-Photo by Russ & Barb Pepper

Greetings,

What a year we are having in the cattle business! Whether bulls, females or feeder cattle, never in my lifetime have I seen such strong demand for top quality ANGUS stock as we have seen in the past 12 months - and we continue to see unprecedented demand.

I don't think we have ever had a more positive outlook for those of us in the cow/calf business, the Seedstock business or the protein production business as we have at the present time. We have the smallest cowherd on record on the North American continent and by the sound of things this cowherd is getting smaller. Huge liquidations are being seen in the South due to drought. On top of that, larger than usual dry cows are going to town in the North and Midwest because of tough calving conditions.

The demand world-wide for protein and for high quality Angus Beef is almost mind boggling. The rest of the world has finally got the taste of high-quality meat and they like it and are going to buy it.

I well remember growing up and hearing a lot of the old timers that had what I call some wisdom and "grey behind the ears" say to me:

"Young man, some time in your lifetime you will see those of us in production agriculture in a positive position – a position of power with the rest of the world."

Well folks, we are there, our product, Angus Beef, is in huge demand not only in this country but around the globe. The rest of the world is in large part looking and counting on this country to supply their protein needs.

Our region has been blessed with moisture and an abundance of feed. If I had any advice I would say enjoy these times, put a little away for a rainy day, keep your genetics strong and be proud of where we are from and the breed of cattle we raise.

I hope to see a lot of you at some of our Montana Angus Association sponsored events such as the Montana Angus Tour in North Central Montana and the NILE in Billings.

Yours Truly,
Joe Goggins