Bright Raven said:
1. Agree. They fill a need. The world runs on metrics. How much horse power? How fast does it go? What does it weigh? Some people who expect EPDs to walk, talk, and dance live in lalaland. They expect perfection where none is intended. EPDs are a solution to putting metrics on performance, function and traits.
2. Club cattle is a real business. Just like prostitution and sitting in a bar drinking is real business. Not for everyone but it is business.
3. Disagree. Most purebred breeders are trying to meet the needs of the commercial producer. A breeder recognizes what his market demands. Then if he is smart, he will fill that need so he can exchange his stock for currency. I will use any bull that my market demands. If they want a bull sired by Sanchez the Beefsteak, I will try to get it.
4. You left out the man who sells breeding stock to commercial cattle producers.
5. Disagree. Most seedstock producers are trying to run a balance sheet that turns a profit. Most will never sell a $10,000 animal. I have nothing against the high dollar club, in fact, may they prosper, but that is not the mainstream.
6. Perceived value is real valve when you convert it to currency.
7. Disagree. I know a lot of high profile PB breeders who average under $5000 a head for what they sell in the course of a year. I am small potatoes as a PB breeder but I have sold bulls for more than the average price the big names get. Commercial producers know they don't have to go to a NAME to get good livestock.
Haha I knew someone would mention the breeding stock production. And I considered editing my post to add it, but then I thought, well, isn't that still meat production? If there was no market for meat, there would be no market for the aforementioned breeding stock. Either way, yes, there are those folks also.
I'm not sure what you're disagreeing with in item 5, nor 7. 5 I'm simply saying that this high dollar club, which is not "most seedstock producers" (you changed the intent of my statement with your answer). Of course folks want to make a profit, that's not even really debatable, what I said is that it seems risky to produce something where the value is in perception, and maybe not so much reality. (of course there are exceptions). This applies also to item 6. Perceived value is only real as long as the perception lasts. Look at the price of gold, or stocks. One day things are great and there is an overinflated value placed on those items. The next day something bad happens, those values tank, and folks jump out of windows. Commercial producers deal with the same issue, but when my $1000 calf's value drops by 25%, that does suck, but not as much as when the big name bulls value drops by 25%. especially when my commercial calf will still have demand, when the big name bull could fall by the wayside.
item 7. My statement saying that the business model is very different, and I question the sanity of thinking that an unproven bull is worth 1.5 mil...It takes some serious weird idea of reality to think that if you put that bull in a herd of unmarked, unnamed, good bulls, that anyone would pick him out and say "he's worth 1.5 mil". I'm not sure how you could possibly "disagree" with my statement. I did not say "all purebred guys". I also didn't say that "all purebred guys are "big name"". I'm just still flabbergasted that these kind of dollar amounts could possibly be justified, but are clearly a target model for SOME of the purebred folks worlds. In other words, a big name, big money producer says, "wow, if I pump a bull full of feed, and make him look like a feed lot steer, give him a name that rhymes with SAV, someone will think he's worth a bunch more money!" It's the same folks who drive the fancy cars and say "look how nice of a car it is" while all of the reports place the fancy cars in the "most maintenance required" categories. Anyway, you are not the person I'm talking about here, at least not based on how you've described your operation. The fact that you're small potatoes, yet can sell great bulls, tells me that they are being valued based on more than a name, which supports my position exactly.