CALF_News_Oct_Nov_2018

45 CALF News • October | November 2018 • www.calfnews.net   Improved chute design to improve your cattle performance  Safe, efficient and strong – The Brute Way! BruTe DouBle & SIngle WIDe Alleys • Tubs • loAdouTs “Turning your dreams into reality ... it’s what we do.” Dodge, Neb. 68633 402.693.2221 Cattle Friendly – Performance Driven. Brute Cattle equipment celeBraTIng 50 yearS In BuSIneSS! FolloW uS on: www.dodgemfg.com year’s corn stalks for cattle grazing. With one of our neighbors utilizing this roughage as feed and minimizing our field prepa- ration for next year’s crop, it becomes a “win-win” for both of us and adds some supplemental income to our bottom line. While the grain markets continue to yo-yo with a mostly downward trend, I brag about myself having contracted more than 50 percent of this year’s corn for over $4 per bushel. With the average cost of producing an acre of corn approaching $445.50 per acre and my quick check of today’s cash market from my laptop, why didn’t I contract more? With these ever increasing downward trends in agriculture, FNC area sales manager Brian Mohr believes that the stable land values in much of the Midwest will help stop a sudden industry crash. But the mixture of poor commodity prices and the purchase-to-rent ratios on farmland will contribute to land prices trending downward rather than upward. “No matter the outcome of land values trends, land will always be incredibly important asset to a family,” said FNC vice president Brock Thurman. With over 100 years of continued family ownership, my family’s farm is a testament to such. “It’s a known fact that if you invested in a piece of land in the 1960s and held it today, it’d be worth more than if you invested in the S&P 500,” Thurman said. I remember my great grandfather “Cleve” Davis, who held ranch and farm ground from northcentral Oklahoma and southcentral Kansas to the far reaches of western Kansas through the mid-twentieth century, professing to me, a mere 8-year old,“They don’t make any more dirt. Take care of it and it will take care of you.” Both Mohr and Thurman echo my great grandfather – good stewardship and management practices provide an appreciat- ing asset to farm families for their succession plans. According to Mohr over 75 percent of all farmers expect family members to take over their land, with approximately 91 million acres of lands changing hands just this year, while only 4 million going for sale. With the coffee pot nearly dry, I head out the door to “what’s new?” First, it’s the office to clear the drawing board of several projects, one or two are what I call “clean piece of paper” jobs. These represent new developments with new design and con- struction. Then, there are a half-dozen or so that are “what’s new was once old” as remodeling, renovations and expansions of a couple of residences, a warehouse and a distribution center for one of the five major players in the agriculture seed and chemical industry. After finding the surface of the drawing board, I’m off to the farm to what’s new, as the irrigation is turned off for the year and the corn and sorghum are waiting for harvest conditions. Then it’s a visit with the tenant farmer on what’s new for next planting season. Tomorrow, it all starts again with conversa- tions starting with “What’s new?”  BEYOND THE RANCH GATE Continued from page 42 WEANING IS STRESS----STRESS IS DOLLARS----DOLLARS ARE PROFIT THE MLS #5 STRESS TUB IS WEANING MADE PROFITABLE!!! Kyle Latham (TX) 254-715-2162 Chad Holt (TX-NM) 903-272-5010 Clyde Smith (MS-AR-LA) 601-540-613 Joseph Woods(MO-IA-IL) 660-341-5413 Jeff Anslinger (MO-KS-NE-IA) 816-244-7340 Gary West (KY-TN-IL-AR-MO) 731-335-3023 Bryan Sundsbak (ND-SD-WY-NE-MT) 605-209-0559 MLS #5 STRESS TUB ►For young cattle at weaning, shipping, or times of stress. ►An energy, protein, vitamin, and trace mineral tub. ►Contains Availa®4 and CELMANAX™SCP. Can be effective in the reduction and/or severity of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and E. coli or salmonella scours. Availa ® 4 is organic zinc, manganese, copper & cobalt. Essential trace minerals for the health of your calf crop!