Herd Quitter™ Blog
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...
Preparation for the Future
What are your plans for the future? Most people don’t want to spend much time thinking about the future – especially if the future might involve change. Most people hate change! You, however, are not “most people.” You know if you do not prepare for the...
You Need A Competitive Advantage
The lead-off article in our 2017 Winter Newsletter was entitled “Do You Have a Competitive Advantage.” I bring this up again because we firmly believe having a competitive advantage will be the difference between mere survival and true success in the future of the...
Dare To Be A Contrarian
No matter what the business is, very few in that business will ever have a competitive advantage. Why is that? The reason very few people will ever have a competitive advantage is because nearly everyone is essentially doing the same thing everyone else in their...
Do Small Cows Make More Money?
By Alan Newport ANewport1@gmail.com For years, indeed decades, the argument over cow size has been bantered about by cattle producers. Now, adding to the debate, research from Wyoming shows smaller cows can produce more beef per acre, as well as produce more...
More Drought Thoughts
As expected and as shown in the latest Drought Monitor Map, the northern-plains drought is increasing in intensity and size. From what I have read and heard, many of the drought-stricken cow-calf producers have procrastinated to the point that they are behind the...
Cowboy Logic
“Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.”
Drought Thoughts
Other than the terrible drought in California, we have not had much reason to discuss drought in our weekly emails or quarterly newsletters since the spring of 2013. For twelve years prior to that, however, we spent an inordinate amount of time discussing drought. ...
Quote Worth Re-Quoting
“Human beings never think for themselves. For the most part, members of our species simply repeat what they are told – and become upset if they are exposed to any different view. The characteristic human trait is not awareness but conformity” ~ Michael Crichton...