Livestock Archives - American Cattlemen

Keeping It Simple

Posted on July 10, 2026 by Cattle- Web-Manager-2

Keeping It Simple

For Alabama-based TRM, staying the course and avoiding trends has been key to success.

From the offices and pastures of Tennessee River Music (TRM), high on the Lookout Mountain plateau above Fort Payne, Alabama, you might not be able to see the farm’s namesake river, 30 miles to the west. But like a slow, steady 3/4 waltzing beat, the flow of the river exerts a subtle, but powerful, influence over the pace and quality of life on the farm. It’s an influence that manifests as a matter-of-fact approach to problem-solving and an unbending commitment to its seedstock customers.

That steadfast dedication to operational simplicity and to delivering a quality product is reflected in TRM’s motto, tagline and promotional language.

“Do it with passion or not at all.”

“Stout, sound, functional Angus and Hereford bulls.”

“TRM cattle are bred [to] perform in real-world environments.”

“We stay [in the] middle of the road and let the extremes pass us on both sides.”

John Starnes, who runs TRM with his wife, Randa, and in-laws, Randy and Kelly Owen, explains what that philosophy means in day-to-day terms.

“What we mean by ‘middle of the road’ is: We don’t pay attention to trends,” Starnes says. “Cattle get bigger. They get smaller. They’re bred for this trait or that. But, for us, we have the ability to grow forage, so they’ve got to be able to do as much as they can with that forage. We’ll supplement when we need to, like during the winter. But I think about it like a race car. If you go to the gas station and put 87–octane gas in a race car, you’re not going to get the performance you want. But we look for animals that can get it done on Southeastern forages, so we can use that 87–octane gas and still get the herd to perform.”

Here on the southern end of the Cumberland Plateau, that 87-octane gas is tried–and–true fescue. The pasture standard performs well in conditions that can range from summer drought to an icy winter mix.

“Ask anybody in the southeastern U.S., and they’ll say, ‘We’re grass farmers,’” Starnes says. “We’re no different. Our crop is grass, and our primary forage is fescue. We’ve improved some varieties, but during the last bad drought we had back in 2016, our pastures looked like dirt roads. And, unfortunately, what survived and came back was good ol’ Kentucky 31. So that does present some challenges.”

Those challenges include shedding and the ever-present threat of fescue toxicosis. But simple solutions and a reliance on the cattle to do the hard work help mitigate the threats and allow the herd to flourish.

“We run a good mineral program,” Starnes says, “we keep our pastures clipped, and our culling criteria is pretty strict. So I wouldn’t call our cattle fescue–tolerant, but they can absolutely handle what we have here on Lookout Mountain.”

Weeding and Feeding

To help keep those pastures clean and green, Starnes has to fight off a familiar list of weeds, including old favorites like thistles, horsenettle and dogfennel, along with the occasional pigweed.

“We try to do a good job of staying on top of the weeds,” he says. “We want to get the thistle early, when the days get warm enough and it’s time to do that first fertilizer application on some of the winter grazing ground.”

UltiGraz℠ Pasture Weed & Feed helps put valuable nutrients into the ground while controlling some of the most damaging pasture weeds.

“We’ve been doing that for a couple years now,” Starnes says. “We’ll inoculate the fertilizer with DuraCor. And as long as we can keep those thistles small and it gets on those rosettes, we’ve had good luck with that. We’ll also use Remedy on some of the woody, brushy stuff.”

Regenerative — On Their Own Terms

And while TRM’s practices may not fit the classic definition of “regenerative,” sound stewardship has a heavy influence on daily decision-making — and on the results. Turkey, deer and other wildlife flourish at TRM, even as wildlife officials note countywide declines in populations.

“Whether or not we’re ‘regenerative’ or ‘sustainable’ depends on how you define them,” Starnes says. “We and everybody else who are in this business have had to figure out how to do more with less. To me, that’s true sustainability.”

As for pasture management, Starnes says, TRM may not hold to the traditional practices of rotational grazing, but neither does it let cattle graze the grass to the ground.

“When you talk to people who are serious about rotational grazing, they’ll talk about moving tape fences or dropping gap panels every day,” he says. “That’s not what we do. But we do rotate pastures every week. We want to keep grass under the cattle and then move them off and let it grow.”

Yet despite TRM’s commitment to simplicity and no-nonsense operations, it’s not beholden to outdated beliefs or practices. While Starnes admits TRM may not be the most technologically advanced operation, neither is it afraid to change course and adopt new technology when it makes sense to do so.

“Technology has impacted every facet of what we do,” he says. “As a result, we’re seeing less herbicide use, increased average daily gains — I love being able to incorporate new technology and new thinking where it makes sense.

“In this business, we tend to dislike change. We say things like, ‘Granddad did it this way 70 years ago, and that’s how we’ve always done it.’ But you have to be honest with yourself and admit when things aren’t right and to be open to other ways of working.”

Strong Business in Tough Times

Posted on July 10, 2026August 11, 2026 by Cattle- Web-Manager-2

Strong Business in Tough Times

Livestock producers are built on toughness and grit. Drought, feed costs, cattle prices, labor shortages: every generation of producers has faced hardship and found a way through.

But there’s a more difficult question underneath all of it. What happens to the operation when the person running it steps back? A recent industry poll found only 43% of livestock producers have a succession plan in place.* That number hasn’t moved much in years, even as the pressure on operations has increased.

“The size and complexity of many of today’s farms require leaders with a different skill set than what their traditional mentors can offer,” says Matt Ronken, CEO of UnCommon Farms. “We’re teaching them to be CEOs of multi-generational, high-risk operations in a highly disrupted industry.”

Operations today are bigger than they used to be, which means there’s more at stake every time one changes hands. A cattle operation without a plan doesn’t just risk a rocky transition. It risks the herd, the land base, and the relationships that took decades to build, all changing hands in a way nobody intentionally chose.

That land doesn’t stay empty. It gets absorbed into a neighboring ranch, sold to an investor, or folded into a larger company. None of those outcomes are inherently bad on their own. But they’re outcomes a family ends up with by default, not by choice, when nobody plans far enough ahead to choose something else.

Ben Cather, an UnCommon Farms member from Kansas, sees that shift firsthand. “Farms that are staying in business are not getting smaller,” he says. “They’re getting larger, and that transition to the next generation, as things get larger, can be harder.”

Here’s what tends to happen instead of planning for the future. The daily demands of running the farm take priority, like calving, harvest, markets, weather, and whatever breaks down that morning. All of them are real and urgent. Long-term planning gets pushed to “when things slow down.” For most operations, things never slow down. Years go by. The plan remains a conversation instead of a document.

Rich Bronec, an UnCommon Farms member from Montana, has watched that pattern play out at his own place. “The day-to-day can overtake that long-term planning,” he says. “That’s where so many agriculture operations fall short.” Bronec credits the peer group and coach he works with through UnCommon Farms for keeping succession on the table instead of letting it slide. “You always have in the background this other part of your business that you’re working on,” he says. “It gives the older generation confidence in the younger generation’s management.”

That’s exactly when strong business fundamentals matter most. Not when the margins are good and everything is forgiving. It’s when the margins are thin, and one bad decision costs more than it used to. The operations that hold up in a tough year aren’t always the biggest ones. They’re the ones with a clear plan, a clear read on their numbers, and people who know their roles.

That combination doesn’t happen by accident, and it rarely happens alone. UnCommon Farms, a farmer-owned business coaching and peer network organization, was built around the idea that farms need expert guidance and advice just like any other successful business. Its financial services roots go back to 1967. Its team carries over 1,000 years of combined agriculture experience, real operators and advisors who’ve sat where its members are sitting, and who know what it actually takes to get an operation through a hard stretch.

UnCommon Farms members aren’t handed generic advice built for a different industry. They’re farmers and ranchers working alongside farmers and ranchers, with the kind of coaching and structure most farm businesses never get access to on their own. That’s the peer group Bronec leans on. It’s also the reason Cather doesn’t have to solve every problem alone. “If we see a problem here, there’s somebody in that building (UnCommon Farms) who’s either seen the exact same thing or something similar,” he says. “Or your coach can put you in contact with a farm they’ve run across. All the farms are more than willing to share their experience and what they’ve done.”

“The risk is, if you don’t find somebody or a group you trust, you’re only going to have a limited view, based on what you can see on your own,” Ronken says. “That’s one of the things we bring, and our community brings, in terms of peer learning. It’s such a powerful piece of being part of UnCommon Farms.”

That kind of access changes what a hard year actually costs. A problem that might take months to work through alone gets solved in a phone call, because someone else already figured it out. A decision that might get made on instinct gets made with input from people who’ve seen it play out before. That’s not a small advantage when margins are tight and mistakes are expensive.

That kind of support covers the full operation, not just one part of it. Succession planning that turns a postponed conversation into an actual documented path for ownership. It’s a plan that names who takes over, when, and how, instead of leaving it to whoever’s still standing when the time comes. Financial clarity, strategy, and benchmarking that give members a clear read on where things stand against real peers, not a national average that doesn’t reflect their scale. Decisions get made on real numbers instead of gut feel. Strategic planning and risk management to help plan for what’s ahead rather than reacting to it. HR and people strategy for hiring, training, and retaining good people, a skill that’s separate from running the operation itself. And support for the next generation, because handing over an operation isn’t just a legal transition. It’s about who’s ready to lead.

No operation gets through a hard stretch on toughness alone. It takes peers who’ve faced the same problem and will actually tell you how they solved their challenge. It takes expert advice to provide a picture of the numbers clear enough to guide decisions with confidence instead of guesswork. It takes a real plan for who leads next, built long before anyone’s forced to use it.

The tougher the year, the less an operation can afford to go it alone. Succession, finances, people, risk: whatever’s keeping you up at night, now is the time to get a clear plan in place, not after a bad season forces the issue.

Call Justin Friedrich at (618) 619-2166 or email jfriedrich@uncommonfarms.com to talk about what that looks like for your operation. Learn more at uncommonfarms.com.

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Improving Forage Quality

Posted on July 10, 2026September 9, 2026 by Cattle- Web-Manager-2

Improving Forage Quality with Technology, Storage & Moisture Management

By Jaclyn Krymowski for American Cattlemen

Hay remains a sizable feed expense for many beef operations. It may well be the single largest one if feeding a herd over the winter. Between skyrocketing fuel costs and drought conditions, the price of hay reflects the increase in input costs.

Even when forage yields are strong, significant losses can occur between cutting and feeding.

Research consistently shows that storage alone can result in dry matter losses ranging from less than 5% under ideal conditions to more than 30% in poorly managed outdoor storage systems, per the University of Wisconsin Extension.

But with the right combination of baling technology, moisture management and proper storage practices, forage losses can be reduced significantly without sacrificing nutrient quality from harvest through feeding.

Capturing Forage Quality

A forage’s nutrient quality is set. Unfortunately, it can only go down from there, and how much depends on when and how it’s harvested, handled and stored.

The first big factor in forage quality hinges on timing of harvest. One of the most important factors affecting forage quality is the stage of maturity. Even with the best seeding, delayed harvest reduces protein and digestibility.

There is simply no technology that can fully compensate for overmature forage.

As far as equipment goes, there’s a lot to be said about working with what you’ve got and not sinking a fortune into something new just because it’s perceived as “better.” That said, there are a few details you should know about the nuances of working with older versus newer equipment.

Balers

The first consideration should be the relationship between your balers and hay harvesting. For example, per the Virginia Tech Extension bulletin Management Tips for Round Bale Hay Harvesting, Moving, and Storage, “Hay producers select large round balers over small rectangular balers because of their high capacity, lower cost and lower labor requirements. One person, with properly sized equipment, can usually bale, store and feed all the hay for most average size operations.”

Authors Robert “Bobby” Grisso and John Fike make note that dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) losses tend to be greater with large round bales compared to small squares. For grass hays, this may not be as concerning as costly legume hays, which experience shatter loss.

“Because of this potential loss, timely field operations are more critical with large round bales than with small rectangular bales,” they write. “Use equipment and management techniques specifically designed for large round bales, since baling, transport, storage and feeding losses of large round bales can be higher than with small rectangular bales.”

While round bales dominate much of the beef industry due to labor savings and handling efficiency, small square bales still offer advantages in certain situations. Their denser packing and easier handling can reduce some storage and feeding losses, particularly for higher-value forages. Large square bales have also gained popularity on larger operations because they combine much of the efficiency of round bales with improved stacking, transportation and storage characteristics.

Ultimately, the right choice depends on labor availability, storage capacity, feeding system and the value of the forage being harvested.

Moisture Sensors

One of the handiest devices in modern haymaking are real-time moisture readings on balers to reduce the guesswork.

Baling at the proper moisture can be a balancing act. Hay that is slightly wetter can help preserve leaves and reduce shatter losses, especially in alfalfa and other legumes. However, excessive moisture creates risks ranging from mold development and heating to outright spoilage. Moisture sensors allow producers to make adjustments in real time rather than relying solely on feel, appearance or experience.

GPS and Yield Monitoring

There are a variety of new yield monitoring tools, software programs and GPS systems to use the same way as precision planting or harvesting. But aside from the obvious, these tools are also ways to improve your management to improve current and future decisions before, during and after a cutting.

Yield maps can help identify consistently productive and underperforming areas of a field, allowing producers to target fertility, drainage or renovation efforts where they are needed most. GPS-guided records can also help track harvest timing, field conditions and forage inventories across multiple cuttings. Over time, this information can reveal trends that improve both forage quality and overall efficiency.

Storage Improvements Save Hay

Many producers focus heavily on production while overlooking storage losses that quietly erode forage inventory throughout the year.

One of the biggest safeguards storage offers is protecting hay against losses (dry matter, mold, nutrient) and weathering.

According to a bulletin from Mississippi State, Hay Storage: Dry Matter Losses and Quality Changes, uncovered round bales stored directly on the ground may experience substantial losses depending on climate and management. It comes as no surprise that this option is, unfortunately, the cheapest as well.

“Most storage losses occur where hay bales touch soil. Place round bales on gravel, pallets or tires to minimize dry matter losses but be aware that tires may hold water,” writes author Rocky Lemus, a plant and soil sciences professor. “Elevation is not necessary for bales covered in solid plastic because the plastic layer provides a barrier against moisture movement from the soil. Some studies have shown that these techniques reduce storage losses by 15%.”

Gravel pads work as a decent alternative to direct ground storage as they do provide better drainage and less bottom moisture. However, they don’t offer the same air movement and minimal ground contact that pallets or other elevated surfaces do.

For indoor storage, there are a variety of options that all work similarly as well. Even a tarp shelter, assuming that ground contact is minimal, can still significantly reduce weathering losses.

Remember that even properly wrapped and secured bales will still need some degree of monitoring to make sure that there aren’t tears or other damages exposing oxygen.

Moisture Management

Whether producing dry hay or baleage, moisture remains one of the most important variables affecting forage quality and storage success.

Moisture levels that are too high increase the risk of mold growth, excessive heating, protein damage, and even spontaneous combustion. Conversely, forage that becomes overly dry before baling is more susceptible to leaf shatter and harvest losses, particularly in legumes where many of the most valuable nutrients are concentrated in the leaves.

Recommended moisture levels vary by forage system. Dry hay is generally baled at 14-18% moisture for small square bales, 12-16% for large round bales and 10-15% for large square bales. Baleage systems typically perform best between 40% and 60% moisture.

Fortunately, producers have more tools than ever available for monitoring moisture. Handheld moisture testers remain a popular and affordable option for spot checks in the field. Inline baler sensors provide continuous readings throughout the baling process and can alert operators to changing conditions. As always, lab analysis remains the gold standard for accuracy when evaluating forage samples.

Modern baling technologies allow producers to harvest forage more efficiently and within increasingly narrow weather windows. Improved storage systems can substantially reduce dry matter losses and protect feed value. Moisture management remains the common thread linking harvest success and storage performance.

Putting It Together

Investments in sensors, preservatives, storage improvements and monitoring systems should be evaluated not only by equipment cost but by the amount of forage quality preserved.

In today’s cattle market, every bale represents a significant investment. Protecting that investment through better technology and management can improve both herd performance and overall operation profitability.

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