According to Jim Gerrish, being a profitable livestock producer is less about livestock management and more about land management. More specifically, it’s about taking care of the land in a way that supports forage growth and enhances soil health so that livestock can essentially take care of themselves.

Earlier this spring, Gerrish was recognized with the 2025 Plant and Soil Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Kentucky. Upon receiving the award, he presented a seminar on the seven keys of profitable ranching that he has observed and implemented over the past 45 years, which is available to view on the KY Forages YouTube channel.

Evolving from agronomist to animal scientist through research and practical application, Gerrish shared how his professional and personal experiences living in hot, humid Missouri as well as cool, dry Idaho have shaped his career. In addition to being an expert in forage and livestock management, Gerrish became well-versed in farm accounting when he started using his skills to consult with others. “What started as just a little degree in agronomy has become a much larger involvement in the overall ranching world,” he said.

To be frank, Gerrish said ranching is not a particularly profitable business. In fact, the average cow-calf operation in the U.S. earns roughly a 1.5% return on investment per year. He posited that an emphasis on individual animal performance limits ranching profitability, whereas a greater focus should be placed on overall land management. Therefore, he provided the following concepts for farmers to keep in mind to help improve their bottom line.

Ranching is a land-based business. Think of stocking rate as your supply and carrying capacity as your demand. Gerrish said stocking rate is a primary determinant of profitability, with more animals generating more revenue. Additionally, stocking rate can be a key indicator of animal performance — a higher stocking rate makes for more competition and less selective grazing. However, as stocking rate increases, individual animal performance will decline after a point, and production per animal only improves up to a point. The goal is to find the economic optimum stocking rate between those two points.

“We can endure a surprisingly high drop in individual animal performance and still increase profitability,” Gerrish said. “That is because this is a land-management, resource-based business, and the livestock are incidental.”

Gerrish prompted the audience to consider the investment in land compared to that of livestock on a ranch. He estimated the value of assets like land ownership, property taxes, seed, fertilizer, and fencing in a pasture system is likely three to five times greater than the value of livestock.

“If we think about profitability as return on assets, we better be focusing on where most of your assets are invested. It’s in the land, not the livestock,” Gerrish said. “That’s why we need to get more out of every acre, not every cow.”

You can have too many cattle. “You can never have too much grass or money, but you can have too many cattle, and this is the situation many ranchers find themselves in,” Gerrish said. He continued to explain that excess forage creates opportunities to expand upon existing enterprises or enter into new ones. Likewise, with more capital, farmers have opportunities to buy more livestock, lease more land, or buy in hay. But overstocking pastures with more cattle — or any other type of livestock — can reduce productivity and profitability of a pasture.

Do not calve in the winter. According to Gerrish, this is the concept that most producers could change that would produce the single-biggest boost to their bottom line. He explained that winter calving creates the highest energy demand at the time of year when feed is most expensive — often in the form of hay. On the other hand, shifting the calving season to late spring or early summer when pastures are actively growing allows cows to harvest their own feed to satisfy their energy needs.

Water makes grass grow. “Don’t think about this as how much rain is falling outside; think of this as water that effectively gets into the soil profile,” Gerrish said. “As we can store more water in the soil profile, our yield per inch of water goes up.”

In terms of pasture management, the more biomass in a field results in more water being used for plant transpiration and less water being used for evaporation. When pastures are overgrazed and soil is exposed, the opposite is true: more water being used for evaporation instead of plant transpiration. Moreover, by maintaining healthy forage growth aboveground, plants establish robust root systems belowground, which further enhances the water holding capacity of the soil.

Time management matters more than spatial management. Gerrish said the effects of the grazing period are mostly negative — photosynthesis is diminished, the root system contracts, and energy flow to the soil from plants is reduced. The only truly positive impact is nutrient deposition from urine and manure. Conversely, the recovery period is a time when photosynthesis ramps up, the root system expands, energy flow to the soil from plants returns, and nutrients from animal excretions start breaking down.

Overgrazing is a function of poor time management, and it can happen when grazing periods are too long or when recovery periods are too short. When animals stay on pasture for too long, they will graze forage regrowth and continue to push plants into a negative energy balance. When animals return to a recovering pasture too soon, plants may have not yet reached a positive carbohydrate balance.

Focus on what you can control. Gerrish referred to cows on pasture as employees of the pasture. Therefore, the role of pasture managers is to create and control a working environment where their “employees” can thrive. Other factors within farmers’ control are maintaining pasture infrastructure, marketing livestock products, and planning for the future.

Have no fear of wasting grass. Farmers must not be afraid to leave residual in a pasture when rotationally grazing. To encourage this, Gerrish showed results from a study that compared residual height to forage regrowth rate after a grazing event. Pastures that were grazed down to 2 inches took 64 days to produce 1 ton of feed per acre. Leaving 4 inches of stubble height, on the other hand, allowed forage to regrow at a faster rate, taking only 40 days to produce 1 ton of feed per acre.

“That’s a 60% increase in yield by leaving 2 more inches of grass,” Gerrish said. “If you waste more grass, you will grow more grass.”