It's probably the most overlooked part of the game, too. Nutrition is the most important thing to raising and hauling bucking cattle. I use all portable panels and have no problems with them, and I can set them up however I want them and change it at any time. Priefert manufacturing provides all the equipment I need. Working pens and all the other tools can be added as you go along, and there are a lot of portable panels these days stout enough for bucking bulls. Having enough pasture to run the amount of bulls you have, places to separate them if they don't get along, and a way to capture them is a good start.

I've kept my cattle in places that were not suited for bucking stock at all, and it's just a complete headache.

It doesn't have to be fancy, just practical. The first thing, and one of the most important things about getting started, is having a good facility. I hope it gives those of you who are interested in owning bucking stock get a little foundation to build upon. So here are a few things I was able to learn on my own and from my peers. And then I realized it was OK to ask, and even if I didn't agree with everything, you can learn something from every person you meet. So it took a while, but eventually, I got enough figured out to get by. I'm a naturally shy person, and it was always hard for me to ask those questions. I didn't really know what the best feed was, or where to haul them, or even how to flank them. I had a lot of really good help when I first got started, but I also had to go through some unnecessary trials. So I just wanted to give everyone a little insight on getting started in the business. Every young girl who reaches out to me on how I got my start, and how they can start in the business themselves, just makes me smile all the way through.

There are so many people who contact me on how to get started raising bulls. I was around a lot of good bull men and women from the start, and I learned a lot from just listening, but I will tell you that getting started was one of the hardest parts of my job. When I first started, there were a lot of things I wanted to know that I was too shy to ask about. Montana native Mesa Pate is part of new generation of stock contractors.

Raising bulls for profit