Our Year in Numbers - 2021
Our Year in Numbers
2020 was quite a year – and 2021 is starting off with a bang as well! I know we all got thrown quite a curveball and while the world is still trying to figure out what life with COVID will look like long term, we are all moving forward and trying to learn the new normal.
The day to day ranch operations were not drastically affected; however it was the processing and meat sales sides that were hit hard. We had initially planned on launching our meat program in 2020 with a variety of purchase options like curated boxes, famers markets, memberships, subscription boxes, restaurants etc. and with so many of those locations shutting down, we resorted to focusing on an online store which, thanks to you all, was as much of a success as we could have asked for. Plus, with the opportunity to join the Scissortail Park Farmers Market in the latter part of the summer, we ended up selling out within a few months!
Unfortunately, it became a stalemate with access to processors being limited so we opted to reset our focus for the time being onto some ranch improvements. So, in celebration of all that we achieved last year, mostly in part to our valuable partners of the ranch like you, we wanted to share our year in numbers with you!
Herd Demographics
Herd size (end of year): 7352020 calves: 201
Yearlings (2019 calves): 109
Breeding females: 249
Breeder bulls: 33
Meat program: 51
Number of herds: 3
Sale animals: 107 (sold spring 2020)
Farm & Ranch
New land purchased: 480 acresFencing built: 26,400 feet
Cable used: 30 miles
New fence posts: 2,640
Farmed crops: milo, peas, rye
Pasture grasses: midland 99 and love grass
Sprigged (the process of transplanting established grass roots): 120 acres
Bales of hay made:
444 of milo, 1400lbs per bale = 621,600 pounds
169 of peas, 1900lbs per bale = 321,100 pounds
1150 of rye, 1500lbs per bale = 1,725,000 pounds
Hardships
-A harsh and early winter storm caused frigid temperatures caused the loss of some older and weaker animals, nature is unfortunately unpredictable
-We lost some calves in the birthing process this spring – though this is rare, it can happen without cause
-More land was needed after the birth of so many calves, so it was a feverous search to add pastureland to the ranch to ensure the optimal acre/animal ration
Weather Occurrences
Hottest Day: 110 - July
Coldest Day: 15 - February
Rain: 17.49 inches
Total hours of daylight: 4,380
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And with all of that being said, we can acknowledge the successes and hardships felt in 2020, close that book and start writing our story for 2021. Be on the lookout for lots of new and exciting meat promotions, ranch events and bison updates!
Cheers to a great 2021! 
I just love this blog post and it’s transparent nature. Buyers need to know what it takes to keep a healthy herd, and that we are no match for Mother Nature. Bison are natural to the States, that’s why many of us raise them, but their life abs death are also processes of nature! Thanks so much for sharing these stats. Failure is actually the next best thing to success and it’s one of our most important teachers. Stay resilient!
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