Beef Magazine

I have always stood by the fact that if you want to learn something new, you only have to look to someone with a lifetime of experience and ASK. I have never been afraid to lean on a friend or an industry professional to guide me through my personal life and professional career. I guess people like to help others, especially young people. This is something we shouldn’t forget in these financially challenging times in agriculture. Surely, you know someone that has weathered a storm like this before. Undoubtedly, that person has sufffered through much tougher times and has the perfect advice on how to get through it.

My lead headline on BEEF Daily today is “Tips Can Help Producers Through Tough Times“. It provides great guidelines for reducing input costs and marketing your calves more profitably. I encourage you to read the article, but I think you should take it one step further. Ask someone for advice. Now, I don’t just hand out advice, I follow my own, as well. So I asked my dad and grandpa their thoughts on the current state of the industry. It quickly turned into what the future looks like for young people, and here is a small sampling of what they had to say…

When I talked to my grandpa, here is what he had to say about the future for young people…

“When I was young, it was incredibly challenging to get started in cattle production. Today, it is even more difficult with skyrocketing land prices. That’s why family is so important to help young people transition into agriculture production. There are a lot of opportunities in agriculture if you want to work hard.” –My grandpa, Arnold Wienk of Wienk Charolais, Lake Preston, S.D.

Then I asked my parents the same thing, and they had similar thoughts…

“Mandy, you can do anything you set your mind to, and if the cattle business is what you love, you will find a way to make it happen. However, there are a lot of challenges and financial hardships into getting started. Go get some real world experience. Get your feet planted on the ground. And then come back and see what happens.” –My parents, Dave and Peggy Nolz of Nolz Limousin, Mitchell, S.D.

I recently read that over 240,000 producers have exited from the cattle business, and I know you aren’t going to be one of them. We will weather through the tough times and get back into a place where people are excited to be in the beef business again. I guarantee it!