How do ranchers make money? Raising and selling livestock, cultivating crops, or producing dairy products form the backbone of revenue generation for many ranches.
A ranch may raise cattle, pigs, sheep, ducks, goats, and more. Ranchers make money from the sale of each cow or other livestock. The hanging weight is the weight of the cow carcass after a butcher has slaughtered, cleaned, and processed it. It is usually around 60% of the live weight of the cow. To sell meat from your farm or ranch, you’ll need to pass USDA inspection.
Ranch owners’ income can be influenced by several factors, including the size of the ranch, the type of livestock raised, the location of the ranch, and the experience/skills of the owner. On average, you’ll need one acre per cow. However, small ranches run by people with off-farm jobs can be very profitable if they keep overhead low.
For example, you can make money by boarding horses. The average salary for an equine stable owner was $76,000 as of 2014.
Is buying a ranch a good investment? With prices for some prized ranches down as much as 30 percent and returns holding steady around 3 percent a year, ranch land is looking more attractive as an investment.
Farm ranchers’ hourly rates in the US typically range between $6 and $35 an hour. Farm ranchers earn the highest salaries in New York ($47,217), Vermont ($46,772), and New Jersey ($44,905).
Getting Started While a love for the job goes a long way, you also need resources (or money) to get started. It’s difficult to start from zero, but with a bit of capital, land, or ingenuity, soon you’ll be up and running at full capacity.
Some financial experts suggest that a well-run ranch can earn up to 3% of its total price in income back each year. Of course, not all ranches will see this kind of profitability – and many lose money.
According to the BLS, farmers, ranchers, and agricultural managers earn a median annual wage of $69,620 or $33.47 per hour as of May 2017. Those in the bottom 10 percent of wage earners make around $35,360 while those in the top 10 percent earn over $135,900.
A Ranch is not only a good investment but also provides many other benefits to the owner. For advice on finding great land, you may consult experienced brokers that know the location well.