MESSAGE FROM THE COW-CALF COUNCIL CHAIR
Innovation, best practices and perseverance keep ranch operations thriving
BY BRAYDEN ELIASON Cow-Calf Council Chair
We must adapt with the times to keep overcoming industry challenges and solidify the future “Comfort is the enemy of progress.” – P.T. Barnum
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s I write this, we have just passed through the joyous Christmas holiday season and the mark of a new year. I can’t help but look back and reflect on what all has happened and has been endured in agriculture and our cattle industry. We survived a year of severe drought, record high hay prices, lower than desired calf and cattle prices, not to mention a hundred other unnamed challenges, many which we’ll face in the future. If one thing is for sure, it is that the industry has stood the tests of time, and we have proved that we can rebound and that God is on our side. But even with that said, what are we doing to achieve the goals we have set for our operations, and will they help us through our hardest times? I am a fifth-generation cattleman and the fourth generation on the current ranch operation, with my father, grandfather and brother. Needless to say, we have had our share of diversities and problems that we have had to work through the past 100-plus years. Through the years we have seen many friends and neighbors have to make the impossible choice to sell out, whether it be because the bills couldn’t be met, the time requirement to operate the ranch was too much or the practices were simply old and outdated. I’ve heard it best said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. As hard as it can be, we need to keep improving our operations and keeping up with the new things that are available to us.
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CHANGE IS OK. WE CAN EMBRACE THE PAST WHILE WELCOMING INNOVATION
The word “change” can instill a sense of fear into some and a bit of uncertainty for all. But by far the worst attitude or phrase that we can ever say in our industry is, “Well, that is how we have always done it,” or, “Grandpa always did it this way.” When we have that state of mind, we are severely limiting ourselves in what we can do! Thirty years ago, the herd here at Eliason Livestock was an all-red Hereford group of cattle, and now we are a 99% Black Angus herd that is headed to a SimAngus hybrid. Thirty-five years ago, the entire crop was watered through ditches and flood irrigation. Now 98% of the crops are watered by pressurized pivots and wheel lines, watering almost 40% more ground with the same amount of water. Forty years ago, the cattle were hauled in a 2-ton truck. Now, they are being hauled by semi-truck and bull wagon. Just five years ago, a cow was just a number without any information, and now we are taking accurate records to put to those numbers, hoping soon to run everything through RFIDs (radio-frequency identification). Someone once said, “You can’t improve on what you don’t measure.” These are just a few examples of practices that we have implemented, and there are other things that we continue to do because of market demand, efficiency, animal health and many other reasons. CONTINUED, PAGE 18 www.idahocattle.org
