mwj
Well-known member
If there were a profit to be made they will be there. What would be your best guess of the cost to open and staff a decent size packing plant?
Feedlots closing
- Thread starter elkwc
- Start date
No you are the one who did a shitty job of trying to degrade others. But did a great job of making false assumptions, accusations and spreading lies. You proved by your statements you have no compassion or respect for others. Next time you see a post of mine you know nothing about please just move on. And I don’t need your advice on how to make posts. I have more respect for others than you do.
No you dont. You want producers to suffer to keep your buddies doors open. You are just as biased as the next person.
Again you’re trying to put every feed yard in the big basket. Just like in any business there is a big difference in them. There are the big multi lot corporations. There are many Smaller lots and many owned by families or a few partners. Many are hard working and farm/ranch to help with the lot. They contribute greatly to the local communities and businesses. They also have employees. Many work with the local producers during the down markets and give them a premium for their calves to help them. They aren’t all owned by big corporations. Most I know of closing are owned as stated by local owners. I know no business is guaranteed to make money. But as I know some affected by these closures including employees I have compassion for all. By your statements you have painted all with one large brush. If you felt the feedyards were treating you so bad why didn’t you feed your own? It is easy to judge the actions of others while you aren’t willing to do it yourself. It is easy to say the lots are cheating you but no one forced you to sell to them. My Dad worked for a 45,000 head lot when he got cancer and eventually passed away. Even though he couldn’t ride anymore they paid him every month until he passed away. All the owners owned cattle including cows/calves. So I have had first hand with the owners of a lot. And when you state they don’t care about the producers you are wrong. More of the BS you stated.
One reason land is being sold off is the owners are getting older and no one in the family want to operate a farm/ranch. They sell it for the money. See it every month around here. Has nothing to do with them being squeezed.
You are full of BS. I am a producer. I haven’t suffered. If you have maybe as you stated earlier it is because of your decisions. You are the one biased. You for some reason feel you have been mistreated by the feedyards. You are trying to move the blame from you to them. Again if you feel they are mistreating you then open your own lot and show us how producers should be treated.
You said they chose to close their doors rather than buy domestic calves. They chose to lay their people off instead of buy domestic calves. Every thing has been their choice here.
mwj
Well-known member
If you are in such a bad mood that you have to berate people do us all a favor and log out till you feel better. I have went back to the original post and watched it go down hill quickly by some poor interpretations whether intentional or not.
We all need to support ourselves and that is fine. Sometimes things are beyond our control. It would be poor form to tell producers to move to a better area and not complain in the middle of a drought. But in post #40 you think we need more feedlots when the ones we have are closing because they can not turn a profit after many years of operation.
We all need to support ourselves and that is fine. Sometimes things are beyond our control. It would be poor form to tell producers to move to a better area and not complain in the middle of a drought. But in post #40 you think we need more feedlots when the ones we have are closing because they can not turn a profit after many years of operation.
Travlr
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2022
- Messages
- 9,060
- City & State/Province
- NW Arkansas, W South Dakota, retired in Utah
It's the nature of the business that cattlemen are all competing with each other, and yet we all feel the need to create a community and a support system to help each other. And that includes cow/calf to processor and everything in between. Everybody needs everybody else, but the ones that find efficiencies will be more successful. But, when somebody can't carry their own weight by making bad decisions, no one's gonna come bail them out. We live and die on our own ability to figure things out for our own operations. Cow/calf needs backgrounders, feedlots, and packers, just as we all need each other and then retail customers.
crossbreed
Well-known member
I know I'm old
, but I remember as a youth things were just way different. Farmers shared equipment, we had community butchering of hogs and cattle, and your equipment was what you needed without all the money spent on million dollar iron. I find today's habits of farmers and ranchers the real issue, and like always every corrects itself eventually.
They like any good business person explored all options if you would have read my posts and not cherry picked. They aren’t the only feedlot that has closed. There have been several. After exploring all options and trying a few all have determined there is more current pen space than there is cattle available. As I have also been told by buyers none of them wanted to close but the only other option is to pay current prices and lose money. They had no choice. Only a fool would operate at a loss until they had to close the gates. Had a large feeder buyer who bought for several individuals who fed cattle state all have quit buying cattle. Been told by barn owners the supply isn’t available. Large chain feedlots are like Walmart. They can buy cheaper as they buy in larger volumes. The single lots have to pay more and be very creative with their rations and even that isn’t enough now. I talked to a local feeder last week who is now hauling his grain with his farm truck trying to fin a cheaper option. He runs over 400 cows, farms, ranches and fed cattle before you were born. They have quit buying stockers and buying old bred cows. These men are sharp cattle men and businessmen. They didn’t accumulate what they have by intentionally losing money. So again your statement about it being their choice is wrong. It was the only choice left. Buying local cattle and losing money isn’t a choice for most people.
I bet that ended about the time people decided to sell out their neighbor and country for cheap, foreign products in the name of "good business".
