Maurice, I thought you were kidding about having to milk sheep. Hopefully,
sheep are more profitable than cattle! My ranching operation is a
convenient and guaranteed way to make a small fortune out of a large
one. But, it does keep me out of the computer room and trading stock.
I would probably do worse there than with cattle. Here in south-central
Texas, we didn't have the rain like we normally do and hay is becoming
scarce. Everything comes at once: No rain, no hay, high feed costs,
high fuel costs (just paid $0.82 per gallon for off-road diesel), high
fertilizer costs, a virtual flood of cattle from across the border from
Mexico (NAFTA does will do us in), which all brings us to an extremely
low price for our cattle. Early in the winter, I could see what was
happening to the small producers, and checked out IBP, one of the largest
beef packers. Their profits were outrageous! So I bought some, and believe
it or not, the stock split 2 for 1 a few months later. So sometimes the
old saying is right...if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. See ya down the
road. Later, Don |
