How to Create a Ranching Business Plan
Starting any kind of business can be taxing, frustrating, time-consuming and expensive. However, if you manage to pull it off, you likely will get paid for all of that trouble--and then some. The ranching business is no exception. Like any other new business, whether you intend to seek investor capital or not, it is important to write a thorough business plan so you can convey a sense of professionalism and competence.
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Instructions
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Write an executive summary, beginning with a mission statement. This is a brief explanation of everything you have accomplished and seek to accomplish at your ranch. After the mission statement, detail the specific aspects of your ranch that set it apart from other ranches and tell its recent business history. Tell what kinds of livestock will be raised there, and give vital statistics for the location, such as land area, terrain and annual precipitation. Identify and demonstrate the qualifications of any partners or key employees who are involved with the ranch.
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Write a market analysis. This should detail the specific advantages and challenges associated with raising your specific breed of livestock in this area, as well as accessibility to necessary products and other levels of the business, such as transportation of livestock, meat, milk or wool. If you are raising beef cattle, for instance, provide details on local stockyards and your ability to sufficiently feed your herds in times of drought--as well as the probability of droughts occurring. Outline any other problems that similar ranchers have had in the region in recent years. Show that there is and will be adequate demand for your livestock. Describe your key personnel in-depth. For instance, if you are starting a ranch for racehorses, detail the credentials of your chief trainer or husbandry expert.
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Write a company description. This will show how your ranch will be specifically poised to deal with the problems that other ranchers have faced in the region in the past. Show how you will streamline the entire process of raising your livestock and selling your final product, such as transporting livestock to the stockyards yourself rather than relying on a third party. Describe specific advantages that your ranch will have over others in every step of that process. If you have the most experienced crew around, say that. If your ranch lies on high terrain where flooding is not a problem, say that.
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Write an organization and management section. Describe the various levels of authority on your ranch, from the ranch manager(s) to the hourly workers. Show how these various levels and functions will work together. For instance, one partner might be in charge of harvesting and storing hay, with a crew of workers under him, while another might be in charge of actually working the livestock with a separate crew. On a larger ranch, you might need a specialized mechanic. If you have anyone who is highly specialized--such as a partner who is also a veterinarian--make a note of that. Make a chart of all of this.
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Write a marketing and sales strategies section. Most types of ranches do not need a very aggressive or detailed sales model. For instance, beef ranchers will only need to show that they will have relations with a specific stockyard, and dairy ranchers will only need to show that they have a deal with a specific grocery chain. However, a horse rancher might need to give a more detailed explanation of how he plans to market "finished" horses to prospective buyers.
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Make a rancher's equivalent to a product line. In more detail than before, describe your specific breed(s) of livestock, its distinguishing attributes, its ability to handle the climate, its particular challenges and its resistance to local diseases.
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Write a funding request. This should detail the amount of money you will need, how you will use that money and information on any other funding requests you might make within the next five years.
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Detail your financials. Give specific information on the ranch's financial past, and make projections about its financial future, taking into account the chances of various "catastrophic" problems that could occur, such as droughts, tornadoes, floods, hard winters, diseases and predators.
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References
- Photo Credit cow image by david purday from Fotolia.com
