Visualize, if you will, an old cowpoke riding an old plug horse that stumbles along with its head just a foot off the ground. The cowpoke represents a lot of today’s cow-calf producers — perhaps most of today’s cow-calf producers. The old horse represents an outdated paradigm that will not allow the producer to be profitable. If the producer doesn’t change horses, he will eventually go out of business, or be forced to subsidize his business with outside income. At that point, the business is no longer working for him. He is working for the business.
The old-horse paradigm is the result of a time when land was unbelievably cheap — at least by today’s standards. It is also the result of cheap feed and cheap fuel. Gasoline could be purchased for 25 cents per gallon in the early 1970s. Labor was cheap — and equipment was cheap. The old-horse way of doing things made sense 40 to 50 years ago. Unfortunately, that era is over — and it ain’t coming back! The old-horse paradigm also continues to be pedal-to-the-metal focused on increasing pounds per animal (bragging rights) — at the expense of pounds per acre (profit).
The new-horse paradigm is focused on making the most of FREE solar energy — instead of fossil fuel energy. It requires very few outside inputs. The cost to produce a pound of beef is often half that of the industry average. The new-horse paradigm is also focused on increasing pounds per acre — instead of pounds per animal. There is a BIG difference! Many PCC customers have successfully reduced their cost of production, while increasing their total production. There is a reason our customers are the most profitable cow-calf producers in the world.
The interest in our 2020 bull sales was totally unbelievable! As expected, many of the bulls were purchased by repeat customers — but there was an unusually high number of new customers wanting to purchase their first PCC Solar Bull. They see the light and are very excited about creating a better future for their families. They know the old horse needs to be put out to pasture. They know that if they don’t change horses, they will eventually go broke — forcing their kids and grandkids to get jobs in the city.
It’s as though the beef industry is at a major turning point in which a high percentage of cow-calf producers finally understand what Pharo Cattle Company has been talking about and promoting for the last 30 years. We really get pumped up visiting with these producers because they’re pumped up. They are excited about taking the first few steps of the “Ten Steps to Double Your Profits.” They all wish they had started sooner — but we assure them that in just a few years, they will be two to five times more profitable than all of their neighbors.