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Feedyard managers tend to wake up every day anxious to get to work and to make money for their customers and their feedyard. They are passionate about the beef industry and enjoy the challenges associated with feeding cattle. They don't even mind the extremely long hours and the demands of seven days a week. There are times, however, when feedyard managers would love to wave a magic wand and change things. When various feedlot managers were asked to pinpoint what changes they'd like to see in the beef industry, the topics ranged from fewer animal rights issues to eliminating the rumor mill to an adequate supply of responsible laborers. Animal rights people and environmental regulations were on the "I wish I could change" list of Johnny Trotter, manager of Bar G Feedyard, Hereford, Texas. "Our total livelihood depends on the well-being of livestock," Trotter states. "When our animals are comfortable and in good health, they do better. Why would we want to jeopardize that?" Yet, Trotter stressed, the beef industry is haunted almost non-stop by animal rights people. As equally as distressing to Trotter are over-the-top environmental regulations. "We are the greatest stewards of the land," he says. "The government simply doesn't understand that we care about the land and the water supply. Again it's our livelihood." Trotter noted that, in addition to its 125,000 head capacity feedyard, Bar G Feedyard backgrounds cattle and controls 13 sections of land. He argues that the same rules set up by the government to regulate a hog farm in North Carolina should not apply to a feedyard and backgrounding operation in Hereford, Texas. He stresses that it's a different situation, primarily due to rainfall. "We are seeing some of this change, thank goodness," Trotter relates. "The government is working more toward states regulations rather than handing everything down from the federal. I don't know whose helping this situation change, but I'm certainly glad that it's being done." Captive supply is No. 1 on Tom Feller's "I wish I could change" list. Feller, who owns and manages Feller & Company Cattle, Wisner, Neb., contends that captive supply makes the market uncompetitive and causes people to sell cattle at a lower price than they might have got trading them. "Captive supply simply gives someone else control," Feller argues. "I don't like it, and I wish it didn't exist in the beef industry. "On the other hand, I know other feedyard managers are pro-captive supply. They just see captive supply in a different light than I do." The rumor-affected Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile also concern this Nebraska feedyard manager. Feller maintains that the rumor mill is easily stirred by the quickness of communication and what he calls "the irresponsibility of those generating information." "The Internet, weather predictions and weather reports can move the market hundreds of millions of dollars," Feller emphasizes. "Someone hears that it rained in southwest Illinois, and grain prices change. People only have a piece of the picture and things change. Grain prices can raise in an instant, and the cattle market can lower at the drop of a hat. "It's so frustrating." Warren Weibert, owner/manager of Decatur County Feedyard at Oberlin, Kan., wishes that more cattle people would focus on the big picture: providing the consumer with a consistent quality product. Weibert isn't alone in this area. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association has been working to get cattle producers and others in the beef industry focused on this goal for the past 10 years or so. Ask individuals like Dr. Gary Smith of Colorado State University, Dr. Bill Mies of Texas A&M, Dr. Brad Morgan of Oklahoma State and others and you'll discover that the focus tends to be "What's in it for me?" rather than providing the consumer with a consistent quality product. Another pet peeve of Weibert's is the segmentation within the beef industry, as opposed to improving lines of communications and working relations between what he calls "the natural segments." Making the No. 3 spot on Weibert's "wish I could change" list delves with the lack of trust between segments. "Segments must, by necessity, cooperate with each other for their overall long-term viability," Weibert remarks. Finding and keeping pen riders and other workers so needed for the day-to-day operation of a feedyard was another area mentioned by several feedyard managers. One feedyard manager said so many people looking for work today aren't willing to put in the long hours required to work at a feedyard. And, those that do come on board, he says, often arrive late for work or simply don't like the hard work involved and soon leave. "Child labor laws are good to a point, but they prevent a kid from learning how to work," Trotter interjects. "High school kids need to know how to work and gain an appreciation for the beef industry, but they're not given the opportunity because of child labor laws. When these kids get out of college, they don't want to work at a feedyard." Perhaps your wish list items weren't included in this article. But think about them - then see what you can do to change wishes into opportunities. |
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