FROM DAVE’S DESK
What Does the Next 15 Years Look Like? Dave Maples
-------------Executive Vice President
C
ontent matters…however the revolution will not be television. I picked up a Sports Illustrated magazine the other day. I guess it was the first one that I have looked at in ten years. The article that got my attention was about the revolution coming to the high dollar sports marketing. It is hard to imagine the media model that created the bull market of NFL, NBA, the SEC and others as crumbling. The article describes that the way games are broadcasted and consumed is chang-
ing radically. The change in time spent watching traditional TV by age group is telling. Ages 2-11 is down 22%, age 12-17 down 40%, 18-24 is a negative 42% and 25-34 is down 30%. Whereas the age group of 50-64 is up only 1% and the age group of 65 plus is up 8%. The entire U.S. population is down 11% . With these numbers you can see why the NFL is having anemic ratings this season. Will we be watching NFL games with virtual reality goggles on and have the opportunity to make a micro bet during the game? In 15 years we won’t even recognize our lives, when you think how much has happened in the last year alone. And this will be in the beef and food industry as well. There will be new players in our game just like the sports game that we never expected, and the players now
21st Annual Smithland’s Lake Cumberland Bull & Female Sale
Friday, March 10, 2016•6:30 P.M. CDT Russell County Stockyard Russell Springs, KY
in the game will find ways to stay in. There have been several articles and speakers at meetings talking about lab ground meat or clean meat that is printed on a 3D printer or if there is a shortage of lean meat you just regenerate it from cells developed in a petri dish. However, at the end of the day it’s content that’s valuable. As the world gets smaller, content gets more valuable. That is true for the beef industry. The content of our product and how the industry merchandises it will be the determining factor of the viability of the industry. So we as an industry have got to do a good job with our animals and practices on our farms. The supply chain is going to have to change as the major players are kicking the can down the road at the thought of having to figure out the transition that is going to take place. A quote from the SI article that interested me was, “If you are in the oil business and can’t own the oil the next best thing is to own the pipeline – and sports is laying new pipe by replacing TV with the web.” As cattlemen you could ask the question to yourself, “If you are in the cattle business and can’t own the beef the next best thing would be to own the_____”.
KCA Convention
I hope you take the opportunity to attend the KCA convention. The Beef Efficiency Conference will get things started on Thursday morning January 19 th. Cattlemen, there are three of the top speakers in the country coming to Lexington that morning. Dr. Tom Fields from the University of Nebraska, Dr. Jon Beever from the University of Illinois and Mr. Johnny Rogers from North Carolina State. Sometimes, I don’t think we make the time to appreciate the speakers that the planning committee brings to our convention. I got the marketing information for the Cattlemen’s College at the NCBA convention in Nashville and I noticed the pictures of all the speakers and I was pleased to see how many of these speakers have spoken at the KCA convention over the past four years. The other thing that struck me was that it cost $500.00 just to attend the education sessions at NCBA and you can come to the KCA meeting and attend all of the meetings and trade show for only $50. We hope you take advantage of educational opportunities like this because I could envision that this won’t always be the case. I hope to see you in Lexington in a couple of weeks.
More details in the February & March issues of Cow Country News
Smithland Angus Farm
5202 East Hwy. 80 Russell Springs, KY 42642 Charles (Bud) B. & Pam Smith 270-866-3898 • cell 270-576-2708 Henry Bryan & Melissa Smith 270-866-2311 • cell 606-271-7520 smithlan@duo-county.com
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10 Cow Country News, January 2017, A publication of the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association