Gold on those acres?
Prime Future 181: the newsletter for innovators in livestock, meat, and dairy
I recently had the most bizarre conversation. A rancher passed away and his children were frustrated because the cash portion of their inheritance was buried somewhere on the ranch. Only the family didn't know where it was buried...oops.
The conversation took a turn further into bizarro world as we talked about other farmers and ranchers with cash money buried on their land. Apparently it’s kind of a thing?
Then I saw this:
Which led to...
And….
On the one hand, it tickles me that this is a thing in the year of our Lord 2023.
On the other hand...really?
My guess is that these individuals skew older and less educated, with some Great Depression era-influenced money management habits and world views. And (by definition?) they tend to be smaller, less productive, less profitable operations.
I have to believe it's not actually more than 5%, but regardless of whether it's 5 or 15%, it's a very real segment of the farmer & rancher population. At least in the US.
(People of the world - is this a thing in your country??)
This whole bizarre topic leads me to some inferences that may not be right or fair, but may be helpful as we think about the future of the industry. So that’s today’s topic.
(Those of you who’ve been here a while know I rarely take the negative lens, so bear with me this once.)
If this is a real thing, then let’s acknowledge reality as it is, not as we wish it were.
The rest of this week’s bizarre content is only available to Premium Subscribers who have upgraded from free to paid.
The CEO of a large agribusiness recently asked for a discount on the subscription. I awkwardly laughed while thinking, “Really guy?”
I asked him, “Do you get at least the value of a couple of coffees out of Prime Future each month? We’re only talking about $9/month or $99/year.”
To which he replied, “Absolutely and oops, I thought it was like $1,500 per year!”
I share this in case anyone else is under the same impression. 😊