
Author Archives
Beginning Of A New Chapter
It’s been just about the easiest winter we’ve come through in a long time. Other than the cold weather in December it’s been a breeze. The cows are fat, the calves wintered well and the hay stack has a handsome reserve. March started with temperatures in the plus range every day, and it’s felt so […] Read more
It Takes Time To Grow An Oak
There seems to be an attitude that bigger is better in just about everything, and then there is also the notion that things happen overnight. Combine these two attitudes/ thoughts and that is the answer many have for getting this industry out of our predicament. The mess we got into did not happen overnight — […] Read more
A $3,000 Steer, A 50% Chunk Of Pie
$550.00 $501.90 SEGMENT SECTOR GROSS MARGIN % SHARE OF TOTAL VALUE CREATED Cow-Calf Backgrounder / Grasser / Feeder Packer Retailer $187.90 $1,843.92 $3,083.72 17.8 16.3 6.1 59.8 100.0 They say you often have to repeat things three times before it will stick in your head, so needless to say many still do not get it. […] Read more
Consultants Compared To Steers
I recently heard an interesting description of consultants. The person said consultants are like steers. They know what to do, act like they know how to do it, but in the end lack the balls to do it. I thought it was a funny observation, and with no disrespect to some very good capable consultants, […] Read more
The Hypocrisy Of Humans
There are many positives I enjoy about winter. There is less going on outside, more hours to catch up on office matters that get pushed aside at other times of the year, and usually I can get more sleep. There are, however, also downsides, and for me it is too much time to think. They […] Read more
2010 –Good, Bad, And The Ugly
So it’s a new year and the optimists that still have cattle are thinking this will be the year!!! Last I checked, there were still a few cows in our back-40 — so I guess we must be one of those optimists. Not that I am a market analyst, but here are my two bits […] Read more
Make A Little Noise
Two sayings come to mind as I write and envision the message for this column — “God helps those who help themselves” and “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Not wanting to jump on the band wagon of how poor cattle prices are, I want to make you all realize that you all have an […] Read more
The Reality Of Branded Beef
You would think after reading the blogs, letters to the editors, and listening to coffee shop chatter, that owning a packing plant is the be-all and end-all of security in the beef business. Just eliminate Kevin Costner, kill the cattle and they will come. Get the beef in the box and all you’ll have left […] Read more
A Cure For ‘Bullshititis’
Every year our mailbox becomes persistently infected with a strange virus. Starting about late January the mail slowly but steadily starts swelling. With the swelling there are also symptoms of shinny and glossy tones, spotted with pictures of what would appear to be finished steers, however closer scrutiny of the pictures reveals that they are […] Read more
Everyone wants to make more money, but many aren’t prepared to change
This sums up many of the conversations a good friend of mine had while discussing protocols with other cattlemen seeking opportunities to move into our branded beef program. They all want to make more money, however few are willing to change what they have been doing because it will affect their cowboy ways. I have […] Read more
Grainews is written for farmers and often by farmers. It is about putting theory into practice on the farm. Each issue also features Cattleman’s Corner for cow-calf producers and farmers with mixed cattle and grain operations.