Matt Perrier, a Kansas seedstock producer, spoke with Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays about opportunities in the cattle industry of today.
“It is an exciting time to be in the beef industry, and all of us look at those supply and demand fundamentals and try to figure out where we fit and where we go from here,” Perrier commented.
His own outfit, Dalebanks Angus Ranch, focuses on improving genetics in commercial cowherds. His clientele, the commercial cattle raisers, are likely more excited about the current market conditions.
He said, “Commercial cow/calf folk are seeing prices for all classes of cattle that we have never seen before.”
He spoke of a man who believes that the current market conditions are still primarily demand-driven and that the supply side of it still has yet to kick in.
“I would argue that a little bit, but I think his point is a valid one,” Perrier said. “Since we haven’t started keeping heifers back yet, we think it is pretty crazy right now, but it will quite likely get even crazier!”
Perrier urged producers to stay focused on quality – both for beef and breeding cattle – to maintain high beef demand. “As long as we keep that quality up, I think we should be in the driver’s seat for a good long time.”
The last time that the U.S. cowherd came back from a hard reduction in numbers, a jump in quality was observed that is likely still playing out today. Perrier hopes that producers will rebuild the herd with the same focus on quality to continue moving quality forward.
Perrier has been producing the Practically Ranching podcast for about two years. Its focus audience is ranchers seeking help finding practical decisions for profitability. “We talk about everything from rural development to the cattle market to vaccines and health,” he explained. “There are so many things that we have to be aware of as we make decisions as ranchers.” New episodes are released every other week.
Perrier noted the rising age of the ranching population and has noticed a growing number of ranches being passed to younger generations, along with a lot of consolidation of ranches.
“That is something that we all have to recognize,” Perrier said. “It’s not good, bad, or indifferent, but it may be hard. As we see these generations change, I think we are going to see a little different mindset and a little different structure of the cattle industry. Adapting to change has never been ranchers’ strong suit, but as we look long-term, it is going to be something that we are all going to have to be ready for.”
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR at the top of the story for today’s show, and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
