FROM FIELD TO DESK
We live in strange times. While commercial and purebred cattle
sales continue to generate the most dollars in history, unprecedented expenses
and drought are resulting in the severest financial strain agriculture has seen
in 70 years.
High machinery costs, coupled with low grain prices; unforgivably high federal
taxation and government interference; high fuel costs, high roughage costs and
a shortage of water are all contributing to financial difficulties for many
of Canada's historically successful agricultural enterprises. The general public
and the government tell us we must become more efficient while ignoring the
fact that just five per cent of the population provide more foodstuffs to this
continent than 45 per cent of the population did just 50 years ago. It is sickening
that cattlemen, in order to survive, are being forced to convert to cash their
most profitable asset - their cows. These suppliers of profit are being sacrificed
to cover the immediate and outrageous costs of sustaining them.
For those who still have cows (albeit a lesser number) efficiency is still the
name of the game. The most profitable cow is still that low maintenance, trouble-free
individual of good temperament, who reliably rebreeds quickly every year and
weans a calf that weighs 45 to 50 per cent of her own body weight. She is the
cow that is rarely noticed because she calves without assistance, stays healthy
and doesn't show up in the "dry" pen until she reaches an advanced
age.
I'm not going to try to tell you that all of these extra-profit cows are Hereford
cows, but a large majority of them do have a white face. The good news is that
these cows are easily attainable through the genetics offered by today's superior
Hereford bulls. Even in cowherds where several different breeds have been utilized,
good Hereford bulls will give you a calf crop with nearly 100 per cent white
faces the first year. If your preference is black, you get the black-baldie;
if your preference is red, then you have a red-baldie and if you like white,
you end up with white-face yellows. All of these calves are in very strong demand.
I invite you to study the pages of this pre-bull sale issue, phone our advertisers
for the latest, most up-to-date information on what they have to offer and then
utilize Hereford bulls this spring to LOWER YOUR COSTS and INCREASE YOUR PROFITS!
All of our field representatives look forward to seeing you at the spring sales.
If we can be of assistance, don't hesitate to give us a call.