Is there anyone out there who knows an honest group that is willing to tackle the packer monopoly? I seriously think that is our only chance to survive.
Again this week on Tuesday it showed the fat cattle price is $96 and Choice was quoted at $200.47 and Select was quoted at $190.31, which if only graded Choice and half Select and the yield was 64% that figures $125.05 per hundredweight. Not counting the offal that the packer gets that still figures $406.56 per head profit.
Is this the new norm? Cause if it is I am losing faith in this business. I never thought I would say that but it is true. It is the biggest rip off for United Stated cattlemen but if we don’t have people willing to stand up for what is right then it will stay this way or get worse.
I want someone to answer to this question. What does NCBA do for the average cattlemen who is trying to survive? Send me an accurate account and I will print it. What does our secretary of agriculture do for us? Show me something he has put in print to stand up for us as far as packer control. Answer this question, why are all of our state organizations so tied to NCBA if they are not standing up for us? It is time for all organizations to say which side of the fence they are on. There is no room for wimps or politicians who tell you what you want to hear and then cannot stand up for what is right.
I decided it was time here at the sale barn to get rid of some workers who were being lazy. So I hired a man and put him in charge to fire anyone he wanted. That man came up to the office and saw a guy leaning on the wall. So he walked up to the guy and said, “How much money do you make a week?”
The young man said, “I make $300 a week.” So the new boss handed him $1,200 in cash and screams, “Here’s four weeks pay and don’t come back.”
Then the new boss said, “Does anyone want to tell me what that lazy person did here?”
One of the workers with a grin said, “He was the pizza delivery guy.”
Editor’s note: Jerry Nine, Woodward, Oklahoma, is a lifetime cattleman who grew up on his family’s ranch near Slapout, Oklahoma.
