I think it is very important that we cattlemen make aware and push our legislators and cattlemen’s organizations to ensure that the eight charged with spoofing and manipulating our futures market to not simply be slapped on the wrist but that they get a huge sentence.
This type of manipulating the market often costs millions of cattlemen a lot of money, making our business very risky and unstable. I do not mind some variation in the market. I love to buy when everyone is depressed because normally by the time I am ready to sell the market has changed. But a completely false market—whether it be a false rumor or 1,000 contract orders put in with no intention of the majority getting filled to sway the market for his benefit then I do not like that.
That potentially has a strong possibility of breaking a lot of cattlemen. Because you often have brokers, bankers and lots of individuals persuaded in the matter of a day or two, too many times judges would not see the negative impact because it isn’t their money or livelihood being affected. And often city folk have no idea how much we put at stake all the time in order to make a decent living, particularly if they work by the hour or salary and never had to risk their life savings.
We are in a big drought with no moisture for the past 120 days. I challenge everyone of you to pray for rain or moisture over a large area with several surrounding states desperately dry. The Bible says if two or more will gather together and ask and I am quite sure there are more than two willing. Sometimes that’s the only time God gets to talk to us if we have a problem. Yes, I am believer just a poor example.
Our family has always teased a lot. After dad had a small stroke we had two or three women staying at the house full time for about three weeks. The day after we buried my dad I suggested to the Spanish lady to have mom drive to the church because dad always insisted he would drive then suggested the Spanish lady to bring mom in for Sunday dinner at the restaurant.
A friend of mom’s came up and said, “I’m sorry I didn’t get to come to the funeral.” She asked my mom—“Do you plan on staying on the farm?” Mom said, “Yes, unless these fellas have a different idea (meaning us four kids).” Teasing mom, I said, “You mean you are looking for a fella? I don’t blame you at 90 I know you can’t waste a lot of time.”
Then the Spanish lady chimed in and teased her, “Phyllis, there’s a rancher down the road that just lost his wife.”
Then another good friend (a man who lost his wife last year) was headed her way to say he was sorry so before he got there I put my hand by my mouth so he couldn’t hear and said, “Sit up straight, mom, you got to look your best. Here comes another prospect.”
She laughed.
Editor’s note: Jerry Nine, Woodward, Oklahoma, is a lifetime cattleman who grew up on his family’s ranch near Slapout, Oklahoma.
