Veebaray Cattle Co

We raise cattle, but are really in the solar energy business.  Every acre of the ranch is a solar panel to capture sunlight, soak up rainfall and grow grass.  Planned grazing is the tool to influence energy flow, water cycling, nutrient cycling and community dynamics in our grassland ecosystem.  We graze in ways that positively reinforce this cycle, improving the land for future generations.  Truly symbiotic, healthy soils grow more grass and capture more solar energy for our livestock to convert into valuable products.

Regenerative grazing is critical to reaching that end and much of our current focus is on supporting infrastructure – fence and water – and making these capital expenditures cost effective requires thorough analysis.  

We avoid using the same part of the ranch in the same season year after year. For example, we no longer have dedicated ‘sacrifice’ areas that are used in the same season for the same purpose every year. That approach trends toward declining ecosystem function and is contrary to our mission. In cooperation with MT Fish Wildlife and Parks, we follow the Gus Hormay pasture rest/rotation system.  This system rotates our pastures through ‘early’, ‘late’ and ‘rest’ grazing periods.  ‘Early’ pastures are grazed during the growing months of May, June and July.  Grazing in ‘late’ pastures occurs after the majority of species have set seed (August-November) and ‘rest’ pastures are not grazed at all for a year.  Every pasture is ‘early’ one year, ‘late’ the next and then completely rested in the 3rd year.  The system is designed to vary the location and timing of animal impact around the ranch.  Our goal is to promote diverse plant communities that are desirable for grazing, resilient to weather challenges and provide wildlife habitat.  In addition to the rest/rotation system, we strive to graze as many days of the year and move animals onto fresh grass as often as possible.  In some parts of the ranch, this means we move animals and poliwire every day. In other areas where terrain or water resources are limiting factors, we may aim to reduce grazing periods to ten days or less.  We experiment with and employ whichever method (rotating through permanent paddocks;  intensive strip grazing with temporary fences; herding/instinctive migratory grazing) is best suited to the situation at hand. Year ‘round managed grazing is a product of planning, adapting to conditions and monitoring the results.

Many folks that adopt managed grazing eventually find their cows aren’t well adapted to new management conditions. Some find that their ranch’s resources are better suited to a different class of livestock. We are undertaking both approaches – genetic selection for cows adapted to this ranch and seasonal stocking for additional income, animal impact and flexibility. To really make those efforts worthwhile, we also need to budget and market intelligently. We are influenced by Ranching for Profit techniques, Bud Williams sell/buy marketing and the BOD’s experience in professional finance. The manager/mentors and several members of the board are RFP and/or sell/buy marketing school graduates. We meet regularly for strategic planning and business monitoring.

We are big fans of low stress animal handling (stockmanship) as taught by Bud Williams, Whit Hibbard, Steve Cote and others.  We also have a budding interest in Instinctive Migratory Grazing that may play a role in the future.  While our animals are generally in good health, there are always individuals that require assistance at calving, special care or treatment for illness.  In those cases, we follow Beef Quality Assurance guidelines, the advice of our veterinarian and sometimes use alternative therapies.