I’ve been getting a lot of good stuff from Farnam Street lately. This week was no different. A quote from one of their “Tiny Thoughts” in their blog had this to say, “A lot of mistakes come from copying people playing a different game than you.”
I thought this was about 99% correct for the agricultural industry! We try to copy the corporate farms, who often times don’t have a profit motive. We try to copy the seedstock producers, who can afford to subsidize their operations with high-cost inputs. We try to copy the large feedlots, who have minimal margins but on thousands of head.
None of these will work for the common producer! These are all games that we can’t play, nor should we want to play. Those guys deal with scale, margins and turnover that won’t work for us. Heck, it doesn’t work for them either without some form of government subsidy.
There is a better way! Pharo Cattle Company has shown over and over and over again that ranching can be profitable and enjoyable. It starts with the right genetics. Add in some “outside-the-box” thinking with adaptive grazing, direct marketing and calving in sync with nature and you are on your way!
Don’t get tricked into following a game you can’t win. Improve your genetics, reduce your inputs and surround yourself with people who will help you reach your goals!