This is kind of sobering and not real enticing to cow-calf producers, but cow-calf production from a financial standpoint has performed, over time, well below a CD at a bank.
The key to the system began with free land, which migrated to cheap land, and now rests on inherited land. Land appreciation is what has always made the system work, but land values relative to agriculture output have increased by such a margin that acquiring additional land is a course for only those with tremendous equity.
