“Marisa keeps track of the previous nutrition, vaccination protocols, whether or not the set of calves is bunk-broke, and compliance with the packers,” Hands explains. “Our goal is to have as much information as possible, especially when we’re filling pens with younger cattle.”

It’s all part of the pasture-to-plate journey, especially as the Hands family incorporates electronic identification (eID) tags into the operation. They can correlate the ranch tag the calf arrived with to the lot tag number, in turn assisting carcass data collection at the plant and back to performance data from the feedlot.

Other industries, such as poultry and pork, can market their livestock within a matter of days and months, Hands says. In the beef industry, it’s several years (approximately 30 months) before producers see a return on investment.

In the market

“We’ve worked to be in the market regularly,” Hands explains. “We’ve found that it works well, and we also understand that market opportunities change with the scale of an operation.”

They’ve found that when partnering with their customers on a pen of calves, each party can sell cattle twice and both have an interest and risk in the cattle.

“With the 30-month turnaround, the changes in markets are subject to the elements, making risk management important,” Hands explains. “We can try to buy when the stars align or watch markets all day long, but we also have to be realistic.”

That reality hits hard when Hands and his crew are finding cattle to fill pens. It comes down to the quality of cattle.

“In the ’80s, we saw the cattle hitting 45% Choice,” Hands says. “Today, that number sits on either side of 80%. We have to be really good to get premium cattle and improve genetics. That starts with working with our customers.”

The ups and downs of cattle markets are not new. In 2013 and 2014, high prices following a drought affected the entirety of the country, followed by a tough couple of years of markets. How did the industry work through those?

“For us, we took advantage in the good times to make improvements — whether that be genetics, machinery, and other capital improvements,” Hands says. “In the tougher times, we may have culled a few more cows or are realistic of a group of calves and their potential. No matter what though, we are consistent in what we do on an annual basis.”

Benefit of diversity

Hands also has an interesting approach to the broader picture of the entirety of the operation. He uses the livestock as a marketing tool and, in turn, a buyer of the farm’s product, using feed resources.

“We’re in the business of feeding ruminant animals. As long as they have water and a volume of feed, we can make it work,” Hands says. “These animals have two places to go — the dead pile or a dinner plate. We’re here to make the highest-quality protein source for human consumption.”

Whether you’re in the cow business or selling cattle to a packer, the message is the same: Find a method that works for you to make the bottom line black.

Editor’s note: Lauren Brinegar is a freelance writer and cattlewoman from Liscomb, Iowa.