My main point is that we've all got to be flexible, and keep the wheels turning in our heads. As a rule, if everyone is doing something, to us that means we probably should be doing something else.
It's true that bankers are the main blocking point in all this too. Exactly when a smart thing to do would be to buy, is the time when the banker is trying to protect himself by forcing guys to bail out. Several months before we bought those cheap replacement heifers, our banker was practically begging us to go out and buy some $1500.00 bred cows. (Of course this was before the market dropped - 1996) We used our contrary philosophy to resist his offer of all the money we wanted, and just sat it out. Sure enough, several months later, this same banker was forcing guys into dumping their former $1500.00 cows for about $700, and absolutely refused to lend us money for $350.00 heifers. We did the only sensible thing we could think of. We found another way to raise the heifer money, and bought them anyway.
We need to always look for alternatives, and try and think outside the box as they say. A wise cattle buyer once told us "Don't fall in love with those calves. If you see a profit, take it." A lot of money has been lost by a lot of people waiting for the absolute top of the market. If you look at it, the top of the market doesn't last any longer than the bottom, really.
It's true that bankers are the main blocking point in all this too. Exactly when a smart thing to do would be to buy, is the time when the banker is trying to protect himself by forcing guys to bail out. Several months before we bought those cheap replacement heifers, our banker was practically begging us to go out and buy some $1500.00 bred cows. (Of course this was before the market dropped - 1996) We used our contrary philosophy to resist his offer of all the money we wanted, and just sat it out. Sure enough, several months later, this same banker was forcing guys into dumping their former $1500.00 cows for about $700, and absolutely refused to lend us money for $350.00 heifers. We did the only sensible thing we could think of. We found another way to raise the heifer money, and bought them anyway.
We need to always look for alternatives, and try and think outside the box as they say. A wise cattle buyer once told us "Don't fall in love with those calves. If you see a profit, take it." A lot of money has been lost by a lot of people waiting for the absolute top of the market. If you look at it, the top of the market doesn't last any longer than the bottom, really.
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