I know a guy who has made good money buying older bred cows out of the NE sandhills and then running them on irrigated grass. Some of those pound cows can go a couple of more years if he doesn't like cow prices. It is one enterprise where you can sometimes add weight, price per pound, and a calf for whatever it costs to run a cow.
A little story I heard years ago was about an outfit that had a registered cow herd, a large farming operation and was loosing money hand over fist to the point the bank was quitting them. As a last ditch effort they brought in some sort of advisor who went over their books and met with them and the bank. He convinced all parties to go along with a plan that had them disperse the registered cows, sell most of the farm equipment and get rid of hired help. They had order buyers buying ST cows that ran on everything- wheat, hay meadows, etc. They sold everything in the fall and made money for the first time in years.