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Ranchonomics

108. Cover Crops, Cattle & Cash Flow: A Better Ranch Management Strategy — Kevin Wiltse

Tuesday · 21 min · Episode 108 · 18.1 MB
0:00-21:34

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Can cover crops actually make your operation more profitable? In this episode, John Haskell sits down with Kansas farmer and rancher Kevin Wiltse to discuss how integrating livestock into a dryland cropping system has transformed the economics of his operation. Kevin shares how his family's fifth-generation farm shifted from viewing cover crops as an expense to treating them as a profitable forage enterprise, creating additional income while reducing herbicide and fertilizer costs.

The conversation explores the practical realities of making cover crops work in a semi-arid environment, including grazing management, species selection, seed costs, and measuring profitability. Kevin explains why success comes from evaluating the entire system instead of individual enterprises, and how stacking multiple sources of revenue on the same acres has helped his operation remain profitable, even during challenging years for traditional row crop farming. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this conversation.

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In this episode, we cover:

  • Why Kevin transitioned from viewing cover crops as a cost to treating them as a forage enterprise
  • How integrating livestock can offset lower crop yields through additional revenue and reduced input costs
  • Practical guidelines for selecting cover crop species and managing grazing in a dryland system
  • How cover crops have reduced herbicide and fertilizer costs on Kevin's operation
  • How stacking livestock, forage, seed production, and cash crops can significantly increase profit per acre
  • Why adapting farming systems to local rainfall and growing conditions is essential for long-term success

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