Last updated on April 7th, 2022 at 08:25 am
finding ranch success: value-added programs and a business mindset
in large pastures and extensive grazing systems, Riomax tubs fit perfectly into the livestock management.
MEET BEATRICE ZUEGER
Valentine, Arizona
Two hundred and fifty square miles and 29 different pastures covering private, state and federal land. Anywhere from 600 to 900 cows, depending on rainfall or lack thereof and resulting pasture conditions. Elevation change from 3,200 feet of high desert in northwest Arizona to 6,500 feet mountainous lands.
The land resource areas are in various vegetation zones i.e. Grand Canyon Desert Shrub, Colorado Plateau Mixed Grass Plains, Arizona Interior Chaparral and Mogollon Plateau Woodland-Grassland. The X-One Ranch straddles Mohave and Yavapai counties, positioned between Historic Route 66 and Interstate 40.
Within the livestock management plan, however, one thing remains constant. The cattle are never without the minerals, vitamins and other ingredients in Riomax® tubs, specifically the Prograss360™ tubs.
Ranching in what is now Arizona began long before Arizona became a state. Arizona gained statehood in 1912 and “To my knowledge the first livestock operation came into the general area in the late 1860s and early 70s,” said Beatrice Zueger.
In fact, the X-One began as two ranches with what is now the lower headquarters first homesteaded in 1890. It changed hands several times over the years until the neighboring ranch, now the upper ranch, bought it in 1940. “Since then, it has always been one ranch and I have been able to keep (and manage) it that way,” she says.
The ranch came under its present ownership in 1977 and Zueger, who was born and educated in Switzerland, joined the operation in 1983. “I have an education in business and economics and was asked to help,” when the ranch was going through difficult times, she remembers. “I have been running the corporation, and I still do.”
While Zueger is a first-generation rancher, her husband, Charles Lange, is a fifth-generation cowman from an Arizona ranching family. The couple now manage the ranch together.
The ranch is primarily a cow-calf operation...
...with Black Angus cattle, commercial Black Angus cows and registered Black Angus Bulls. Depending on the year, they’ll wean from 600 to 725 calves, keeping replacement heifers. The rest are marketed either through private treaty or sold via National Livestock Auction. The ranch has a Herd Health program for all the livestock and is third party certified and audited.
Ranching is not necessarily a money-making business, Zueger wryly observes. To help move the needle on that situation, she takes advantage of a number of value-added certifications, such as NHTC (non-hormone treated cattle), age & source, verified natural, verified grass-fed, verified Black Angus as well as Beef Quality Assurance certified.
In addition, the ranch has been GAP certified for many years. However, Zueger has switched to IMI Beef Care. She made the switch to the IMI Beef CARE so the cattle would be attractive to more than one retail grocery chain throughout the country.
A supplement with the right certifications & the highest ROI
Given that degree of certification and the additional management necessary to keep it, Riomax® is a perfect fit. The proper mineral supplementation is essential in maintaining animal health and the digestive aids in Riomax® help the cattle utilize more nutrition from the forage they consume. The Prograss360™ is accepted by the American Grass-fed Association and complies with our IMI grass-fed certification.
That becomes even more important in a drought. In fact, that’s the reason Zueger switched to Riomax®.
Part of being certified is being audited by a third party. A lifelong learner, Zueger always queries the auditors, who visit ranches in different states, on what they know. During an audit, the auditor told Zueger about Riomax® and the results she had seen in her own herd.
Intrigued, Zueger dug deeper. Unfortunately, at that time, Rio Nutrition wasn’t shipping Riomax® tubs as far as Arizona. The cattle had long been on a mineral supplement but Zueger became disenchanted with the product when the company started fiddling with the ingredients without telling their customers.
About then, another drought hit and Zueger remembered what she had learned about Riomax®. She called and learned that another rancher in Arizona was using the tubs. “I got all the information and thought I’d give it a try.”
She had some pastures with old forage the cows wouldn’t eat.
That’s where she put Riomax® to the test. “Sure enough, those cows actually did well given the conditions. They utilized a lot of that old feed that I couldn’t get them to utilize before. On top of that, without having a spring, without having green feed, we had a pretty good conception rate.”
Zueger prefers the 125-pound tubs. Even in a sprawling, extensive grazing scenario with large pastures, the cattle are rotated so part of the ranch isn’t being grazed during the growing season. As the cattle change pastures, the Riomax® tubs go with them. Tubs of that size, she said, are easier to handle and move.
Beyond the native forge, the cattle get the Riomax® Prograss360™ supplement, organic Redmond natural salt and clean water. And that’s all they need.
Ranchers everywhere are challenged to do more with less, she said. “The cattle business today is very demanding and changes continuously. We have to become very creative to solve our issues.” For Zueger, that’s where Riomax® fits in the livestock management plan.
“I’m very happy with (Riomax®),” she said. “I do like the quality of it and I believe they (the cattle) are getting what they need.” Beyond that, she said consumption is self-regulated. “I have never detected that they (the cattle) are just camping out on the tubs.” That’s not counting the horses and the wildlife. “I have to say I think I have a few horses that are addicted to it.”
Beyond being satisfied with the performance Riomax® is giving her cattle, she recommends the tubs to other ranchers. “I recommend it because I just think it’s a better quality product overall and does not contain salt. And our cattle have been doing really well on it.”
