Sort & Cull

Patience and Timing in Utter Chaos

ShayLe Stewart
By  ShayLe Stewart , DTN Livestock Analyst
(DTN photo by ShayLe Stewart)

Last week I spent a lot of time on the phone -- a lot of time. Calling various industry experts that have long ago paid their dues, who have seen the market go through various stages of hell and who have wisdom that seems more valuable that gold in times like these. One conversation that really resonated with me was with a well-known, and widely respected, cattle buyer and feeder out of Minnesota.

After being on the phone for a while and talking about the various possibilities of the market, he circled back around to last September.

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"When the marketplace panicked after the packing plant fire, I had to step out until there was some clarity," he said. "Cow-calf producers were calling me and begging me for bids, and I just kept telling them I wasn't in the marketplace, and they wouldn't have liked my bid if I was to offer them anything.

"But they persisted and begged, and you could hear how distraught they were. I encouraged them to remember that their cattle are assets, and not liabilities, and that the market would circle back around in time," he said.

His phrase, "in time," sounds so simple, doesn't it? If we think rationally, he's correct. But having the discipline to understand that markets take time to work out uncertainty is extremely challenging. Listen to this week's Cattle Market News update on the DTN/Progressive Farmer Facebook Page to hear more about harnessing your mind through this challenging time.

https://www.facebook.com/…

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