For most of us, the spring and summer is “go time,” and work just keeps piling up. In the Western states, it’s time to start really planning your marketing strategy. Here on the West Coast, it is shipping time and feeder-calf sales are in full swing. Whether you are selling feeder calves, bulls, replacement heifers, embryos, or all of the above, there are some marketing factors that remain consistent in our industry. It is important for producers to stay engaged during sale season whether you are buying or selling. For the breeders in our industry, this is also a critical time to follow up with your buyers and build or maintain that relationship for the long term. 

I am writing during finals week at Cal Poly and trying to figure out how to provide a culminating “final” experience for my students in the Cal Poly Bull Test Program. Many  students have experience, but I have a core group of students with no background in the beef industry. A final sale would be just the ticket to prepare my students with a little taste of what our buyers will experience at the sale in October. My students preparing for their final had to work in groups to identify what bulls they would buy and how many based on their preassigned budget. They were also tasked with developing a marketing strategy for their product.

A senior project from my student, Bailey Doherty, conducted interviews with livestock marketing professionals with the objective of developing curriculum to prepare students for success in this industry. The following themes were identified as important factors in cattle marketing: necessity of online bidding platform and overall online presence, customer service and personal communication, branding your product and program, and reputation and relationships. 

A few excellent quotes were compiled to provide context for the themes established. 

• “It’s 10 times harder to try to go out and find a new customer than to keep the one you’ve already got. They have already been to your place, already invested in the program. You’ve got them.”

• “The online broadcast portion has become a necessity. That’s no longer an option.”

• “Having authenticity and underlying values in your program is a must: showing you are committed to the industry and your family, and overall vested into your program.” 

• “When you can define what your program is, what you stand for, people can get behind that idea. It helps build your marketing campaign as well when you’re trying to say ‘This is who I am,’ you’re trying to identify your customer base and the customers are going to find you. So that’s one thing that I kind of stress to a lot of guys is to pick your path and stick to it. When you’re trying to be a little to everybody, then you’re really nothing to anyone.” 

• “I go back to the relationship part of it, you have to be willing to pick up the phone and call customers. You have to develop those relationships. So like today, everyone I talked to on the phone as I went out and evaluated cattle, you know there’s people that called me because they know me and trust me and I have relationships with them.” 

• “It’s hard to explain how much reputation and relationships means in this business. Going back to it, there are rarely people that buy good bulls without having talked to the person and don’t know the person.”

The approach to relationship building in this industry is so special and unique. This is why so many students are drawn to this industry, even if they grew up in the city. 

A handshake still means something in our industry. As you develop your marketing strategy, I encourage you to reflect on what makes your operation different. The cattle market is obviously in an unprecedented and incredibly exciting time. However, building those long-term relationships now is the key to long-term success. 

No matter what’s going on in your neck of the woods, I wish you all success in your endeavors on the ranch. As always, be well and God bless the American rancher.