How Portable Corrals Can Streamline Your Operations

Many people remember the day when rotary dial phones gave way to touch-tone phones, but even with this major improvement, the phone was still tethered to the wall. The cordless phone helped a bit, but you still couldn’t go over 30 feet without losing the signal. If a businessman needed to make a call, he would either have to spend a quarter on a pay phone or head back to use the office phone. Then came the groundbreaking day in the early ‘90s when the first cell phones were introduced.

“The Brick” was bulky and unsightly, but it got the job done. Now that same businessman — or anyone else for that matter — could make calls from hundreds of miles away from the office and was only restricted by the distance to a nearby cell tower.

Over the years, vast improvements were made in the telecommunications field, and now we have candy-bar-sized phones that do 100 different things — including making phone calls. With the improvements in power, coverage and capabilities, we sometimes find ourselves thinking out loud, “I wonder what we ever did without them?” This example of forward-moving innovations is used to illustrate the huge impact that advancements in portable everything technology has had on modern life.

This impact is felt even on seemingly unlikely industries like homesteading and cattle ranching.

Thumbnail History of the Portable Corral

Portable corrals have been around for close to 40 years and were initially intended to make working small herds of cattle much easier for the homesteader. In 1987, cattleman Jon Mollhagen of Lorraine, Kansas, introduced the first portable hydraulic corral under the business name of Moly Manufacturing, which is still in operation today.

At first catering to the small-herd homesteader, that design was a huge improvement in the cattle industry, but it was not really portable in the sense we think of it today. Since then, Mollhagen has continued to improve on the original design and now deals with much larger concerns and true portability.

Fast forward to 2002, another Kansas cattleman, John McDonald from Abilene, rolled out the first truly portable hydraulic corral under the Rawhide brand, which drew the attention of the large cattle ranchers. Not only was it portable but it employed multiple pens and had a 200-head capacity. Both companies have continued to grow and evolve, and during this time, several other brands have come on the scene with their own unique designs, giving cattle ranchers numerous options in portable corral technology.

Why does the serious rancher need to consider investing in a portable corral, whether a corporate-run business or a homesteader? Which portable corral is the best for your ranch? How much of an investment are we talking about and how much return are you going to get on that investment?

Let’s address those questions and a few more. Although we are using cattle ranching as the primary example, these portable pens can be used with several kinds of livestock including horses, pigs, sheep and several others because they come in a variety of sizes, heights and configurations.

Why Invest in a Portable Corral? 

The most obvious and important reason is the ability to go where the cattle are. Free-ranging cattle don’t always end up where you want them when it’s time to work them or bring them home.

Most professional cattle ranchers use a rotational grazing structure, and some keep their cattle in different locations. Instead of bringing them “back to the office,” so to speak, to work them, with the portable corral you are able to take the office to them. These corrals also make customized cattle management possible. With dozens of shapes, sizes and attachments available through the many manufacturers, you are able to cut, hold, sort and treat your cattle wherever they are and in ways you never thought possible. Some configurations allow you to create two large fold-out pens that are able to hold a sizable number of cattle.

The quick, easy setup of many of the portable corrals available today is another compelling reason to consider investing in one. The advancements in technology and engineering have made it possible now for one rancher to drive the corral out to the range, drop and stabilize it, fold out all the pen sections and completely set it up for work — all by himself!

When shopping for a portable corral, be sure to check out the specialized features that can be found on the models from different companies.

One manufacturer may produce a corral with padded rails to cut down on the noise that steel components make compared to wood; another one may make special blinds that help keep a cow’s head down while still allowing the cow to see outside. You may find a unique system of louvers that allow the handler to see the cows without them seeing him or one corner of a setup may be set aside as a bud box whereas the main pen and alleyway have a rounded design that uses cattle’s natural circle-back behavior to your advantage.

You can also find a variety of squeeze chutes available, one of which may work perfectly for your needs. Keeping the cows and the workers safe is, of course, the greatest concern, and modern corrals are made to the highest degree of safety. Features such as swing-out panels, airless tires, padded head gates and built-in cattle-free zones have made cattle ranching as safe as it has ever been.

Which portable corral is best for your ranch? The beauty of these corral systems is that you don’t have to tailor your ranching practices to fit one of the models that are on the market. With all the configurations and options available, the question really should be, how can I have a custom system built that will fit my ranching practices?

How Much Do They Cost?

Make no mistake, the initial investment is considerable, ranging from $10,000 up to $80,000 or more, depending on size, construction, features, overall portability and ease of setup. The most common models average between $35,000 and $50,000, but even considering the high initial investment, the long-term savings can be even more significant.

For example, if you now maintain multiple permanent setups in different locations, you know that not only were the initial setup costs high, but continuous maintenance greatly adds to the annual cost. However, with the need for multiple setups eliminated, the overall costs are drastically reduced. There are several other financial factors to be considered, so be sure to talk to your dealer about the various cost/benefit ratios when shopping for your portable corral.

Having untethered access to one’s herd may have been a cattleman’s dream a few decades ago, but the portable corral has now made that possible. The substantial benefits in terms of versatility, durability and long-term savings will be appreciated long after the bee sting of the initial investment is forgotten.