Market Closeout
Now, while prices are favorable, is the time to lay the groundwork for succeeding when they’re not.
June 18, 2025
Last week a friend called to let me know he had just sold his bottom-end steers. They had a pay weight of slightly more than 1,500 pounds (lb.), and he sold them live. His check was just over $1 million dollars. The heifer mates are slated to go in the next two weeks. Not surprisingly, he was feeling pretty good about life.
My friend is one of those individuals who has always been aggressive. His tolerance for risk is high, but not as high as you might think by simply looking at what he has done from an outside perspective.
There is something we can all learn from those who have learned to move forward with a plan in the face of a tremendous amount of risk.
His dad had built a sizable business and enjoyed a significant amount of success. My friend learned many valuable lessons by watching his dad and has taken their operation to a whole new level since then. He continued to be aggressive, but the risk was always mitigated and well-calculated.
Prepared to execute the plan
Their operation was a little like watching a Navy Seal team. There was no denying the danger, or what was at stake, but they were well-prepared, had a plan and executed it. The occasional loss was unavoidable, but over time they enjoyed success and achieved their objectives.
Certainly, not everyone is cut out to be a Navy Seal. It takes a special individual to combine that level of preparation and commitment. With that said, I think there is something we can all learn from those individuals who have learned to move forward with a plan in the face of a tremendous amount of risk.
In today’s cattle market, we are at higher risk levels than ever before. It is unprecedented territory. Last week we saw yearling cattle with first cost prices approaching $3,000 per head on a delivered basis! As an industry, and as individual operations, the stakes and the dollars at risk have never been higher.
Evaluating each move
I was struck by a comment my friend made, almost in passing, when we talked about the volume of dollars now routinely flowing through his operation. He said it was important to celebrate the victories — and to feel the sting of the defeats. Both feelings were great motivators to him throughout his career.
He went on to say that after they celebrated the victories, or mourned the losses, they took a step back and evaluated every pen of every major decision they made. They were always taking the time to determine how they could have made good decisions even better, and why those decisions worked. It was what helped them make similar and hopefully even better decisions down the road.
What is excellent today will be the status quo down the road.
It was the losses/mistakes, though, from which they learned the most. Their motto was how do we make the bad better? What mistakes could be avoided? What risks were unacceptably large? How could bad decisions or bad outcomes be avoided in the future?
The result was that they were always executing a well-thought-out plan, they had put together a competent and well-trained team capable of adapting to changing circumstances, and they had leaders who were steady in the face of the fire. They operate with clear objectives, a comprehensive understanding of the risks, and a definite plan that was malleable as conditions on the ground changed.
The best time to advance your advantage is when the flow of the battle is in your favor.
Small mistakes were great learning opportunities, while successes were seen as threats, because they had a way of building complacency.
Today’s record price levels can make us all complacent. “Let’s run it again” is not a bad strategy. However, the one thing history teaches us is that the cure for record prices is record prices, and that what is excellent today will be the status quo down the road. The best time to advance your advantage is when the flow of the battle is in your favor.
Now is the time to invest in building relationships, improving genetics, strengthening management, opening marketing opportunities, and differentiating your product in the marketplace. They may not necessarily be needed today, but they are paying dividends today. They will be needed at some point in the future, and the dividends will be necessities, not additional add-ons.
Editor’s note: Troy Marshall is director for commercial and industry relations for the American Angus Association.
Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA, Vol. 17, No. 6-B
Topics: Management , Marketing , Sustainability , Feeder-Calf Marketing Guide
Publication: Angus Beef Bulletin
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