Optimism

I recently asked one of our beef cattle specialists about his week-long, bull-sale packed tour in the Big Sky State, and one word kept coming up as he described the different locations, events and ranches he visited — “optimistic.” It was almost like the feeling was palpable, something a cowboy could grab out of the big blue Montana sky.

Nearly 800 miles, five Angus bull sales and several other ranch visits later, here were a few of the highlights Paul shared with me from this recent tour of cattle country:

DNA technology was a hot topic of discussion on several of those stops. Some of the larger Angus breeders in the state showed a good deal of interest in finding ways to implement technologies like GeneMax into their genetic selection toolbox, especially on the feeder calf side. They were optimistic that this was a tool they could use to add value to their calves at market and boost the premiums they see for those that test above average for gain and grade.

It’s a fun time to be traveling to bull sales, Paul told me. While tight supplies and high demands for live animals can cause some unique challenges in the business, it sure does create a lot of opportunities to see more black plus marks in the checkbook. Commercial cattlemen had to step up to the plate and keep their bids up if they were going to walk away with the bull of their choice at many of the sales.

He saw indications all around him in different parts of the state that the last calf crop had been a good one in the Angus business. Good prices there led to more cash in the commericial man’s pocket to pay for new bulls this year, and they’re seeing more profit per cow than any time in recent history. You can just imagine the smiles abounding.

And even when the temperatures dropped and the snow started flying toward the end of the week, that didn’t slow the good ride. The optimism was perhaps just frozen in the air as opposed to floating… while bull prices were up, he pointed out that a rising tide raises all the boats in the harbor. Optimism is contagious; it’s a cycle.

Education is also a cycle, and it sometimes takes a while to get around. But sitting in those auction rings, Paul said it was heartening to see the typical cow man more focused on understanding and utilizing the genetic data available to them than ever before.

Are you feeling optimistic or cautiously optimistic in your part of cattle country right now? Like one of those boats rising with the tide of high demand?

Until next time,

-Laura

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