Agricultural News
Small Cattle Operations and Big Quality Still Add Up to Sizeable Paychecks
Tue, 08 Jan 2013 11:13:08 CST
Gerry Shinn, the owner of Performance Blenders, has a message for small-scale cattle producers: You don't have to be big to be good.
"I encourage them to shoot for the high quality because I think that's where we're at. We're market driven and anybody can raise an old, tough steer. It doesn't take anything to do that. And if you're going to make money in a narrow-margin industry, you'd better go where the money is."
Shinn's company helps Missouri cattle producers gather, feed, and market loads of finished calves. It also collects and shares data so cattlemen can improve.
"The best way to get to cattle producers is with dollar signs. They have to be rewarded. And we've been very fortunate that we've been able to get people to capture 100- to 150-dollar per head premiums over cash market. We've done that through agent source, we've done that through quality grid and quality characteristics. And we just see the total overall efficiency and identify what the consumer in the marketplace wants."
He says that each producer-no matter how large or small his operation-has two tools for hitting those targets: how you breed them and what you feed them.
"Nutrition is extremely important. I kind of use the analysis that no matter what the genetics are we have to get them enough nutrition to express their genetic potential. If we breed them to grow and grade, we have to feed them to grow and grade.
Shinn's clients routinely market calves at 1250 to 1400 pounds that are just over one year old and grade upwards of 80 percent premium-choice. The key to getting what those calves are worth is cooperation, Shinn says.
"They have to work together. We have to realize that we're not going to control, as a small producer, any packer, any order buyer-let's be realistic. What's one load of cattle mean? Not very much. But we just want to get that value and it means something to cooperate from the standpoint to look at your neighbor. He might be your competitor, but you can see that it can be done. And I think that's real important with small producers because oftentimes they think 'I'm not good enough. I'm not big enough. I don't know how to play in the market.' And when they work together, those things come to the surface and it's really fun to see them take a hold and put things together."
Click in the video frame below for the video version of this story.
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