  BeefTalk:
Our Industry’s Future Rests With New Generations
By Kris Ringwall, Extension Beef Specialist,
NDSU Extension Service
With the holiday season upon us and the year ending, an assortment of
thoughts comes to mind. Foremost among them is the question: Where do we go from
here? The assortment of topics that must be covered to address that question is
huge; the outcomes real; and the subsequent impact may be life-changing.
The Dickinson Research Extension Center routinely sells cows and heifers at
this time of year. Most are bred, but a few are open as well. Last Tuesday, the
bred heifers were up for auction and I enjoyed a walk through the cattle pens
prior to the sale.
Lots of good solid cows and heifers were on the block, destined to calve in
new lots this spring. What struck me was the fact there was a cow to fit every
conceivable operation: big cows, little cows, medium cows, purebred cows,
crossbred cows, red cows, white cows, black cows, thin cows, fat cows, short
faced cows, early-calving cows, late-calving cows, open cows, dairy cows, yellow
cows, black-and-white cows, red-and-white cows, tall cows, short cows, stubby
cows, horned cows, scurred cows, polled cows, one horned cows, ornery cows, tame
cows, mean cows, happy cows, and one very long-faced sad cow.
They all had two eyes and a tail, well at least part of a tail. The cows
ranged in ages from heifers, to cows whose age was probably most easily measured
in terms of their time remaining on this earth. Common sires represented Angus,
Hereford, Charolais, Simmental, Red Angus, Gelbvieh, Loala and various
composites.
None of this is news to the beef industry. These are observations from a
typical stock cow and bred heifer sale. It was a nice walk with time to
literally breathe in the beef business.
I wonder just how many producers have stopped in and said thank you to the
management and staff of their local cattle auction barn, because without them,
I’m not so sure who would make sense of this business. By the end of the day,
the whole lot of cows and heifers will be very orderly sorted into uniform,
saleable lots and on their way to a new home. Buyers will be anxious to get
their new cattle home, sellers will be anxious to pick up their checks, and the
staff will be cleaning up for another sale day.
Once home or as the crowd thins, producers and staff discuss the big news in
the beef business: source verification, country of origin labeling, packers and
other topics like the price of grain or trying to guess when the market is going
to turn. It will be a lively discussion. Some may even pick up an old BeefTalk
column and reread my perpetual litany of the need for records and attention
given to details to assure profit.
Meanwhile, time will be allotted to proper management of new arrivals and a
little extra rest will be briefly awarded, as the empty pens don’t need to be
fed today. And the industry will move on. Next week’s sale is just around the
corner, and the cycle will repeat. Perhaps that is the comfort – the fact that
the cycle really does repeat, business is still honest, and your yearly income
can be entrusted with no doubt of a respectable, timely settlement.
If there is a barb, at least in regards to the current state of affairs, it’s
that the concept of local trust and acceptance needs to be replaced with
tracking, electronics and radio frequencies we can’t even see.
In closing, one of the best parts of my job, is the association with young
cattle producers. Here at Dickinson State University and North Dakota State
University, they come from many states and Canadian provinces, asking for a
little education, an acquaintance or two, and perhaps just a smile in passing.
Above all they’re looking for a little trust, a little friendship and a little
respect.
If they receive those, the cattle business will pass on to good hands. The
moral of the story, the future of the cattle business is not a matter of
legislation, but of new generations well-received.
Merry Christmas and may you find all your ear tags.
Your comments are always welcome at
www.BeefTalk.com. For more information,
contact the North Dakota Beef Cattle Improvement Association, 1133 State Avenue,
Dickinson, ND 58601 or go to
www.CHAPS2000.com on the Internet. In
correspondence about this column, refer to BT0175.
###
Source: Kris Ringwall, (701) 483-2427, kringwal@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 282-2448,
richard.mattern@ndsu.nodak.edu
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