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The Texas Side Of Things

published: August 20th 2010
by: Jim Banner

I’ll admit it…I’m not a big fan of August; in fact it would be safe to say that it is my least favorite month of the year. I’m not exactly for sure why I don’t like August but it could be that it tends to be the hottest month of the year or maybe  I always realize that summer is nearly over and I must prepare myself once again to live according to a structured schedule.  I know as soon as fall arrives I will loose most my free time Saturdays.  This means instead of waking up on Saturday morning and getting some work done at the ranch, I’ll instead be headed somewhere to a cattle sale because it’s fall and that’s my job.
    So realizing that fall is fast approaching I began to think about the current decline in the U.S. cattle inventory and possibly what decisions our Texas producers might be making later on this year.  First of all, with all of the excess grass produced this year, will producers aggressively look to restock their pastures or will they be content with their current inventory?   Will they wait to see if the economy improves before they expand or will they wait to see what kind of new spending packages our government can come up with next?  If they do restock will they do so by keeping replacement heifers or will they go out and purchase them?  Will they purchase more, less or the same number of bulls than they did last year?  These are just a few of the questions I have come up with so far and I’m sure there will be many more in the next few months.
    Most of you in the cattle business have so far had an excellent year.  You’ve received above normal rainfall, cheaper feed prices, stable interest rates and an improved calf market which should provide a much needed profit at the end of this year.  Meanwhile all reports I’ve seen indicate that the cattle numbers continue to decline and I’m wondering what’s it going to take for producers to begin building up their herds?  I’m sure most of you have read that for many years now the average age of those involved in agriculture continues to get older which makes me wonder how long this can go on before we start feeling the effects?  Soon this older generation will not be able to handle the hard work necessary to operate a farm or ranch. Have we finally gotten to the point in American agriculture that enough farmers and ranchers (those around 60 years of age) are no longer interested in staying in the business?  Some believe that those of us involved in agriculture are a dwindling breed and possibly they are right.  According to the Texas Department of Agricul-ture, the average age for farmers and ranchers in Texas is 59 and when I look around at the people attending cattle sales or ag meetings, I would have to agree. I sure see a lot more of gray headed men than I do young, dark headed ones.
    So what can I say to you that will help you forget about the doom and gloom scenario that I just described?  Recently I attended the Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course in College Station. Each year approximately 1,300-1,400 participants attend this three day educational program asking questions, listening to informative speakers and learning as much as they can about the cattle business.  Some of these folks are new land owners while others have inherited ranches and now they are the ones responsible for managing it.  They are important to agriculture because they are the new generation that will soon be responsible for making the correct business decisions.  Do they have experience?  Most of them don’t but they are very intelligent, successful and will ask the necessary questions so they can make the right decision.  These are the future men and women of agriculture and they will be responsible for feeding our growing population and to be honest with you… I believe they will succeed!

UNTIL NEXT TIME,
THINK TEXAS!!!
SLS