Having just returned from the Cattle Fax Outlook seminar last week, I would say the message for cow-calf producers was that 2014 and 2015 could be looked back upon as our most profitable years in the cow-calf business. That is not to say that 2016 forward will not be profitable, quite the contrary, but, as the cow herd (and calves marketed) begins to truly increase in 2016, there is certainly the opportunity for the old economic law of supply and demand to kick in. Of course, demand can always increase and change some of those projections. I believe we all know that developing countries have a greatly increasing desire for, and ability to purchase, animal protein. We usually think this market is most all pork and poultry, but there were certainly indications that beef will benefit from this increased need for protein. Suffice it to say, we have a number of very profitable years ahead in the cow-calf business.
CRYSTALYX and the speed limit
A couple of weeks ago I was reading about some research conducted by Dr. Monte Rouquette, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research Scientist, at Overton, TX. The study used yearlings, and compared 3 different levels of DDGs supplementation on Bermuda Grass to a control treatment (no DDGs supplement). The DDGs supplementation levels were 0.25% of body weight, 0.5% of body weight and 1% of body weight/hd/d. The control cattle gained 1.53 lbs./hd/d. Both the 0.25% of body weight and the 0.5% of body weight treatments gained 2.22 lbs./hd/d. The cattle receiving 1% of their body weight of the DDGs supplement gained 2.53 lbs./hd/d. As you might expect, the article mentions that the 1% of body weight treatment (800 pound animals receiving about 8 pounds of supplement) was actually acting as a replacement for the forage. You will often hear us preach about CRYSTALYX® not being a replacement, but a true supplement for your forage, which is most always the cheapest source of energy for your herd. You can find the full article at http://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-news/Stocker-gains-more-than-25-pounds-per-head-per-day-realized-278377821.html
Perception equals reality
Many of you have probably heard the cliché “Perception equals reality” or “Perception is reality”. It is very true in any industry or for any subject. Many of us “know” that lowering the tailgate on your pickup will give you better fuel economy. The TV show Myth-Busters tested this on their show, and could not find that it increased fuel economy. They received so much mail claiming that they must have done something wrong, that they did it a second time, with different methodology, and again found no advantage to this tried and true practice that we all used at one time or another. While I still find it tempting to lower the tailgate on long trips, I resist, and trust the science behind what I have come to believe is the reality of the situation. Besides, I really don’t want to lose some of that junk in the truck box.
Fat levels in CRYSTALYX
Beginning this week in August, you will notice that we have changed the formulation of the “HE” CRYSTALYX® products. These were some of the oldest CRYSTALYX® products in existence. The “HE” in their name used to stand for “High Energy”. I say “used to”, because since I got involved with formulating the CRYSTALYX® products over 19 years ago, I also got involved with the marketing of them. I noticed that most every promotional flier we had on CRYSTALYX® products at the time, usually listed “high energy” as the first bullet point. Having access to the energy values of the various formulas, I could quickly see that the energy contained in ¾ pound of CRYSTALYX® was approximately the same as ¾ pound of corn. Now I agree that corn is relatively high in energy compared to straw, but I would struggle to promote CRYSTALYX® as high in energy, given that you could get the same amount of energy in ¾ pound of corn for much less money. We began having the “High Energy” bullet points removed from our advertising materials, and I slept better at night.
Strike while the iron is hot!
Back in November of 2013, I wrote a blog about how numbers change every day. We are still setting records for cattle prices 7 months later. I saw a video on YouTube where some 425# calves brought $301/cwt on a video auction. August feeder cattle have been over $200/cwt for more than a week now. The cattle markets are hot, and we best take advantage of them! Or as the old cliché says, “Strike while the iron is hot!”
What does the name mean?
Have you ever wondered who gets paid to think up names for cars, or any new product? You know, great names like Charger, Road Runner, Chevelle, Mustang, Cougar, and Corvette. Those names had some meaning behind them, and hopefully it translated quickly, when you heard someone mention them.
A CRYSTALYX summer mineral program
I once wrote a blog asking if your supplement could multi-task. While the intent of this blog is similar, it will be much more product specific, for the summer ahead. See if you can figure out which product I’m talking about in the paragraphs ahead.
CRYSTALYX product updates for 2014
This year, the CRYSTALYX® fly control products have been reformulated to include organic/chelated trace minerals. Those products include:
- CRYSTALYX® IGR MAX
- CRYSTALYX® IGR PRO
- CRYSTALYX® ROLYX® MAX
- CRYSTALYX® ROLYX® PRO-MAG
Should all purchasing decisions be based on price?
I recall a recent story that was related to me by one of our Account Managers, where a potential customer drove his truck to a CRYSTALYX® Dealership and said, “What is your price on a tub like this?” He was pointing to a low-moisture block that was made by a competitor and labeled for a local chain of feed stores. Obviously the customer was making the buying decision entirely on price, and the only difference he saw between the tubs, was in fact, the price. Everyone has that right when faced with a purchasing decision. Do we look at features, benefits and value, or just ask for a price? I will have to admit that I purchase gasoline or diesel almost purely on price and convenience of the filling station. For other items, I’d generally like a little more information.
Numbers change every day
This last week, the DOW Jones Industrial passed 16,000. That is up almost 150% since March of 2009. If you do not watch it almost every day, you could miss it buy 500 points or more. Some numbers change fast. When I bought my first pickup in the late 70’s, you changed oil every 3,000 miles. Today, some vehicles using synthetic oil, can go 7,500 to 15,000 miles between oil changes. Some numbers change slowly. Still, even though I know I can go 7,500 miles, it’s hard for me to exceed 5,000 miles on an oil change. If I change my oil every 7,500 miles instead of 5,000, I will only pay for 2/3 as many oil changes for the life of the vehicle. I really need to pay attention to the new numbers, and get comfortable with them, and the new numbers that come out 2-3 years from now, and the new numbers 2-3 years after that, etc.
