Blogs

Last spring we had an unusual amount of rain, for Montana anyway. I personally loved it. It was so good for our fields, and it really took some pressure off of irrigating.

Kady Porterfield is the current president of the Washington CattleWomen organization. She grew up raising beef on her family’s cattle ranch.

All the experience and knowledge gained by producers through a lifetime in the beef industry is now being put to the test. Stunningly, it may not be enough to fully grasp the economic impact felt by producers in the supply chain.

My, oh my, how fast things can change. It’s hard to think a few short months ago, the word “coronavirus” only made us think about calf scours and masks were something you only wore on Halloween. I’ll tell you what, for all those folks last December who were making jokes about 20/20 vision, I can say they sure didn’t see this coming.

In the 1980s, there was a popular song on the radio with the title "Should I Stay, or Should I Go." A lot of producers today are asking themselves a form of that same question – should I stay the course and keep my cattle, hoping consumer demand and beef prices rise soon? Or, should I sell off a good share so I don’t incur the expense of feeding and maintaining excess numbers, not knowing when this crisis might end?

“Here we are, friends, on the Serengeti Plains in the wilds of Serengeti.” As the crowd leans in closer to the television we see the swaying baobab trees ... an endless sea of grass waving off into the horizon.