Herd Quitter™ Blog
Why Don’t All Seedstock Producers…
Treat their cows tougher than you treat your cows? Develop bulls on forage – with nothing but starch-free supplements? Evaluate and score bulls for disposition? Evaluate and score bulls for feet and leg conformation? Evaluate and score bulls for preputial prolapse...
Getting Your Money’s Worth
When you purchase bulls, cost is always a factor – but it should not be the only factor. First and foremost, you should consider the program behind the bulls. Bulls that are produced in a program that aligns with your long-term goals are worth a whole lot more...
Security
When you consider the future, how secure are you with the direction your cow-calf program is headed? Based on what I have been reading and hearing, many (perhaps most) cow-calf producers lack security. They have reason to believe their program is not where it...
Retired Husband
After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Wal-Mart. Like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. My wife, however, is like most women. She loves to browse and leaves me with endless time to fill. ...
The First Step
It has recently come to my attention that many cow-calf producers are upset and frustrated with the direction their operation is headed. They have been brought to the realization that other cow-calf producers are two to four times more profitable than they are. ...
Opportunities To Advance
Nearly all the people, in any business, belong to the status quo herd. That is why it is called status quo. They do things pretty much the same way everyone else in that business is doing them. They are content with being average. They will never have a competitive...
Top 10 Reasons for Buying a Bad Bull
By Mark Parker 10. Your neighbor took one look at him and immediately began fixing the border fence. 9. Do the math: He only settles 3/4 as many cows but at half the price! 8. Him being a six-way cross — maybe eight or nine — just think of the hybrid vigor impact. 7....
Cow Size and Profitability
By Kit Pharo For most of the last three decades, Pharo Cattle Company pretty much stood alone in promoting the benefits of smaller cows. Among the high-input, big-cow, status quo seedstock producers, we were the butt of many jokes. That did not...
Supply and Demand
For the most part, cattle prices go up and down as a result of supply and demand. When demand exceeds supply, prices go up – as they did in 2015. Cow-calf producers were selling 500-pound calves for an unbelievable $1500 per head. I don’t know of anyone who...
Willingness To Change
Whether you want to believe it or not, your survival in the cow-calf business will be dependent on your willingness to make some changes. Prices will continue to fall, while the cost of inputs will continue to rise. A 500-pound steer is worth $500 less than it was...