|
Southeast Colorado | I've told this story several times.........but it fits here again.
It was well over a decade ago..........but this fellow (big farmer) in the edge of KS 20 miles east of me fed thousands of calves every year. I think their lot held 25k. I was complaining about the price of calves not working at the moment for me to purchase any stockers for wheat pasture. He said that at times it just doesn't work. But in their industry, you keep books on a 10 year window cycle. Many years within that window you'd lose lots of money, many times you'd break even, and many times you'd make a bunch. But overall it was a good working model. You can't sell all the feed, feed trucks, and lay off all the workers when the cattle price didn't work. Plus you wouldn't be in business for the boom period.
This guy did retire a while back............and their are no calves in his lot anymore. I guess his kids didn't have the same ambition. Or perhaps the 10 year cycles finally proved it wasn't profitable enough anymore. | |
|
If you think beef is expensive
