A ranching management clinic focusing on profitability will be held Aug. 4 at the Bee County Expo Center, 214 S. FM 351, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The “Profiling Profitable Ranchers” clinic sponsored by the Texas Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) will be headlined by Dave Pratt, who teaches “Ranching for Profit.” Successful ranchers in the region also will present information about their individual operations.

Registration and coffee will be at 8:30 a.m. Morning sessions will include:

- Steven Lukefahr of Lukefahr Ranch presenting “Every Angle Counts, Making Cattle Profitable on Small Ranches.” Lukefahr operates a cow-calf operation outside of Kingsville on approximately 300 acres. He has implemented planned grazing and genetic selection into his herd while minimizing as many inputs costs as possible. Lukefahr has excelled at selling products, rather than commodities, to create a business model that generates a per acre net livestock income much higher than the combined income of livestock and wildlife on many conventional operations.

- Daniel Boone, manager of the 24,000-acre San Pedro Ranch presenting “Beyond Conventional Ranching on Large Ranches.” Boone has spent his entire life working for and managing large ranches in western Dimmit County. Daniel operates a low-input, large scale rotational grazing system across the entire ranch. Business planning, expert stockmanship and savvy marketing have led the ranch to be profitable in a number of livestock ventures including seedstock production and custom grazing. The livestock operation on the ranch compliments a very successful wildlife program. Boone will also provide insight into commercial hunting operations on the ranch.

- And one of the most sought after speakers and respected authorities on sustainable ranching in North America, Dave Pratt, presenting his “Ranching for Profit” session, “Working in the Business vs. Working on the Business.”

Pratt has been teaching the “Ranching for Profit School” all over the world since 1992, has worked with hundreds of ranchers’ businesses on three continents and has earned a reputation for innovative teaching. He is known for breaking down complex concepts into simple, common sense principles and for finding simple, practical alternatives to increase profitability. His program has benefited thousands of families and influenced the management of millions of acres.

After the lunch and trade show at noon, the afternoon session will continue with Pratt’s “Ranching for Profit” sessions, “Wealthy on the Balance Sheet but Broke at the Bank”; “Three Secrets for Increasing Profit” and “Crunching the Numbers. “

Registration is $25 and includes lunch. For more information or to register by July 29, call 358-1178, ext. 3.