Ron Torell
Back to Basics:
The cattle industry’s glass is half full.
Those of us in the agriculture industry are generally glass-half-full type of people. Our optimism is now being tested. Expenses are gaining ground. Input costs for raw materials such as feed, fertilizer and parts have all skyrocketed to unbelievable levels, and there appears to be no end in sight.
On the income side, the market price for beef is declining primarily due to the struggling economy and lackluster demand for our product. Feeders, those individuals who bought and fed our calves and yearlings last summer and fall, are currently losing $200-$300 per head on those purchases. Those losses will be passed on to us in the next round of calf and yearling purchases on the video sales. Retail demand for our product has taken a hit due to the lagging economy and huge competing protein sources (pork and chicken). Who knows where the end is on this struggling economy?
Being a glass-half-full type of person, what are you to do? When you read about the most successful people in the world, their common characteristic is they don’t consider failure a possibility. That doesn’t mean the risks and downsides aren’t considered; instead, they are planned for, knowing and believing that challenges will be met and overcome.
I love the old saying, “He/she has a lot of heart.” What this means is the individual has a passion to succeed with a love of their life and work. An individual with a lot of heart will do whatever it takes to get the job done. When the going gets tough, individuals with heart get going. It shows in their positive attitude and actions. It is simply a pleasure to work and be around these individuals, regardless of their profession, regardless if the times are good or bad.
Attitude is everything
What does this article have to do with livestock production and marketing of beef cows? Just like riding a horse without heart, if you have to peddle yourself all the time to get the bovine job done, perhaps you do not have the heart and passion to ride out these down times. Hold your head up; maintain a good attitude. Concentrate on the things you have control over. Make sound management decisions. Follow the Boy Scout motto, “Be Prepared.”
It is times like these that good managers shine and poor managers pay the price for their lack of planning. Most of what we face in life is challenging. How we meet and handle those challenges determines our success or failure. Tough times make us appreciate the good times. Life is too short to spend it as a glass-half-empty type of person. As the lyrics of an old Randy Travis song go, “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.”
We live in a different world today than we did 20 to 50 years ago. Much of the current state of our industry has to do with factors beyond our control, be it political, environmental or a sign of the times. Historically, agriculture has had ups and downs. The next high may be even higher, and the next low may be even lower. This we can count on.
Bottom line, those with heart and with a strong will to survive — do! All the stress and setbacks can lead us to take our eyes off the ball, to lose our focus, to make poor management decisions and lose our positive attitude. Remember, the glass is half full!
As always, if you would like to discuss this article or simply would like to talk cows, contact me at 775-738-1721 or torellr@unce.unr.edu.