OPINION? EVERYBODY HAS ONE Riding the ups and downs

— I drove to town to get some mineral at the feed store this morning. The cattle pastures along the highway were almost the same, bellering cows walking the fence line. I wasn’t the least surprised, and this happens regularly in cycles of around 20 years. It may be less than 20 days now; everything is moving at a different and faster pace. Cattle prices are up, enough said.

I know we gotta take advantage of any economic up to make a living and ride the bad times like Jim Shoulders, rest in peace, at the finals. I like - no, let me revise that - I love to make the extra cash when I sell calves; it almost makes me break even! We could buy steel posts and a couple of metal gates with the extra money.

The weather is cooperating this week and at corrals all up and down the county the trailers are backed into loading chutes for another load headed to town. This is a much better stimulus for our economy than some we have seen lately, and good for lots of folksinvolved in providing beef for the country. The sale barn boys are swaggering and by the end of next month they will all have new hats!

I don’t want to preach - well, maybe I do at times - but even with the prices up and things going well, a feller has got to use some sense, business sense and common sense. I peeled off every critter on the place that was old enough to wean. I bunk broke them and they were vaccinated for everything under the sun. Nothing is left on this place that is old enough to sell.

We gathered all the cows, mouthed them and separated the keepers from the culls and hauled the culls to town. Killer cows are sky high. I repeat, the business sense is important in this aspect of our occupation. I have lots of anguish when it comes to picking out the culls. You fellers know it is pretty hard to sell one that has delivered live calves and fed them good and now is springing heavy with a spring calf.

Regardless of the agony involved, I did pick out some old and used up cows to cull. They looked at me with pleading eyes. I choked up and spun around on the heel of my boot, never looking back, and did not watch them sell.

Sissy, OK, but that is part of being a good steward of your business, the way I look at it. The other thing that hurts me and probably hurts the cattleman who does it is selling calves that are too young to wean. I know how good it feels to make a payment on time, even have some cash left over, but pulling calves that aren’t over babyhood off of a cow does not make good sense to me.

It is my opinion, and everyone has one, you gotta ride the ups and downs the same way. Come out of the chute spurring, raking high and never letting yourself foul or you will be penalized so heavy you won’t make it into the second round! Take care to plan ahead and hope for better days in the future. I sure have been wrong in lots of decisions and my close relative would agree, but when I look back I am happy to say I tried to do my best. You will be too.

Bill is the pen name used by a local writer and longtime resident of the Gravette area.

Opinion, Pages 6 on 02/02/2011