Prime-Time-Winter-2018

IRONS IN THE FIRE Continued from page 22

latest year’s National Western Stock Show sign is unparalleled in its magnificence. All of the pageantry and expense on a logi- cal and practical level seem quite ridicu- lous. It’s more of a fantasy than real life. After all, form should follow function – not the other way around. I’ve kind of reconciled the conundrum in my mind. I think the show ring actually does serve a useful purpose. For one thing, it exposes much of the general public to at least some form of modern animal ag- riculture. And, for the most part, the par- ticipants are on their best behavior. Partici- pants in livestock shows are agriculture’s ambassadors to the world. There’s no ques- tion that showing livestock can offer a pile of life lessons to kids. It also helps us find our boundaries, both in terms of what is practical and what is popular. Perhaps one of the most useful lessons we can learn from it is that popularity doesn’t always equate to practicality and, inversely, practicality and common sense quite often will never lead to popularity. And, there’s nothing wrong with that. PT when many others had to retrofit theirs. Next, you applied science first and be- cause you first applied science, you can verify that what you are selling is what your customers are getting. Not only that, but you have set the correct path for genet- ic improvement. Genetics are the founda- tion for any efficient system. Your Product is a Premium – You Sell Value, Not Price Premium products tend to follow a pat- tern that enables them to become premium. They do things differently and they do them early on, before anyone else. Your product is a premium and because it’s a premium, it’s not for everyone. You need to recognize the strengths and advan- tages of your product and service so that UNTANGLING THE HELIX Continued from page 20 One is requesting that every animal be par- entage verified via DNA testing. That’s a big deal. You started a database from scratch

Producers of Red Angus and Hereford x Akaushi F1’s

We have a great herd of Red Angus and Hereford cows that we breed to Akaushi bulls to produce superb quality F1 Akaushi heifers. The Red Angus F1’s are solid red and mostly polled. The Hereford F1’s are red white-faced cattle and all have been de-horned.

These cattle are a cowman’s kind and will be produc- tive for many years.They're moderately framed with great maternal characteristics andmothering/milking ability!They will produce tremendous“A4-eligible” ¾-blood females and feeder steers with yield and quality grades to compete with the top F1Akaushi genetics in the breed.

Call us and stop by the ranch anytime! Brown Ranches 2050 Brown Ranch Lane ∙ Beeville, TX 78102

Austin Brown III 361-597-0373 aebrown70@gmail.com

Austin Brown II 361-597-0377 firebrand1924@gmail.com

www.brownranchgroup.com

you can promote them to the correct audi- ence. You must find your audience. Believe and continue to practice the art of differentiation. Your product is a premium, and as a result, it’s not cheap, nor should it be. You add value through the use of tech- nology. Therefore, you sell value, not price. I am very excited about 2018 because this will mark another year of change for me, for our business and for our customers. It will be the year where we implement ad- ditional tools that simplify and speed up decision making for our customers so that they stay in their zone of genius. PT Editor’s note: Elisa Marques, Ph.D., is an award-winning geneticist and business devel- opment specialist, whose career has spanned research and development, marketing and busi- ness development. She is the founder of AgFRONT, www. agfront.com , a digital marketing and man- agement consulting company that focuses on technology transfer within the agribusiness industry with the ultimate goal of helping pro- ducers become more efficient and productive.

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www.akaushi.com • Winter 2018