Hello, I am Jim Elizondo, and I would like to share my story from my early years, when I sought to make my farm profitable.
Maybe you can relate to my story; I bought my 300-acre farm and immediately learned I wasn’t profitable.
I read an excellent book, "From Grass to Milk," written by McKeenan in New Zealand, in which he stated that the stocking rate determined profits more than any other factor.
I knew that I needed to maintain more productive units to dilute my yearly costs. But most of the grazing advice out there says not to increase your stocking rate immediately, and most grazing gurus, if not all, recommend de-stocking whenever the grass grows more slowly during the year. I could not reconcile these two very different recommendations. I did my calculations, and leaving more residual when the grass grew slower would mean I would be back on the first paddock sooner. During a slower growth period, this would result in overgrazed, unrecovered grass, which in turn overgrazes and shortens the root depth.
Ask me how I found out! Exactly, by following their advice, as I went to all the grazing conferences and schools, only to learn that they were dead wrong. Yes, I paid the price for my mistakes, the roots of my grasses were shortened, and my soil became susceptible to any type of drought. Then, I had to de-stock just as the gurus had suggested.
My problem with this is that when you are forced to de-stock, it typically occurs when livestock prices decline, resulting in a financial loss. Additionally, if you have valuable genetics, it can lead to even greater economic losses and years of work.
For years, I thought the solution to my problems was more land.
If only I could lease the neighbor’s pasture. If only I could buy another section. If only I had double the acres, then I’d finally have enough grass, enough room for more cows, and enough security to make the ranch really thrive.
That’s how most of us livestock owners think. We look out at our herds, at our pastures that seem to run out of grass too quickly, and the answer seems obvious: we just need more land.
However, I want to share with you something I learned the hard way, which changed everything for me.
It wasn’t more land I needed.
It was learning how to use the land I already had.
The Old Way of Thinking
I used to blame the land itself.
Maybe it just wasn’t fertile enough. Maybe the climate was too rough. Maybe the weeds were taking over.
So, naturally, I tried what most ranchers do:
I bought more hay.
And when those things didn’t stretch far enough, my mind went right back to the same thought: I need more acres.
But here’s the truth that stings a little: if we mismanage the land we already have, adding more acres just multiplies the problem.
The Turning Point
Back in 2007, I had a wake-up call.
I had just come off another season of feeding more hay than I could afford. My cows weren’t thriving like they should have been, my pastures looked tired, and the numbers weren’t adding up.
That’s when I started questioning the assumption I’d carried all those years: Was more land really the answer?
I decided to look at things from a different perspective. I went back to basics — plant physiology, soil life, animal behavior. I stopped relying on what “everyone else” said, and I started watching what nature herself was telling me.
And what I discovered completely reshaped the way I graze livestock.
The Key I Was Missing
The secret wasn’t more land.
It was how I was grazing the land.
I had fallen into the same trap as many others: selective grazing. The cows ate the sweetest bites, left the rest, and I thought that was just how it worked. But selective grazing is like letting your kids eat dessert for dinner every night — they’ll fill their bellies, but they won’t thrive, and pretty soon you’ll run out of balance.
Nature didn’t evolve for selective grazing. She developed with large herds of hindgut fermenters and ruminants moving together, taking everything down, and then moving on—that pattern left behind short, even stubble and plenty of rest time for regrowth.
When I started practicing what I now call Total Grazing, everything shifted.
What Total Grazing Taught Me
Why This Matters for Ranchers Like You
I talk to ranchers all the time who are stuck in the same cycle I was in. They’re looking at land listings, scratching numbers, wondering how they’ll ever afford the next lease payment or mortgage.
But here’s the freeing truth:
You might not need more land.
You may need to view the land you already own in a new light. To realize that under your boots, there’s more potential than you ever imagined.
When you learn to graze in sync with how grass actually grows — respecting recovery periods, taking pastures down evenly, and stockpiling for the tough season — you unlock abundance without adding acres.
A Story That Proves It
One of my students, Matt from Arkansas, shared something that stuck with me.
He said: “We ran out of cows. We need to double, easily double our stocking rate to make effective use of our forage.”
Think about that. He didn’t run out of grass. He ran out of cows.
That’s what happens when you stop chasing more land and start managing differently. The land produces so much more that your problem flips. You don’t have to feed more hay; you have to buy more cattle just to keep up.
Now that’s a good problem to have.
The Mindset Shift
I’ll be honest: this isn’t just about grass and cows. It’s about mindset.
For years, I had been operating from a mindset of scarcity. “There’s not enough.” “I need more.” “If only I had what the neighbor has.”
But once I learned how to graze for abundance, everything flipped. I began to see the land not as a limitation, but as an opportunity.
And here’s the funny thing: when you take care of the land you have, opportunities for more land often come to you. Neighbors see what you’re doing and want you to lease theirs. Investors want to work with you. Suddenly, the land seems to multiply — not because you bought it, but because you stewarded what you already had.
What You Can Do Next
If you’re reading this and nodding your head because you’ve felt that same pressure — the feeling that you need more land just to stay afloat — let me encourage you:
Start by asking a different question. Instead of “How can I get more acres?” ask:
The answers to those questions will free you faster than any land purchase ever could.
Ranching Made Simple is a resource that allows you to begin rethinking grazing without incurring significant investments.
Learn how to graze with RMS for only $7 for the first month. Get the online course + the RMS membership,
Use Code: 40OFF at checkout. Promo runs until the end of Sept.
Sing up at www.rwranching.com/ranchingmadesimple
Final Thoughts
I used to think my future depended on getting more land.
Now I know: it depended on my learning how to see the land differently.
Total Grazing showed me that the real wealth is already under our feet. It’s in the soil life, in the grass, in the cattle that respond calmly when they trust us, and in the freedom that comes when we’re no longer slaves to hay or debt.
So, if you’ve been thinking that I just need more land, maybe you don’t.
Learn how to graze with RMS, only $7 for the first month. Get the online course + RMS membership. Use Code: 40OFF at checkout. Promo runs until the end of Sept.
Thank you for listening. I hope this podcast has made you realize that you already manage enough land to double or triple your herd or flock size. I hope to see you at Ranching Made Simple, the best way to start your successful grazing journey.
Subscribe to my weekly blog at www.rwranching.com/blog or on my YouTube channel under Real Wealth Ranching by Jim Elizondo.
May God bless you all!
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