Good Beef Industry News Over A Rum And Coke

I was at a university friend's 50th birthday party last night. I had a very positive conversation with a cattleman over a rum and coke.

This man and his son are custom feeding cattle. They have 800 animals (the numbers may be a little fussy) they are backgrounding. They do whatever needs to be done to add weight over the winter. These two feed in the most cost effective way they can for the beef owner. I'm not a livestock man, he mentioned some systems he used, but it didn't register with me. Then in the spring they grass finish them on pasture that the family owns. The cattle are marketed wherever the best returns are to be had. There are no preset buyers for the beef. According to him if the dollar gets back to 90 cents a profit will be turned by the cattle owner. This is the second year the operation has been in place and the gentleman I talked to sound like he will have no problem keeping it running.

This isn't a new business model by any means. The things I found interesting are it's just getting started at a time when the cattle industry looks pretty bleak, they grass finish and the son has decided (he's mid 20's) this is what he wants to do for a living. I like the sounds of a profit being at a 90 cent dollar. That could be a "doable" and sustainable number.

That's my feel good story on the beef industry