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September 21, 2011
Wes Tiemann

Wes Tiemann

Association Perspective

The gold standard

For the sake of staying out of political trouble, I will cut right to the chase in regard to current monetary issues. Investors are flat scared and confused about the direction of the economy. The attempts to correct these conditions from our friendly "Big Brother" seem to only make things worse. As history shows, tangibles become increasingly enticing as investments when there is unrest in the dollar. As gold breaks new records every week, I assume that there is little faith in our dollar and less faith in policy direction to correct our recession.

As a rule, we know smart investors diversify. So what's more attractive than gold? Black gold! Yes, that's right, I am talking about oil, but more importantly I am talking about black dirt and black cows. Most people realize you can't eat gold nuggets or power your house on gold bars. When the world is this short on land and protein and this long on people, I put my money on the things that feed a growing population.

Each time a new piece of property sells, we seem to find more outside competition from the non-farming sector. It just happens to be coming from the world's largest and most influential investors. The firms that set trends are buying up acreage by the sections, and not to develop golf courses or strip malls. Do you suppose the Warren Buffets of the world buy all this ground for recreation, to put on a cowboy hat or drive a combine? No, they see profitability in agriculture. They see food shortage and potential crises before they see the dot-com or housing bubble inflating again.

We are the stewards of perhaps some of the most potentially valuable assets in the world. The issue becomes: Do we take ownership of it or become custom labor for the rich and famous? Maybe the world's greatest worry is not where to find food but who will be there to raise, care and harvest it. As generations are removed from the farm and ranch, we have few people with the animal husbandry skills, knowledge and work ethic to raise a shortage of protein for a surplus population. Skilled labor in the cattle business in the future may be as rewarding as the benefit packages of SEIU members. So my advice is to hold onto your "Black Gold," it might become the new gold standard!

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Editor's Note: Regional Manager Wes Tiemann covers Region 2, including the states of Iowa and Missouri. Click here to find the regional manager for your state.


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