Features
Cattleman: Turnaround inevitable for beef, dairy industries
<i>Originally published in the September 4, 2009, print edition.</i>
There isn’t much excitement in the beef markets these days, but an exception might be bull sales for Wabasha County cattleman Don Heise.
“I think ranchers appreciate value, especially in the young bulls they buy,” Heise said. “Most sell their bulls every two years so they’re not breeding their offspring heifers. So maybe this was the year when they were selling off their bulls, and looking for something different. I don’t know the reason but my bull sales have been good.”
Though not known as the “beef center” of Minnesota, ranchers, wherever they operate, stay tuned to good genetic sources. Heise sells mostly into Minnesota and Wisconsin but has also sold bulls in North Dakota and South Dakota.
Formerly running as many as 45 Shorthorn cows, he’s down to just 10 cows currently, primarily because of the economy. Like most beef men, he indicated that feeding costs — unless you grow most of your own feed — have pretty much wiped out black ink, at least for the time being.
He sees a turnaround as inevitable both in the beef industry and the dairy industry. More jobs, more people getting back to work, and getting interest rates down so borrowed money isn’t so expensive and the livestock business will start a rebound, Heise said.
The big question is when, and he doesn’t want to make that prediction. Heise is a board member of the Wabasha County Cattlemen’s Association.
Melissa Dohrn, a recent University of Minnesota graduate in Animal Science now helping at her parents’ Wabasha County 150-head beef cow operation — which also used to be a 150-cow diary operation — isn’t excited about a quick turnaround in the livestock markets, either.
“If there’s a saving factor out there it could be that it looks like $3 corn, maybe even less, is a reality this fall. But right now the livestock industry is really struggling. It looks like a slow recovery,” she said.
- Features
-
-
Cover story: The legacy of Wendelin Grimm and his 'everlasting clover'
Grimm was the farmer who developed winter-hardy alfalfa, which after his death became known as Grimm alfalfa. It helped make Carver County a premier dairy belt, and became the basis of the alfalfa used throughout Minnesota, and across wintry North America.
-
Heatherow Farm still going 160 years, four generations later
They homesteaded 120 acres, not realizing that over 160 years later one of their fourth-generation descendants would own that land.
-
Minnesota Machinery Museum breathes life into past
After using grant funds to make necessary improvements, the Yellow Medicine Agricultural and Transportation Museum opened Aug. 9, 1980, during the Pioneer Power Threshing Show. Under the guidance of Minnesota Historical Society Field Service Coordinator David Nystuen, the six-acre site found new life, and soon the name was changed to the Minnesota Machinery Museum.
-
Q&A with Corn and Soybean Digest editor Greg Lamp
Greg Lamp, editor of Corn & Soybean Digest, offers his views on the world of agriculture.
-
Back Roads: Ode to a trail
Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail, Mankato
-
Cover story: Grain gains — Wheat checkoff passes, to improve genetic research
Because wheat breeding programs are almost exclusively the domain of University breeding programs, more dollars are especially needed to jump-start research.
-
Organic farming: Minnesota's organic ag growing rapidly
With more than 650 certified organic producers and 200 processors, Minnesota continues as one of the more rapidly growing states nationwide in the expanding world of organic agriculture.
-
Organic farming: Organic markets based on quality, not speculation
“There always seems to be more people wanting to get into the organic market, both domestically and internationally. We’re still finding room for growth.”
-
Organic farming: ‘I was too small to compete’
“I was too small to survive," said Cottonwood County farmer Phil Batalden. "I just don’t have enough acres to compete conventionally.” But, he said, “Farming this way is more fun.”
-
Rural unemployment declined throughout 2009
Local banks supporting small business, economic stimulus funds credited for positive impact
- More Features Headlines
-
