Barzona_Bulletin_Fall_2019

Marketing Outside the Box Continued from page 3

RULES FOR ADVERTISING REIMBURSEMENT • Current paid full membership (can be paid anytime prior to reimbursement) $75. • Must include a receipt and a proof copy of the ad. • It MUST have the assocation website on it ( www.barzona.com ). • BBAA will reimburse half of the advertising fee, max of $100 annually. Can be done on multiple ads if the maximum is not reached. Contact Alecia Heinz, BBAA Executive Secretary, at barzonabreeders@gmail.com for more information. but calves take two years to grow. Steaks are good money, but the supply isn’t there. So, he changed to paying ranchers extra for well-fleshed cull cows and sold 20-pound boxes of grass-fed burger to customers who were more than happy to get it. Many of us already sell a random beef privately; perhaps modifying his business model might work for more of us. I know as soon as a nearby locker gets USDA inspection certified: I am going to be looking at doing so. No matter what, we are all in this together. Don’t be afraid to call and chat with somebody about their cattle, Barzona or not. In larger quantities, perhaps we should all get together and make a Barzona Beef Coop where all the calves are “sold” to a group and run through a specified feedyard or two. If somebody

Purebred Barzona Bulls Virgin 2 year-olds and yearlings, perfect for improving your herd by cross-breeding with Angus, Hereford, Limousin & Charolais. Hybrid vigor resulting in superior preformance calves with LBW and rapid growth. Heat tolerant, disease resistant, hardy with gentle dispositions, guaranteed. Will work with you on delivery terms. Walking Stick Ranch Ron & Peggy Erjavec (719) 947-3645 • www.walkingstickranch.com Boone, Colorado Ad Index Bard Cattle Co.. ..........................................6 F & F Cattle Company.................................2 Golden H Farm............................................2 Raymond Boykin Jr......................................4 Weichman Feedyard L.P..............................4 Walking Stick Ranch....................................5 WildNGrazy Fram........................................6 No matter what, we are all in this together. Don’t be afraid to call and chat with somebody about their cattle, Barzona or not. Become an expert in areas that pertain to you. Don’t be afraid to trade potential buyer contact information with other breeders. Maybe give out kickbacks for recommendations – if person A buys a bull because breeder B told them about you, send a thank you card and $50. Once somebody buys heifers, they will need an outcross bull and even replacements eventually. For all those that don’t make seedstock, a new way to market our calves away from the sale barn might mean we keep more of our own nickels and dimes. It’ll all come back around, and we might as well find a way to share the wealth. BB is going to make money on feeders, why not let it be us and cut out some middlemen? If a rancher has calves that grade really well, why not designate a maximum profit per head, and give the extra back to the rancher who produced them? This could be added incentive for even commercial ranchers to run their calves with us. More so, what if they had to be a member of the Barzona Breeders Association of America to sell to the coop? The ideas could be endless. Bull and Heifer Tests: The only thing I hate with these are the requirements for bulls tomake the sale. The tests in Iowa are finally getting away from huge rate-of-gain requirements and are looking more for temperament and structure. We will be participating in a heifer test this year but retaining ownership. If all goes well, we will do so next year but have the heifers run through the sale. Minimum price is $1,100 so I can’t see that it would be a losing proposition, and the publicity never hurts my feelings.

WWW.BARZONA.COM • FALL 2019 | 5