
the Use of Ledger Accounts 177
G. Livestock Inventory and Production Record 178
H. Feed-Crop Inventory and Feed Use Record 180
I. Building and Equipment Inventory 181
J. Inventory of Notes and Accounts Receivable 182
CONTENTS xiii
K. Inventory of Notes and Accounts Payable 182
L. Land Inventory and Range Use Record 183
M. Payroll and Labor Time Record 184
N. A Case Illustration of the Capital Investment of a Foothill
Cattle Ranch 185