| |
When we see the letters CEO, most
of us think of a business term meaning “Chief Executive
Officer”. But the letters can mean something else to us....
“Change Equals Opportunity”.
The Agriculture business is always changing. Markets are
constantly adjusting on the input side, as well as the sell
side. So, if they are changing, there must be opportunity....
Many of us were anticipating higher cull cow prices this summer,
due to the national beef herd average being down. However, the
low milk price has hurt our friends in the dairy industry so
badly, they are slaughtering cows left and right. Too many dairy
cows in the slaughter market has hurt our beef cull prices.
Seems like every time you turn around there is another dairy buy
out taking effect. This is a change from what we had expected.
So, where is the opportunity? Everyone has to look at their own
operation and answer that for themselves.....
If I could just touch on one issue, it would be the price of
hay. In 2008 when milk prices where at a record high, dairy
farmers purchased alfalfa hay like it was going out of style. Of
course, competition from the export market didn’t help either.
Prices ran thru the roof, upward of $285.00 per ton in the
Columbia Basin. Fast forward to 2009, the milk price is
terrible, exporters are bleeding from their catastrophic looses,
and hay prices are back around $145.00 per ton. The opportunity
is now, to lower your input costs. Who knows where feeder hay
prices will end up, but surely they will be cheaper than 2008!
Some may want to take a look at the opportunity of carrying
calves thru the winter, or adding a few cows to the herd. The
change in the hay price should mean an opportunity for your
operation. Check it out. You might like what you will find....
As Angus breeders, we have been hit with the issues of
Arthrogryposis Multiplex (AM) and Neuropathic Hydrocephalus
(NH). We should look at this as a change in our breed that will
equal an opportunity. When the testing became available, we
started testing every animal in our herd that was a suspected
carrier. We found a few. That gave us the opportunity to cull
them, then purchase other AMF genetics, that actually helped
improve the genetics of our herd. Yes, the testing is expensive,
and tedious to do, but the outcome is worth it. It gives us the
opportunity to help eradicate these issues from the Angus breed,
and actually make the breed stronger. We also decided we would
test every bull we market, whether he was a suspected carrier or
not. This has given us the opportunity to grow our market share
as all of our customers now have the assurance the bull they
purchased is not a carrier.
Change can come in many forms. As your operation sees change, I
challenge you to look for the opportunity. It is there, you just
have to find it!
Mike Hajny
WSAA Director |
|
|
