By Meghan Grebner (Brownfield)
Entering the cattle business isn’t for the faint of heart.
Jackie Moore with Joplin Regional Stockyards in Missouri, one of the largest sale barns in the country, says it’s more challenging than ever for producers who are trying to get started. “We’ve never been at these levels. So we’re up here at a level where we’ve never been before in history, with these $3.50 yearlings and $4.50 or $5 calves.”
He tells Brownfield it could take some creativity for the next generation of producers who want to raise cattle. “You have to just pay attention and most of the time you got to buy a little one and be able to work.” “Most people don’t want to work that hard to do the things they have to do with a cutting bull or a 200-pound calf or an old wore out cow. That’s where you make the money. You can’t get in the mainstream and play with the big boys and if you’re just starting out it isn’t going to work.”
Moore says in addition to a creative business plan, it takes a lot of hard work to grow an operation from the ground up.
