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July 2006 Herdsire Issue
No Risk. No Gain.
by Darrell Anderson
“The greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one.”
That is one of my favorite quotes from John Maxwell. How many times have we fretted over a decision, worrying about the outcome, when if we would have just charged forward, we would have been much better off?
One of the perks of this job is rubbing shoulders with some pretty neat folks and innovative industry leaders. I just came home from one of those experiences – an evening with Hall of Fame baseball player Nolan Ryan. This was my second encounter with him, and I was even more impressed with his genuine love for the livestock industry.
The National Pedigreed Livestock Council honored him with their distinguished service award. For you young bucks that don’t remember, he was an incredible major-league pitcher, setting 51 major-league records. Even though he was best known for his fastball, he still managed to pitch for 27 years in the big league, and threw seven no-hitters – an unequaled feat.
His passion for the cattle business began at an early age. He would buy Holstein bottle calves, feed them and sell them at the local sale barn. Then, using his profits, he bought beef heifers. In junior high, he faced a tough decision – keep building his herd or disperse the cows and spend more time developing his baseball skills. As he said with tongue in cheek, “I chose to sell the cows and spend more time in sports. I think it worked out OK.”
However, as soon as he left major-league baseball, he dove into the cattle business. He has developed a branded product, Nolan Ryan Aged Beef, which is popular in the south, and is currently serving as chairman of the American Beef Breeds Coalition, which is a conglomerate of the Brahman-influenced cattle breeds. He is attempting to accomplish something similar to NSR with that group of breeds.
Not many of us will face that specific decision or pass up a chance to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. However, there are a lot of changes facing animal agriculture today, and you will all need to make decisions regarding your operation.
John Maxwell also said, “If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.” That’s true for those of us in pedigreed-swine production, as well as the entire meat-protein complex.
I recently saw some interesting facts about how supermarkets are changing to attract new customers. Michael Sansolo, Food Marketing Institute (FMI) senior vice president, says there’s no longer a “one format fits all” supermarket.
“Understanding the specific needs of your targeted consumers and delivering what they need are essential for success,” he says. Sound similar to our business?
Among the notable trends:
• 72 percent of new stores offer space for cooking demos.
• 53.7 percent of firms have a coffee bar in at least one store.
• In-store pharmacies (55.7 percent) continue to be a popular feature.
• 25.4 percent of companies offer gasoline sales.
I’m sure these supermarket managers were apprehensive about instituting changes, but they’ve obviously been successful. They now represent the norm, instead of a radical shift in services.
Our industry has many new opportunities as well. The showpig industry has attracted attention in recent years, and no one does it better than NSR breeders. Another one that has shown incredible growth is the marketing of value-added meat products.
A quick example is that organic meat grew 55.4 percent in 2005, making it the fastest-growing organic food category. Total U.S. organic food sales reached nearly $14 billion in 2005, representing 2.5 percent of all retail sales of food.
Several breeders have developed their own branded products and are doing well. I applaud them for operating out of their comfort zones. How about you? Are there opportunities for you to enhance your profit potential? Don’t be afraid of making a mistake – you’ll never know unless you try!
