The $5,000 Cow Question: Stay, Sell, or Step Aside?

By 7:00 a.m., the phones are already ringing.

Ranchers from every corner of the country want to talk about one thing: the market.

"Should I sell? Should I keep 'em? Should I just wait this thing out?"

Jonathon Haralson has heard it all. And lately, he hears it every day.

The cattle market, once limping along on thin margins and borrowed hope, is now roaring. Steers that once pulled $1.34 per pound are pushing $5,000 a head. The kind of numbers that make you consider retirement. Or at least start Googling 1031 exchanges.

But in a solo episode of Your Ag Empire, Haralson dials the emotion down and the realism up. Because while the market may be hot, the decision to sell out—or stay in—is anything but simple.

"We're creatures of habit," Haralson says. "We remember 2015, and what happened after. Most of us didn't forget."

That memory lingers: a sharp rise followed by an even sharper fall. And now, ranchers 10 years older and not necessarily richer are staring down another fork in the road.

Haralson walks listeners through the math. 500 cows at $5,000 apiece. $2.5 million. Take out the debt. Subtract the taxes. You're left with maybe a million dollars in cash. Sounds like a win—until you remember it took 40 years of sweat to get there.

"I hate for you to work 30, 40, 50 years and sell those cows only to come out with pennies," he says.

Instead of quick exits, Haralson urges strategy. Succession planning. Owner-finance options. Structures that allow producers to exit the daily grind but keep some equity in play. Most of all, he preaches partnership.

"Maybe it's not someone in your family. But there's a young guy out there who wants in. Find him. Set him up. You're not giving him anything. You're giving him a chance."

It's a message not just about money, but about meaning. In Haralson's world, ranching isn't a career. It's a legacy. And legacies, he says, shouldn't be liquidated without a plan.

Beyond finances, Haralson talks market fundamentals. Supply's still low. Exports are in flux. Packers are watching closely. And every producer has a role in keeping the system stable—by staying current, managing risk, and avoiding the pitfalls of "oil boom" spending.

"Big profits make for wasteful spending," he warns. "We've seen it before. Don't do something stupid just because it feels good."

With a blend of candor, hard math, and a cowboy's pragmatism, Haralson lays out the case for caution and clarity in a market that tempts emotion.

"You need a five-year plan. A 10-year plan. Not just a guess and a gut feeling."

In the end, whether you keep the cows or sell the whole herd, Haralson wants one thing for every rancher: a choice rooted in knowledge, not fear.

"Don't wait for the market to come to you," he says. "Go to the market. Know where you want to be. Then act like it."