Last updated on November 7th, 2025 at 09:15 am
The Year they tried 'brand x'
Five ranches, Five lessons, one truth that brought them back.
Across the heart of ranch country — from the rugged country of Idaho and the grasslands of Oklahoma — a quiet pattern has repeated itself. Ranchers who had relied on Riomax® for years started to wonder: could they get the same results for less?
Each of these five cattlemen — Dain & Kent Rad (ID), Larry Morris (OK), Harold Gleason (OK), Brad Kavorik (NE), and Leslie & Jan Harrison (OK) — decided to find out. What they discovered was a shared truth: the “cheap” option often comes with the highest price tag.
For all of them, it started with good intentions — saving money, tightening margins, and making smart business moves in an unpredictable cattle market. But as one rancher after another learned, the cost of cutting corners didn’t just show up on paper; it showed up in the pasture, in the herd, and in the results that matter most.
The Temptation of "Cheaper"
For Dain and Kent Rad in Idaho, the decision came down to simple math.
“We probably tried Brand X because it was half the check,” Kent admitted. “They claimed to do the same thing for about half the cost.”
But when they switched, the cows told a different story.
“They wouldn’t eat it,” Dain said. “They were getting orange tint to their hides again — copper deficiency. We had a lot of cattle that weren’t cleaning.”
At first, they chalked it up to coincidence. Then came the breed-up numbers.
“We’d gone from barely doctoring any calves to treating fifty out of five hundred,” Dain said. “That’s when we knew we hadn’t saved a dime.”
When they went back to Riomax®, things leveled out fast — calmer cows, better conception, and calm mornings in the pasture. “We tried to save thirty or forty thousand,” Kent said, “and realized we hadn’t saved anything. We went back, and it just worked.”
The Hidden Cost of “Good Enough”
In Oklahoma, Larry Morris learned a similar lesson.
“I bought a couple [Riomax] tubs to help stretch the hay, and it worked,” he said. “My hay consumption went down like they advertised. The cows didn’t run for the troughs — they were content.”
But when his local supplier stopped carrying Riomax®, Larry tried to find a substitute. It was cheaper, yes, but not better.
“It took them three months to eat one tub,” he laughed. “I saved a lot of money — but it didn’t do no good. It was money wasted.”
When he switched back, the change was immediate.
“I had 100% conception, quicker breed back, no footrot, no respiratory,” Larry said. “The cows were healthier, and they just looked happy.”
He’s heard all the arguments about price, but his take is simple. “You can starve on protein,” he said. “I just like to see my cows fat and happy.”
The Lesson of Experience
A few hours west in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, Harold Gleason has been running cattle long enough to know that cutting corners usually comes with a cost. When input prices started climbing, he decided to test Riomax®.
“We went into it on a limited basis and saw favorable results,” Harold said. “The cattle were more content, hay use was down, and weaning weights went up.”
But when his supplier switched to another brand, Harold followed — and quickly saw the difference. “Coming out of winter, I just didn’t feel like we wintered as well,” he said. “The cows weren’t in the same body score and didn’t have the same appearance.”
He paused, thinking back.
“One of the toughest lessons you learn is that the cheapest is rarely the best,” he said. “Quality pays for itself. If you’ve spent forty years building your herd, it’s only reasonable to give them the best nutrition program you can.”
A Rancher’s Gut Knows
In the Nebraska Sandhills, Brad Kavorik has been using Riomax® for over a decade. For him, the switch wasn’t about curiosity — it was about doubt. After years of success, he wondered if the tubs were still doing as much as he thought.
“I went away from them for a little bit, tried other things,” he said. “And I guarantee you, there’s a difference.”
The numbers confirmed what his gut already knew. “The year I thought it was too expensive, it always ended up costing me. My opens went from 4 or 5 percent to 15 or 20,” Brad said. “I just couldn’t believe how healthy the calves stayed once I went back.”
After returning to Riomax®, the health, the conception, and the calm all came back with it. “You couldn’t get me to quit using it,” he said. “When that cow’s satisfied, you know you’re doing the right thing.”
For Brad, Riomax® isn’t just about the mineral — it’s about stewardship. “Let that cow do the work,” he said. “You’ll see it in your ground, your grass, and your cattle. It pays for itself — and then some.”
The Proof Is in the Cows
Leslie and Jan Harrison first reacted the way most ranchers do when they hear the price. “I said, ‘Ain’t no way I’m doing this!’” Leslie laughed. “But I told him, I’ll try.”
They split their herd in two — half on Riomax®, half not. It didn’t take long to see the difference. “Jan said, ‘What do you feed these cows and calves? These are the best-looking ones we’ve got.’”
That next spring sealed the deal. “The Riomax® cows had about 20% more calves on the ground,” Leslie said.
When a dealer later switched brands, the Harrisons followed — but their instincts kicked in fast. “You instantly have a gut feeling these ain’t working as good,” Leslie said. “So we went back.”
Now, they’re all in again. “You can waste money buying cheap stuff that don’t work,” he said. “The proof’s in the pudding.”
What Every One of Them Learned
Five ranchers. Five different operations. One shared realization.
When they left Riomax®, performance dipped — conception rates, calf health, feed efficiency, all of it. And when they came back, those numbers returned stronger than before.
“It’s expensive when you look at it up front,” said Dain Rad. “But it pencils out.”
“You just have to get over the hump of thinking, ‘That’s a lot of money,’” added Larry Morris. “It is. But it made you money.”
“Quality pays for itself,” Harold echoed.
Across every fence line, the message is the same: the cheap way isn’t always the smart way. Because sometimes the best decision isn’t trying the next best thing — it’s trusting what you already know works.