COLUMN - The Doctor is In

by Dr. Allan Preston

It's Your Choice

Driving down the road in the early dawn hours, heading for the Winnipeg office after a week down on the ranch doing real work, I had lots of time to think about life in general, about farming and the cattle business in particular.We had just come through a frantic weekend of pulling together a program to assist producers hit hard by excess moisture, others hit hard by drought. The tour of the Interlake area left everyone feeling pretty down about farming, cattle, life.

As I headed down the Brookdale Road with the sun still below the eastern horizon, I saw a couple of images that lifted my spirits. The first was a striking silhouette of two combines, two semi’s, a tractor and a grain cart, alongside a grain auger up against a row of steel bins – a priceless picture of a farmer harvesting the soil’s bounty. The second, equally poignant picture just a couple of miles further was another silhouette – this time the old Oberon elevator, doorways on the driveway long since gone, and one open window at the top of the elevator with the eastern sky peaking through. A lonely reminder, for sure, of years gone by when a train ran down that now-abandoned track but a testament to the prairie pioneer spirit. My mind started to churn with the choices we face in our industry.In the last little while, I have come across three bits of information that have given me a great deal of cause to stop, think, maybe smell the roses a little more, and be thankful for what we have in our hands as cattle producers.

The first was a little motivational slide show entitled “Two Choices,” hence the title for this article. The essence of the show is that you awake every day to two choices: you can choose to enjoy life or you can choose to hate it; you can choose to be in a good mood or in a bad mood; the only thing you have that is truly yours, that no one can take away from you is your attitude. Life becomes a whole lot easier if you simply take that positive attitude with you everywhere.
The second item was a new book, “The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die” by John Izzo. It is an exceptional read, and it makes one stop and think about one’s own mortality, and destiny. I’ll tell you the secrets, but you need to read the whole book to get the full meaning.

• Be true to yourself and follow your heart.
• Become love.
• Leave no regrets.
• Live for the moment, and;
• Give back more than you take.

Simple messages with very deep meanings that have lots of applications in our industry.

And the third item was another book, Randy Pausch’s “Final Lecture” a gut-wrenching story of the 47 year-old Carnegie Melon professor, dying from pancreatic cancer, yet needing to leave a very clear and beautiful message for his three young children. It is a message about the hope and faith of really achieving your childhood dreams. Randy died this summer, but his message and his legacy is being read and heard around the world.

And you are saying to yourself, what has all of this got to do with the cattle business? With the issues we are facing, and the question marks about the viability of our industry heading into the fall run? Well, the choices we make and the attitude we have can make each of us much more successful, much more content and happy. In the big picture, over the long haul, those five secrets can help us live more productive and motivated lives. And, when faced with adversity, think of what Randy faced, how he dealt with it and left a positive legacy, not just for his wife and family but for the multitude of readers, viewers and listeners who have shared his story.

I strongly believe that a positive attitude about the cattle business is the right approach, the realistic approach. The COOL issue still is challenging us, but we are starting to see the lay of the land – getting fats slaughtered in the States is going to continue to be a challenge, but the door is pretty wide open for the movement of feeder cattle and short keeps into the U.S. so that they can meet the requirements for the Label B­­—Multiple Country/Mixed Origin—Product of U.S. or Canada.

A choice for sure: you can feed to slaughter weights in Canada and be somewhat limited in your marketing options, or you can team up with some American customers and get into the Label B category. Either way, there is ample opportunity to find a home for your critters at a pretty decent price.

Speaking of a decent price, you can choose to take yourself out of the Alberta market by not age verifying your calves, thus generating a significant discount, or you can choose to go through the age verification process, get the documentation in place, and receive the same market premium that the Alberta producer will get if he follows the rules.

You can choose (at least for a short time longer) to either register your premise information with CCIA to access that Alberta market, or you can remain anonymous and take the discounts.
On the health side, you can choose to run a good herd health program, including a cow vaccination program that protects the unborn fetus, a pre-pasture vaccination program for your calves, and a fall booster program to get those calves ready for the feedlot. You won’t necessarily need all that information this fall, but you most assuredly will for next fall. You can choose to dehorn and castrate properly. Or you can do none of the above, market into a very competitive market place without any plan, and take a beating on the prices.

Sure there are going to be shortages of good quality hay in many areas, but there will be an abundance of lower quality hay and straw, lots of fusarium infested barley, and people just eager and waiting to help you do feed tests, formulate least cost, balanced rations, and get you and your cows through the winter with management systems such as bale and swath grazing. Your choice. Do what it takes to maintain a healthy, well nourished herd, or cull aggressively and sell cows into what looks like a pretty decent market.

Speaking of markets, a colleague of mine in the Simmental fraternity had some interesting observations about the breed, and about the cattle business after returning from the World Simmental Fleckvieh Congress in the UK this past June. More choices. Beef production in Europe take a poor second place compared to the diary industry. As a result, there is no premium for a quality beef product, and genetics that would encourage progress in marbling and eating quality of the beef are slow to evolve.

In Canada by contrast, we have an affluent and educated consumer, as do many of our continental and off shore beef customers, that are more than happy to buy our top end Canadian beef. The choice is ours to use the most up to date genetics, feeding strategies, health programs and processing techniques to produce that top quality product that will always be in demand. And we must continue to emphasize the health and safety of our product to encourage ever increasing consumption. Or we can stand still and be left behind as other animal protein sources take over a larger share of our market place.

So, with the right attitude and the right choices, the short term future for we cattle people this fall is at least a bit on the positive side. The longer term future as the dollar continues to correct, the U.S. COOL issue gets sorted out, and the costs of feed moderate a bit, looks maybe a little closer to rosy.
Call me an optimist, or a fool—it’s your choice!!
Until next time . . .

- Allan Preston is a worn out former country vet, masquerading as a senior provincial bureaucrat dabbling in the cow-calf and feedlot business near Hamiota.

Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture" on UTube
The Five Secrets you must Discover before you die, by John Izzo