Trust in Beef - A Powerflex Partner Empowering Rotational Grazing

Powerflex Supply is thrilled to announce our partnership with Trust in Beef, a collaborative program encouraging ranchers to implement changes across impactful areas of the beef industry. This program allows beef marketers to access established case studies and data that support the mission to promote methods of beef production that contribute to climate-smart practices.

Trust in Beef supplies valuable materials to support your efforts in managing your ranch and its natural resources. Grazing methodology paired with animal, land, and water management are key pillars of creating technical resources for producers like you. With secession and profitability planning at the forefront, this partnership will provide you with many areas of support to evolve your business, no matter your level or size of operation. 

Trust In Beef™ is a Farm Journal initiative and a collaborative value chain program designed to empower ranchers to enact meaningful regenerative-related change over the next five years while providing beef marketers with concrete case studies and data on beef’s upward sustainability trajectory. Together, we can promote the great principles and practices already being achieved by beef producers while highlighting the climate-smart practices they adopt in their continuous journeys to more sustainable production.

• Grazing: Forage management begins with soil health. Get guidance on soil testing and pasture management to optimize your operation. TIB shares stories, downloadable resources, videos and more benchmarks that provide context about how you can customize methods to meet the needs of your unique operation - have a look.
• Animal Management: Build trust and accountability in your operation by putting some industry best practices on paper. The resources TIB outlines the daily tasks that require strategic management. To execute tactics well, a north star must guide each action. Each action has a means to an end goal: animal health. Find resources here.
• Land Management: Invest in holistic planning and infrastructure to maximize the potential of your land and protect your most valuable resources. With everything from soil nutrient restoration to biodiversity and an integrated livestock and crop system, there are many factors to consider when considering your land. Learn more straight from the horse’s mouth.
• Water Management: Resource analysis and planning can help you maintain herd performance during the most challenging times of the year. This key piece of the puzzle will make or break your operation. You’ve worked to improve your infrastructure, and the plan is for it to remain intact from spring to winter, ensuring consistent access to water and establishing efficient water systems. Find more articles about how to do this.
• Succession Planning: Determine how your operation will transition to the next generation to preserve your legacy and ease your family's concerns. Nearly all ranches in the United States are family-owned operations, but only a fraction are handed down to a second generation. More information and infrastructural support can help guide the next family member in taking on the successes and challenges of continuing heritage. Embrace your future with some tips here.
• Profitability & Efficiency: Maximize your margins by setting goals, tracking industry-specific benchmarks and evaluating your financial performance. Managing business goals in parallel with risk management can be a proactive approach to giving yourself and your operation some wiggle room regarding various expenses and reducing stress on your business's profitability. Read more for tips on feed costs, creating financial benchmarks and more.

Through thorough research, the Trust in Beef team has discovered several perspectives on how ranchers can manage their animals, land, and resources. These perspectives fall into three main categories: 

• No grazing management plan or GMP 
• Non-written grazing management plan
• Written grazing management plan

Looking at the big picture, we know that:

• 50% of all ranchers surveyed do not have a GMP, accounting for about 238 million acres 
• 40% of surveyed ranchers state they have a written plan or it’s pulled from memory, accounting for about 372 million acres 
• 10% of ranchers surveyed have a written GMP covering about 44 million acres

Roughly 66% of all ranchers surveyed said they had physically written down their GMP in some form or fashion. In comparison, about 37% had entered their plan as an electronic document, and 25% had a GMP template, either handwritten or documented. Even fewer ranchers use software to manage their plans - about 7%.

That said, the potential to provide a valuable platform to support ranchers with the ability to put pen to paper and reorganize thoughts into a format that can be distributed for the good of business owners and their teams stretches far and wide. Actionable recourse is our goal; it’s what drives us. Between both organizations’ resources, knowledge, and hands-on experience, the possibility of giving more back to the rancher through our collective means is plentiful. Just the thought of it excites us and encourages us to continue working hard for our friends, family, and community. We believe in this work. 

The Sustainable Ranchers Tour features leading sustainable ranchers advancing a regenerative future for America’s beef industry. In 2024, participants engaged with ranchers and farmers throughout a five-state tour, who shared their expertise in implementing regenerative practices while navigating the complexities of modern agriculture. Additionally, the tour offered access to technical resources from our esteemed partners, equipping attendees with the essential tools and knowledge to integrate these practices effectively into their operations.

The plan for the Sustainable Ranchers Tour is set in motion, with dates and locations available by early 2025. The Powerflex Supply team is preparing to distribute the show dates soon!

Powerflex Supply and Trust in Beef's goals align perfectly with their primary mission of focusing on ranchers' profitability in the context of rotational grazing and regenerative agriculture. We both prioritize generational ranching success through grazing best practices that create longevity and prosperity. We are looking forward to working with TIB as a partner to improve access, education, and resources in the agriculture business.

Visit Trust in Beef' s website, linked above, to learn more about its support.

For more information about their Sustainable Ranching Tour, stay tuned!