I love how you laid out our broken cattle markets. Selling direct and slaughtering locally allows consumers to pay the same or less while putting a fair wage in our pockets as producers. Cut out the buyers commission, the feedlots cost and profit and the trucking across the nation for the few big packers and suddenly there’s room for an extra dollar a pound to you without the consumer seeing any increase in cost.
I think you are thinking what I have been thinking for several years now. The auction barns are rigged in S.C. They have a few buyers sitting and they stop bidding and let the other bidder get one and the other one stops bidding and let’s the other guy get one. When I went to bid on one I knew my friend took that week they did the same thing and I started biding once they were thru bidding and amazing how they started bidding again and she went up 350.00 before the guy stopped bidding and I got a look from him like why are you here!
Valentus SlimROAST not sure where you get that number. If it costs you that much to raise them then something is wrong. I believe average slaughter is done around 1200lbs, hanging weight is in the 55% range or 660lbs, $15 x 660 is $9,900 per animal. If you need that to make a decent wage then your inputs are too high.
Valentus SlimROAST you have checked out my channel right? I do run a cow calf operation as well. I know what it takes and asking what about bailouts and all this other stuff has no impact. I know what land rent costs, feed costs, labor costs, equipment costs, and the various other overhead costs are. If I charged $9,900 per animal I produced I’d make enough money to be a millionaire in 5 years. That isn’t a reasonable wage, that’s price gouging. However, if I charged $5 per pound then I’d be making as much as my day job as an IT consultant. That’s a much more reasonable salary for me and the same amount you pay at Walmart for hamburger meat already. Imagine getting steaks and prime rib for the same cost as burger meat. You win, I win, we are both happy.
Reduce costs (mostly in the way of winter feed) and market differently. A wise man told me once " salebarns are for your liability cattle, not your asset cattle". If you have good stuff and are always trying to get better the end user will love to buy your calves direct. No reason to have them spend a day at the sale barn to catch sickness and drop 7¢ for a showring and microphone during the visit. If you can find someone who wants your calves and they perform for them year in year out you'll get a premium for them. And they'll be happy to pay it. Win win. But when you sell at the salebarn your gonna get below what they're worth. They'll assume the average adg, death loss, cut outs, etc even though you've got calves that will gain faster, stay alive, and dress very nice. You're doing great Mike. Steer this thing into the black and never stop measuring and adjusting. And NEVER NEVER NEVER sell bawling calves. If you get paid to run a race don't let someone else run the last 10 feet for ya and take the check.
When I’m grocery shopping I’m going to start asking the manager where I can find the Our Wyoming Life ground beef and steaks!!! Just think if all of the subscribers started doing that! 😀
My next door neighbor is a rancher and I'm with you guys. There has to be a better way then shuffling them off to the bigger guys to make the money or getting a right-off from the feds. I encourage my neighbor to find a market for his beef so he can make money and still sell beef cheaper than the grocery stores for the quality.
@@OurWyomingLife Don't worry Mike, the see your calves as a commodity. They will buy at the bid price. On the other hand, you see them as prized quality products.
I transport cattle for a living, and I always thought it would be cool to come out to the ranch and haul a load of calves out for y’all. I love your videos, bringing the ranch life to people who otherwise wouldn’t experience it. Keep up the awesome work!
@@valentusslimroast6716 that's because the government is involved in it. get rid of the subsidies and the unfair imports from outside the USA. tough sell though as you would have to tell the consumer they are going to pay way more for their food..
@@cleburne-dfwseptic6843 Not really, on the price, when you consider the cost of the devastation caused by BIG AG to Soil, water air and our health, unless you don't put a value on those. and when we buy somewhere else we just outsource the garbage and pollution somewhere else and it just takes longer to blow back here.
@@cleburne-dfwseptic6843 If you cut the subsidies while also cutting regulations, the price will actually decrease and quality will increase. All the while using completely American made supply chain. Get the government out of our lives!
I butchered my first heifer this year and I must say I was suprised how much money I got simply selling it directly to the customers....as you said if we're not making any money somebody is filling their pockets ! keep up the good work :)
i admire your willingness to change mike. we used to sell calves all through the years. we now run every single calf over to yearling and sell however we can to maximize profit. we've been doing this for about 15 years now. that being said better get stocked up on products to combat coccidiosis, have plenty of high powered antibiotics, and expect to lose some weight through stress. corral weaning is about the hardest thing you can put the calves through. and expect some death loss. i don't want to scare you, but these issues are just the reality of corral weaning. we've found it a lot easier to place the stress on the cows as much as you can. leave the calves out in the pasture where they were used to conditions i.e. feed and water and corral the cows. after about 3-4 days chase the cows as far away from the calves as possible. not saying what we do is perfect but it works. good luck in whatever you do.
Watching this exact and very overdue "change" taking hold in Texas, as well. It's a small percentage of ranchers that are currently "bucking the system", but it is growing and taking root quite quickly. There WILL reach a number that will finally make enough of an impact to the "extras" in the chain from "farm to table", that bargaining rights will be in the ranchers hand. (Insert Kenny belting out "You've got to know when to hold 'em!!!!!) Hang tough in there, Mike! I forsee great, positive changes within the decade!!!
I buy my beef from a local ranch. I pay more; but, the quality is better and I like the minimal handling involved in the process. I [Texas] really believe this will catch on and promulgate. 🤠
Mike from the bottom of my heart, I wish you good luck with success and glory that your name will be as high as the stars in this industry and all the best
Our family has been buying local for nearly 45 years (started with my dad on the dairy farm). Best meat one can buy with the knowledge that we know the grower and processor. We rarely go to restaurants to order something that is better at home along with less hassle and no waiting. Great videos and you put your finger on the farming/ranching dilemma of buying at retail and selling at wholesale!
very happy that you have taken a stand. Dairy farmers here in NY have been losing money for years, most all have gone out of business. Good video, stay strong.
IT might be time for you and like minded farmers and ranchers to start a cooperative . starting your own slaughter house or seed heifer program. The big guys write off more than they make . So grass fed from field to plate might be the alternative.
I’m like you here in Tennessee it’s very hard to find a feed lot to sale to because there aren’t any so stockbarns are the way to sell them if you get yearlings over 500 pound the price goes down and if they reach 1000 pounds it’s even worse I know the middle man eats our lunch do the math and you lost money from 500 to 1000 pound I’m like you I would rather sale to a large feed lot or slaughter house than some broker
Peter B you got that right I would rather have more than the monopoly 4 group that can handle all the expensive regulations than ever mom and pop group I was told by a big cattle buyer here that he can only buy contracted cattle so that controls the price here at the stock barns that’s why houses are being planted eating away our farm land
God bless you on your endeavor my friend!I've been trying for some time to figure out how you keep the wheels turning.Your equipment and exspences are enormous!Good luck turning all this around...
Mike, I applaud your stand and willingness to help make changes to how things are done in cattle ranching. I've always respected and admired those who can break the mold and establish new ground. Bravo and I wish you the best. (I won't say good luck because I don't see where anything you've done relied on luck.) Entrepreneurial endeavors and hard work - that's what pays off.
Enlightening. I didn't know this, never thought about it. As most people I just looked for the sales at the commercial markets. Recently I tried to go grass fed. $25 a pound for a steak is way out of my social security purse but you deserve all the money you make.
Excellent video. Now with corn prices as low as they are can you get a couple trailer loads to feed them. Here in our on our farm we have a steer Barn it was designed to finish cattle with corn silage and a grain supplement. I would love to have all your calves to feed out just too far to ship them to Pennsylvania have a great evening
I am with you 100 percent we as ranchers need to work with each other power behind numbers. It’s hard to think of because we compete with each other but it can work
Exactly why I got out of the beef markets. All that time, $ and hard work to barley break even, if that.. I am on my 7th year growing a small scale closed cow / calf herd with quality, dna tested superior bloodline angus herd. Things are working out exceptionally well for my operation. Lots of folks these days seem to be looking for that smaller scale closed herds with good bloodlines. Gotta be willing to change and do what works best for YOUR operation. Mike I believe you are making a sound decision and I wish you luck buddy. So many farmers I know are holding back their calf’s this fall because prices suck balls.
Good on ya Mike! 👍🏻 I feel your pain as well as a fellow beef 🥩 producer down in Arkansas. Hope you figure something out that the rest of us can learn by😬👍🏻
Jonathan Cann Jonathan Vann, cattle prices may not be that great but I am sure you have seen cattle prices much lower than they are now. Wishing the best to all cattlemen
I agree with you 100%. And I think you're definitely on the right track. If you can by-pass the market and sell as many as possible to the consumer yourself, you can set your own price for your calves! Idk what it's like in Wyoming but there's definitely a market for farm fresh Beef in East TN. We're just a small time hobby farm but we manage to sell 30 - 35 head per year for beef straight to the consumer. It may take some time, but I'm confident that you can far exceed my accomplishments with a nice ranch like yours. I truly hope you have success! Gray Family Farm
I'm excited to see how this goes for the ranch, letting the big cattle companies make easy paychecks has happened for too long. If anyone can do it, it's you and your family with the ranch you have. Thanks for sharing!
@@OurWyomingLife you, Erin, and your MIL are not alone in this. So many of us follow your journey, and believe in your family, and your message too. Tides are changing, might not be huge changes but baby steps are ok too.
One of the toughest things to do for a farmer or rancher is change Keep up the good work, wishing I had the chance for a life like yours. You have a rich life
I am holding onto mine also this year and hopefully more cattlemen will do the same until prices come up. Member of S.C. Cattleman’s Association and proud rancher.
Get them to a good grasser weight over winter and if you can grass them out next spring and summer that's where the money is. Try to keep the feed costs down. Don't be afraid to let them go in the spring if the markets strong. By retaining your calves you can give your self so many options and it allows you to hit the market at its strongest point (pay close attention to the markets). The trick is hit grasser weights don't go for the heavy fat weight in the spring. As a rancher this is just my opinion but it has been working.
This is by far the best video you have put out to date. I love the idea that you are sticking up for yourself and your ranch. Too bad more ranchers weren’t like you and standing up for what is truly owed to you. Might I add you are also showing more respect to the calves by holding out and doing what you can to receive a higher price. I wish you all the luck in the world with this decision and I will be keeping a close eye on the outcome. Once again best of luck !!!
If there was a store in the Philadelphia area where I could buy steaks that came.from your farm, I would absolutely go there. On one hand theres always the weekly, what's on sale grocery store beef I'll always buy but whenever I have the chance and the extra budget I love to go to a better meat market and get some nice dry aged rib eyes. Knowing I supported you and your family would certainly be worth the extra money. Keep up the good work! I love your videos.
Keep up the awesome work and I applaud your effort to go against the grain and look out for your bottom line vs someone else telling you what it is. What you guys set out to accomplish is truly inspiring!!
Good luck to you. We're fortunate in that we retail all of our own beef, and thus far can make it work, although not much more than cover expenses while our market grows. I see many similarities to the maple industry. Most sugar operations sell wholesale at $2 per pound and get a large check at the end of the season. We prefer to retail, at $6 or more per lb, it only makes sense. But we are fortunate that 7 generations of making syrup has allowed us to build a steady retail demand. Good luck, I hope this change works out for you.
I am a graduate of agricultural economics and for farmers what we have is an imperfect market. Price in agricultural products are not dictated by the forces of supply and demand (perfect markets) but by faceless entities in the mindset that farm products are essential products for life. Farmers and ranchers are always handed the short end of the stick. No subsidies for inputs vis a vis a regulated market for the product.
I'm proud of y'all and proud for y'all. It's always disturbed me how little the rancher's take is compared to the price of beef at the grocery store and there has to be a way to improve the price to those that do most of the work and is exposed to most of the risk. Good luck and good on y'all!
Happy to see this big change. We get to watch it happen because of You Tube and the huge audience/family support. Farmers and ranchers are extorted to extinction. Blaze that trail.
HI Mike ; Hope everyone is feeling better. Calves wanted your attention while you were talking. I hope this change your making will make you more money at the end. thank you for this video
Congrats Mike I hope this is nothing but a true success for you, I'm 100% with you it is your Ranch after all. and no desk jockeys should be making one penny off of you
Glad to see your trying to do things differently. I really hope things work in your favor. Your videos are really interesting and I'm going to make sure to watch more often. Sign me former Gillette resident.
You can’t be in business very long losing money. I pray your new process succeeds and you prosper for a long time. I pray God will bless you. I pray for your family often. I love this channel. Again, God bless you.
This should be an interesting turn of events. Looking forward to seeing how all of this pans out. The feed bills will be high once your hay from the ranch runs out, but I am confident that you will bring us along in the accounting for this change.
Good work Mike. Another option to consider is maybe breeding 20 to 25 cows (enough for 1 bull to cover without wearing him out) 6 months off, to get a little cash boost and take advantage of the market then. Plus less winter calving for you to check. Just a thought, you and Erin are smart, you'll figure out your best long term plan!
The big guys run show from ranch to supermarket just like oil companies. Getting better value added is tough in Wyoming, unlike even here in Colorado where most operations are Farm-Ranch that can run a feeder operation.
You are exactly right about the way some people manipulate the system. it is not right at all that the farmer gets screwed every time. We buy feeder cattle to raise and sell for beef to everyday people. It's about the only way to turn a profit on the farm. We set our price but we also can't set it so high that we can't sell the beef. Good luck with your decision, hope everything works out
Meat processing companies like JBS, Cargill and Tyson seem to be doing very well. Their owners/management own private jets, sports teams, art collections and real estate holdings all over the world. One can only imagine how many trust funds have been funded for these people due to the hard work of our Ranchers and Farmers.
Have you read anything about Earl L. Butz? He had a huge inpact on the change in American Agriculture from small farming to huge farms. His mantra was 'Get Big or Go Home'. I beleive your making decisions that must be made by more cow calf producers. I look forward to see what you do with these calves. God Bless you both.
Kudos Mike. I can't send money, yet, but I can send prayers and an encouraging note of support. You are doing the right thing. We'll keep watching and telling others about the channel. Keep your head up and keep on moving forward. It will work in the end. All the best from your friends in the North East.
Good job Mike taking control of your own financial decisions you may end up with a whole lot more moolah$$$ in the long run looking forward to see how it works out. God bless you and your family
Sounds like a good plan. I have always wondered why the people who most of the hard work get paid the least. Shake it up, make a good product and it will sell itself and pay you to boot. Were watching and waiting to see how this pans out.........
Good video. Hard to do with milk. Truck comes every other day and pumps it out of the tank and then u get a milk check twice a month depending on the market. Been sucking real bad lately
Bully FOR YOU! A giant leap into the unknown takes a lot of courage. I have the highest regard for you. I pray that your plans will succeed and your goal is met. I hope all other ranchers will eventually follow your lead and the industry will get reshaped. God bless.
Good Job Mike! I believe more than anything else just retaining your calves until there is not a glut of just weaned calves overflowing the sale barn. You will also get a premium for calves with two rounds of vaccinations and weaned 60 plus days. It seems you are a spring calving only operation? It complicates things and maybe not feasible to have two calving seasons up in the great white north but gives you great flexibly on marketing your calves.
Glad some true country folk are making some of that silicon valley money. Send some rain down to South texas. My cattle need my oats and wheat to sprout. Thanks for your time.
You say "escaping the ordinary" on every video. And that is exactly what your trying. No matter what a heavier calf will bring better profit. I think more farmers need to take this stand. And America will soon follow. Can't wait to see the results of a new way. Hope it all works out for the best.
You laid it out perfectly, now all you have to do is get the other Ranchers together and set out a plan. You can change the system. But who says an old boy from Indiana no's what he is talking about. I just think the Ranchers and Farmers should change the system. The cost of a Steak in the Super Market is so high that a lot of people can't eat Steak, Some one in the middle is making big bucks.
I wish you the best in your business plan. I was raised on a small mixed farm and wish I could go down the road and buy grass fed beef, take it to a small independent slaughterhouse and pick up the cuts a few days later. Grass fed beef kills feed lot beef for quality and flavor.
I fully appreciate and support what you have planned to stop middle men taking away your fruits. This is really unfair when an honest and hardworking rancher like you do all the work to raise their cows spending so much money and effort , is not paid appropriately for his product. I feel very sorry to see that a rancher gets only 2-3 dollars/pounds of beef while the retail seller sells it for 10-20 pounds. The person who raises the cattle gets less than the person who (so called) processes the meat and do the marketing. The picture is similar in our country too. A farmer ( we call them farmer not rancher) gets less than half the price than that of the retailers. This must be stopped.
Interesting perspective Mike on your feelings about things today. However, you remain optimistic. Consider possibly adding value to your calves through other means. Another round of vaccinations is a great way to as you already mentioned, giving the cattle an Age and Source verification tag is another option. Also consider bangs vaccinating your heifer calves to make them more appealing to buyers who will be seeking replacement heifers. Separating your calves by color at sale time is another option to allow buyers who only want black calves or red calves to bid higher on uniform groups. All just options I have seen other producers over the years use to add value to their calf crop.
I love how you laid out our broken cattle markets. Selling direct and slaughtering locally allows consumers to pay the same or less while putting a fair wage in our pockets as producers. Cut out the buyers commission, the feedlots cost and profit and the trucking across the nation for the few big packers and suddenly there’s room for an extra dollar a pound to you without the consumer seeing any increase in cost.
Very well put, thank you - Mike
I think you are thinking what I have been thinking for several years now. The auction barns are rigged in S.C. They have a few buyers sitting and they stop bidding and let the other bidder get one and the other one stops bidding and let’s the other guy get one. When I went to bid on one I knew my friend took that week they did the same thing and I started biding once they were thru bidding and amazing how they started bidding again and she went up 350.00 before the guy stopped bidding and I got a look from him like why are you here!
Valentus SlimROAST not sure where you get that number. If it costs you that much to raise them then something is wrong. I believe average slaughter is done around 1200lbs, hanging weight is in the 55% range or 660lbs, $15 x 660 is $9,900 per animal. If you need that to make a decent wage then your inputs are too high.
Valentus SlimROAST you have checked out my channel right? I do run a cow calf operation as well. I know what it takes and asking what about bailouts and all this other stuff has no impact. I know what land rent costs, feed costs, labor costs, equipment costs, and the various other overhead costs are. If I charged $9,900 per animal I produced I’d make enough money to be a millionaire in 5 years. That isn’t a reasonable wage, that’s price gouging. However, if I charged $5 per pound then I’d be making as much as my day job as an IT consultant. That’s a much more reasonable salary for me and the same amount you pay at Walmart for hamburger meat already. Imagine getting steaks and prime rib for the same cost as burger meat. You win, I win, we are both happy.
@@floydfarms1578 what's the name of your channel? Thanks.
Reduce costs (mostly in the way of winter feed) and market differently. A wise man told me once " salebarns are for your liability cattle, not your asset cattle". If you have good stuff and are always trying to get better the end user will love to buy your calves direct. No reason to have them spend a day at the sale barn to catch sickness and drop 7¢ for a showring and microphone during the visit. If you can find someone who wants your calves and they perform for them year in year out you'll get a premium for them. And they'll be happy to pay it. Win win. But when you sell at the salebarn your gonna get below what they're worth. They'll assume the average adg, death loss, cut outs, etc even though you've got calves that will gain faster, stay alive, and dress very nice. You're doing great Mike. Steer this thing into the black and never stop measuring and adjusting. And NEVER NEVER NEVER sell bawling calves. If you get paid to run a race don't let someone else run the last 10 feet for ya and take the check.
When I’m grocery shopping I’m going to start asking the manager where I can find the Our Wyoming Life ground beef and steaks!!! Just think if all of the subscribers started doing that! 😀
Good for you Mike! We farmers have been getting screwed for too long!
Well Im beginning to think that after making some of these videos, they may not buy our calves anyway :) - Mike
My next door neighbor is a rancher and I'm with you guys. There has to be a better way then shuffling them off to the bigger guys to make the money or getting a right-off from the feds. I encourage my neighbor to find a market for his beef so he can make money and still sell beef cheaper than the grocery stores for the quality.
@@OurWyomingLife Don't worry Mike, the see your calves as a commodity. They will buy at the bid price. On the other hand, you see them as prized quality products.
I transport cattle for a living, and I always thought it would be cool to come out to the ranch and haul a load of calves out for y’all. I love your videos, bringing the ranch life to people who otherwise wouldn’t experience it. Keep up the awesome work!
"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, pays the freight both ways." -John F. Kennedy
@@valentusslimroast6716 that's because the government is involved in it. get rid of the subsidies and the unfair imports from outside the USA. tough sell though as you would have to tell the consumer they are going to pay way more for their food..
@@cleburne-dfwseptic6843 Not really, on the price, when you consider the cost of the devastation caused by BIG AG to Soil, water air and our health, unless you don't put a value on those. and when we buy somewhere else we just outsource the garbage and pollution somewhere else and it just takes longer to blow back here.
@@cleburne-dfwseptic6843 If you cut the subsidies while also cutting regulations, the price will actually decrease and quality will increase. All the while using completely American made supply chain. Get the government out of our lives!
I butchered my first heifer this year and I must say I was suprised how much money I got simply selling it directly to the customers....as you said if we're not making any money somebody is filling their pockets ! keep up the good work :)
I like that you are taking back control. I'm excited to be able to watch your journey.
Im sure gonna try to! Thanks David. -Mike
@@OurWyomingLife Good Luck! Fingers crossed!
i admire your willingness to change mike. we used to sell calves all through the years. we now run every single calf over to yearling and sell however we can to maximize profit. we've been doing this for about 15 years now. that being said better get stocked up on products to combat coccidiosis, have plenty of high powered antibiotics, and expect to lose some weight through stress. corral weaning is about the hardest thing you can put the calves through. and expect some death loss. i don't want to scare you, but these issues are just the reality of corral weaning. we've found it a lot easier to place the stress on the cows as much as you can. leave the calves out in the pasture where they were used to conditions i.e. feed and water and corral the cows. after about 3-4 days chase the cows as far away from the calves as possible. not saying what we do is perfect but it works. good luck in whatever you do.
Mike I'm with you 100%... Name your own price! Hardworking farmers should rule their own World👏
I love the way you and Erin take pride in your work. Wish you the best.
Appreciate that Steve Ware. Thanks for watching. -Mike
Be America’s first ranching revolutionary 🇺🇸
Watching this exact and very overdue "change" taking hold in Texas, as well. It's a small percentage of ranchers that are currently "bucking the system", but it is growing and taking root quite quickly. There WILL reach a number that will finally make enough of an impact to the "extras" in the chain from "farm to table", that bargaining rights will be in the ranchers hand. (Insert Kenny belting out "You've got to know when to hold 'em!!!!!) Hang tough in there, Mike! I forsee great, positive changes within the decade!!!
I've always got hope, thank you very much - Mike
I buy my beef from a local ranch. I pay more; but, the quality is better and I like the minimal handling involved in the process. I [Texas] really believe this will catch on and promulgate. 🤠
Mike, absolutely love your attitude on this.
And right there my friend, you broke it down where I think everyone can understand.💥👍
Keep that poker face going😉.
Mike
from the bottom of my heart, I wish you good luck with success and glory that your name will be as high as the stars in this industry and all the best
Our family has been buying local for nearly 45 years (started with my dad on the dairy farm). Best meat one can buy with the knowledge that we know the grower and processor. We rarely go to restaurants to order something that is better at home along with less hassle and no waiting. Great videos and you put your finger on the farming/ranching dilemma of buying at retail and selling at wholesale!
very happy that you have taken a stand. Dairy farmers here in NY have been losing money for years, most all have gone out of business. Good video, stay strong.
Glad you are taking a stand. The more ranchers will do this, the higher prices all will be paided. The packaging companies are making all the bucks.
IT might be time for you and like minded farmers and ranchers to start a cooperative . starting your own slaughter house or seed heifer program. The big guys write off more than they make . So grass fed from field to plate might be the alternative.
I have been saying that too! The dairymen in NY have done it and taken control of the whole chain from the corn silage to the retail.
I’m like you here in Tennessee it’s very hard to find a feed lot to sale to because there aren’t any so stockbarns are the way to sell them if you get yearlings over 500 pound the price goes down and if they reach 1000 pounds it’s even worse I know the middle man eats our lunch do the math and you lost money from 500 to 1000 pound I’m like you I would rather sale to a large feed lot or slaughter house than some broker
Good luck with that. 4 corporations control the market.
Peter B you got that right I would rather have more than the monopoly 4 group that can handle all the expensive regulations than ever mom and pop group I was told by a big cattle buyer here that he can only buy contracted cattle so that controls the price here at the stock barns that’s why houses are being planted eating away our farm land
Mike, I know you and Erin will be successful in whatever the undertaking. I hope your rewards are many!
Thank you Brenda - Mike
God bless you on your endeavor my friend!I've been trying for some time to figure out how you keep the wheels turning.Your equipment and exspences are enormous!Good luck turning all this around...
Really enjoyed the video, looking forward to seeing how this turns out. Keep us posted along the way please.
Will do Mark. Thanks for watching. -Mike
Mike, I applaud your stand and willingness to help make changes to how things are done in cattle ranching. I've always respected and admired those who can break the mold and establish new ground. Bravo and I wish you the best. (I won't say good luck because I don't see where anything you've done relied on luck.) Entrepreneurial endeavors and hard work - that's what pays off.
Enlightening. I didn't know this, never thought about it. As most people I just looked for the sales at the commercial markets. Recently I tried to go grass fed. $25 a pound for a steak is way out of my social security purse but you deserve all the money you make.
Excellent video. Now with corn prices as low as they are can you get a couple trailer loads to feed them. Here in our on our farm we have a steer Barn it was designed to finish cattle with corn silage and a grain supplement. I would love to have all your calves to feed out just too far to ship them to Pennsylvania have a great evening
Hey farmer. I see you are here too.
Yep, Pennsylvania is a bit far to ship the calves. Thanks for watching. -Mike
Bravo Mike! Stepping into your own future is scary, and I believe you’re making the best decision! Way to take control back into your own hands!
I am with you 100 percent we as ranchers need to work with each other power behind numbers. It’s hard to think of because we compete with each other but it can work
Exactly why I got out of the beef markets. All that time, $ and hard work to barley break even, if that..
I am on my 7th year growing a small scale closed cow / calf herd with quality, dna tested superior bloodline angus herd. Things are working out exceptionally well for my operation. Lots of folks these days seem to be looking for that smaller scale closed herds with good bloodlines. Gotta be willing to change and do what works best for YOUR operation. Mike I believe you are making a sound decision and I wish you luck buddy. So many farmers I know are holding back their calf’s this fall because prices suck balls.
Good on ya Mike! 👍🏻
I feel your pain as well as a fellow beef 🥩 producer down in Arkansas. Hope you figure something out that the rest of us can learn by😬👍🏻
Good for you Mike, hope it all works out. All the very best from the UK.
Thanks Nigel. -Mike
Thank you for informing the non farmers of this process. We are weaning our calves this year too. Market prices just aren’t good right now.
I was thinking, if enough people are weaning and not selling, that will help prices. Until everyone starts to sell :) - Mike
Jonathan Cann
Jonathan Vann, cattle prices may not be that great but I am sure you have seen cattle prices much lower than they are now. Wishing the best to all cattlemen
I agree with you 100%. And I think you're definitely on the right track. If you can by-pass the market and sell as many as possible to the consumer yourself, you can set your own price for your calves! Idk what it's like in Wyoming but there's definitely a market for farm fresh Beef in East TN. We're just a small time hobby farm but we manage to sell 30 - 35 head per year for beef straight to the consumer. It may take some time, but I'm confident that you can far exceed my accomplishments with a nice ranch like yours. I truly hope you have success! Gray Family Farm
I'm excited to see how this goes for the ranch, letting the big cattle companies make easy paychecks has happened for too long. If anyone can do it, it's you and your family with the ranch you have.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Bill. I appreciate your confidence in us. -Mike
@@OurWyomingLife you, Erin, and your MIL are not alone in this. So many of us follow your journey, and believe in your family, and your message too. Tides are changing, might not be huge changes but baby steps are ok too.
One of the toughest things to do for a farmer or rancher is change
Keep up the good work, wishing I had the chance for a life like yours. You have a rich life
I am holding onto mine also this year and hopefully more cattlemen will do the same until prices come up. Member of S.C. Cattleman’s Association and proud rancher.
Good Luck, and hope the prices go up for us all. Thanks for watching Robert Goodwin. -Mike
Way to be a price maker, not a price taker. Keep up the good work.
Get them to a good grasser weight over winter and if you can grass them out next spring and summer that's where the money is. Try to keep the feed costs down. Don't be afraid to let them go in the spring if the markets strong. By retaining your calves you can give your self so many options and it allows you to hit the market at its strongest point (pay close attention to the markets). The trick is hit grasser weights don't go for the heavy fat weight in the spring. As a rancher this is just my opinion but it has been working.
Thanks for breaking it down for us. You're right, the system makes no sense and it's not right. Hope this works out for you.
This is by far the best video you have put out to date. I love the idea that you are sticking up for yourself and your ranch. Too bad more ranchers weren’t like you and standing up for what is truly owed to you. Might I add you are also showing more respect to the calves by holding out and doing what you can to receive a higher price. I wish you all the luck in the world with this decision and I will be keeping a close eye on the outcome. Once again best of luck !!!
I hope everything goes BETTER than you expect.
As do I , thank you Ken - Mike
Very interesting Mike, very interesting. I can’t wait to see what the outcome is going to be. Good luck and happy ranching.
If there was a store in the Philadelphia area where I could buy steaks that came.from your farm, I would absolutely go there. On one hand theres always the weekly, what's on sale grocery store beef I'll always buy but whenever I have the chance and the extra budget I love to go to a better meat market and get some nice dry aged rib eyes. Knowing I supported you and your family would certainly be worth the extra money. Keep up the good work! I love your videos.
Keep up the awesome work and I applaud your effort to go against the grain and look out for your bottom line vs someone else telling you what it is. What you guys set out to accomplish is truly inspiring!!
Good luck to you. We're fortunate in that we retail all of our own beef, and thus far can make it work, although not much more than cover expenses while our market grows. I see many similarities to the maple industry. Most sugar operations sell wholesale at $2 per pound and get a large check at the end of the season. We prefer to retail, at $6 or more per lb, it only makes sense. But we are fortunate that 7 generations of making syrup has allowed us to build a steady retail demand.
Good luck, I hope this change works out for you.
"There's always one more way to do things and that's your way, and you have a right to try it at least once." Waylon Jennings
Good for you for sticking up for yourself.
for sure! - Mike
I so hope it works out great. Good luck, and I will say a little prayer too!
Thanks Kimberli. -Mike
I am a graduate of agricultural economics and for farmers what we have is an imperfect market.
Price in agricultural products are not dictated by the forces of supply and demand (perfect markets) but by faceless entities in the mindset that farm products are essential products for life.
Farmers and ranchers are always handed the short end of the stick.
No subsidies for inputs vis a vis a regulated market for the product.
Hi, Mike
Take back control of your ranch. You always give good video. Thanks for sharing. Have a blesses week.
love it, give good video! You rock - MIke
I'm proud of y'all and proud for y'all. It's always disturbed me how little the rancher's take is compared to the price of beef at the grocery store and there has to be a way to improve the price to those that do most of the work and is exposed to most of the risk. Good luck and good on y'all!
It disturbs me as well, and its not going to be easy to change on a whole. Thanks - Mike
Happy to see this big change. We get to watch it happen because of You Tube and the huge audience/family support. Farmers and ranchers are extorted to extinction. Blaze that trail.
Jared from Missouri
Great videos. I think it pays to wean and put some bloom on those calves. Nice looking stock.
HI Mike ; Hope everyone is feeling better. Calves wanted your attention while you were talking. I hope this change your making will make you more money at the end. thank you for this video
Thanks Linda, and I hope it does also. -Mike
We have to do this soon...still haven’t finished harvest yet..and might not finish.
My respect. Not afraid to try something different. Hope it works out better.
Congrats Mike I hope this is nothing but a true success for you, I'm 100% with you it is your Ranch after all. and no desk jockeys should be making one penny off of you
Agreed :) - Mike
Mike your on the right track now. It want be easy but stand your ground you will win. Godless y'all
Thank you very much Cliff! :) - Mike
Great looking herd. Nice breakdown with example of shoes. I'd love to go to restaurant that sells your beef!
Sounds like a good plan. Makes sense.
Glad to see your trying to do things differently. I really hope things work in your favor. Your videos are really interesting and I'm going to make sure to watch more often. Sign me former Gillette resident.
You can’t be in business very long losing money. I pray your new process succeeds and you prosper for a long time. I pray God will bless you. I pray for your family often. I love this channel. Again, God bless you.
This should be an interesting turn of events. Looking forward to seeing how all of this pans out. The feed bills will be high once your hay from the ranch runs out, but I am confident that you will bring us along in the accounting for this change.
You know I will Patrice. Thanks -Mike
Good luck Mike,I hope every thing works out.
good luck I'm hoping this works for you and more rancher and farmer take more control of their markets.
Good work Mike. Another option to consider is maybe breeding 20 to 25 cows (enough for 1 bull to cover without wearing him out) 6 months off, to get a little cash boost and take advantage of the market then. Plus less winter calving for you to check. Just a thought, you and Erin are smart, you'll figure out your best long term plan!
The big guys run show from ranch to supermarket just like oil companies. Getting better value added is tough in Wyoming, unlike even here in Colorado where most operations are Farm-Ranch that can run a feeder operation.
You are exactly right about the way some people manipulate the system. it is not right at all that the farmer gets screwed every time. We buy feeder cattle to raise and sell for beef to everyday people. It's about the only way to turn a profit on the farm. We set our price but we also can't set it so high that we can't sell the beef. Good luck with your decision, hope everything works out
Meat processing companies like JBS, Cargill and Tyson seem to be doing very well. Their owners/management own private jets, sports teams, art collections and real estate holdings all over the world. One can only imagine how many trust funds have been funded for these people due to the hard work of our Ranchers and Farmers.
Very good economics/business class.
Well done. I support you, the sky is the limit. You guys will do better finding direct consumers. Good luck. I love your channel.
Have you read anything about Earl L. Butz? He had a huge inpact on the change in American Agriculture from small farming to huge farms. His mantra was 'Get Big or Go Home'.
I beleive your making decisions that must be made by more cow calf producers. I look forward to see what you do with these calves. God Bless you both.
I like innovation and risk takers. Sounds like you studied the issues so I know you will do fine. Bravo.
Thanks Ron. -Mike
Like tour videos. Keep it up thank you alot of good child hood memories just trucking for now until things change.
Kudos Mike. I can't send money, yet, but I can send prayers and an encouraging note of support. You are doing the right thing. We'll keep watching and telling others about the channel. Keep your head up and keep on moving forward. It will work in the end. All the best from your friends in the North East.
Thats even better, thank you very much - Mike
Great video, Mike...I really enjoy your channel...Well done and thanks for all you and your wife do...
Smart decisions! Good luck Mike!
Thanks Igor Tokar. -Mike
Good job Mike taking control of your own financial decisions you may end up with a whole lot more moolah$$$ in the long run looking forward to see how it works out. God bless you and your family
Thanks, and I hope it does also Y B. Thanks for watching. -Mike
Sounds like a good plan. I have always wondered why the people who most of the hard work get paid the least. Shake it up, make a good product and it will sell itself and pay you to boot.
Were watching and waiting to see how this pans out.........
Mike.....wishing you the best of luck
Good luck on your adventure. Keep us informed!
Thank You Joyce T. I will be sharing the progress. -Mike
Good video. Hard to do with milk. Truck comes every other day and pumps it out of the tank and then u get a milk check twice a month depending on the market. Been sucking real bad lately
Bully FOR YOU! A giant leap into the unknown takes a lot of courage. I have the highest regard for you. I pray that your plans will succeed and your goal is met. I hope all other ranchers will eventually follow your lead and the industry will get reshaped. God bless.
Thank you Misty47. -Mike
Good Job Mike! I believe more than anything else just retaining your calves until there is not a glut of just weaned calves overflowing the sale barn. You will also get a premium for calves with two rounds of vaccinations and weaned 60 plus days. It seems you are a spring calving only operation? It complicates things and maybe not feasible to have two calving seasons up in the great white north but gives you great flexibly on marketing your calves.
I'm proud of you!!! It's definitely a flawed system so I'm glad you're trying to work it differently 👍👍
We are with you!
Glad some true country folk are making some of that silicon valley money. Send some rain down to South texas. My cattle need my oats and wheat to sprout. Thanks for your time.
You say "escaping the ordinary" on every video. And that is exactly what your trying. No matter what a heavier calf will bring better profit. I think more farmers need to take this stand. And America will soon follow. Can't wait to see the results of a new way. Hope it all works out for the best.
As do we, thanks - Mike
We also need to stop importing garbage beef from China and South America.
I hope more farmers do the same
I hope so too. Everybody hits a breaking point, and looks to make a change. Thanks for watching Alvan. =-Mike
You laid it out perfectly, now all you have to do is get the other Ranchers together and set out a plan.
You can change the system. But who says an old boy from Indiana no's what he is talking about.
I just think the Ranchers and Farmers should change the system. The cost of a Steak in the Super Market is so high that a lot of people can't eat Steak, Some one in the middle is making big bucks.
May your efforts be very profitable Mike.
I wish you the best in your business plan. I was raised on a small mixed farm and wish I could go down the road and buy grass fed beef, take it to a small independent slaughterhouse and pick up the cuts a few days later. Grass fed beef kills feed lot beef for quality and flavor.
You’ll get it all figured out Mike. 👍
Good for you!! I hope your plan works out better than expected!
I hope so, thanks - Mike
I fully appreciate and support what you have planned to stop middle men taking away your fruits. This is really unfair when an honest and hardworking rancher like you do all the work to raise their cows spending so much money and effort , is not paid appropriately for his product. I feel very sorry to see that a rancher gets only 2-3 dollars/pounds of beef while the retail seller sells it for 10-20 pounds. The person who raises the cattle gets less than the person who (so called) processes the meat and do the marketing.
The picture is similar in our country too. A farmer ( we call them farmer not rancher) gets less than half the price than that of the retailers. This must be stopped.
I totally agree with you .sell the end product direct to the consumer what about beef jerky
Good luck OWL . I hope you find the right solution !
Thank you Six Toes. We will find the solution that works for us. -Mike
Wow some great insight,,#Pay our Ranchers And Farmers Fairly.
I really enjoy listening to you speak. The things you say seem to be very well thought out. You have a new subscriber.
Interesting perspective Mike on your feelings about things today. However, you remain optimistic. Consider possibly adding value to your calves through other means. Another round of vaccinations is a great way to as you already mentioned, giving the cattle an Age and Source verification tag is another option. Also consider bangs vaccinating your heifer calves to make them more appealing to buyers who will be seeking replacement heifers. Separating your calves by color at sale time is another option to allow buyers who only want black calves or red calves to bid higher on uniform groups. All just options I have seen other producers over the years use to add value to their calf crop.
howdy Jay, thanks a bunch - Mike