Santa Gertrudis Source February 2025

SGBI BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE • Adolfo Sanchez, M.D.

OFFICERS PRESIDENT Adolfo Sanchez PRESIDENT ELECT Suzanne Fulton SECRETARY/TREASURER Suzanne Fulton BREED IMPROVEMENT Arlin Taylor LONG RANGE PLANNING Jamie Daniel MARKETING & PROMOTION Daniel Kubecka WESTERN REGION DIRECTORS Suzanne Fulton • Fulton Farms • Texas (940) 382-3611 • fultonfarms39@gmail.com John Justiss • Four J Cattle • Texas (361) 772-0301 • jjustiss@gvec.net Daniel Kubecka • Wendt Partners • Texas (979) 240-5311 • wendtranches@hotmail.com Devlin Reese • Reese Ranch • Texas (956) 286-4239 • reese.ranch@yahoo.com Yancey Strait • Strait Ranches • Texas (972) 841-0989 • yancey_strait@yahoo.com Bill Stroman • Stroman Cattle Co. • Texas (979) 255-2582 • bill@fdrservices.com Kade Thigpen • Hefte Ranch • Texas (830) 426-1366 • kadethigpen@gmail.com (870) 904-3070 • triple7farms@gmail.com Craig Lopossa • Red View Farms • Indiana (812) 829-8053 • craiglopossa@yahoo.com Todd Osborne • Osborne Livestock Co. • Kentucky (859) 991-2438 • peppydoc1@aol.com Trai Stegall • Stegall Farms • Mississippi (662) 296-5120 • trais3@hotmail.com Arlin Taylor • Tinney Farms • Alabama (256) 507-3838 • arlin.taylor@bhamfast.com AT-LARGE DISTRICT DIRECTORS DISTRICT 1 Adolfo Sanchez • Red Doc Farm • New Mexico (505) 507-2898 • adolfo@reddocfarm.com DISTRICT 2 Patti Ermis • Urbanosky Ranch • Texas (936) 870-6410 • pattiurb77@yahoo.com DISTRICT 3 Kim Wiley • Wiley Ranch • Louisiana (318) 481-6927 • kkwiley2555@yahoo.com DISTRICT 4 Barry Powell • Graves Creek Ranch LLC • Mississippi (601) 270-1561 • bpowell@powelltransportation.com DISTRICT 5 Mickey Bowman • Rockin B Farm • North Carolina (336) 669-5771 • rockinbrowdyrooster@yahoo.com DISTRICT 6 Jewett Borden • Cedar Creek Farm • Kentucky (502) 718-5441 • jewett.borden@yahoo.com MEMBERSHIP Mickey Bowman YOUTH ACTIVITIES Trai Stegall EASTERN REGION DIRECTORS Jamie Daniel • 777 Farms • Arkansas

Opportunity on the Horizon

O ne of the challenges associations and organizations face is declining membership. Today’s complex and competitive world has changed the way individuals view association membership, participation and, most important, value. In analyzing demographics, industry trends and data, it is easy to spot a number of obstacles that limit small beef breed as sociation membership growth. However, increasing Santa Gertrudis Breeders International (SGBI) membership is an action that the association’s leadership takes seriously. It has been said that with challenges come opportunities, and there are opportunities on the horizon for SGBI. However, we must work to gether as a team to increase the numbers on the association’s membership rolls. Times have changed; pastures that once grazed cattle are now covered with homes and businesses. Town and country are merging and the two are becoming indistinguishable. The average age of a cattle producer in the United States is now over 60 years of age, and the average lifespan for a purebred operation is less than eight years. The number of tax incentives associated with cattle ownership has dwindled substantially, and America has become an urban nation. The country’s population is now at least three generations removed from the farm or ranch, and the majority of Americans lack basic knowledge regarding food production. Financing the purchase of agricultural land or a herd of cattle is becoming in creasingly difficult to obtain, and even finding enough acreage capable of main taining a small herd is nearly impossible. SGBI has not been immune to these changes and the result has been a steady decline in membership and cattle en rolled in the herdbook. As an association, we must be honest and acknowledge that the prospect of SGBI membership rebounding to the levels seen 25 to 30 years ago is highly unlikely. However, SGBI can and will grow if we understand that the beef industry is in transition. To remain a viable association, our focus must be centered on profitability for all industry members. Following the herd rebuilding phase that will be ongoing the next several years, value-based marketing will become the major price driver in the indus try. That is how it should be. Cattlemen should be rewarded for producing a calf that hits industry targets, and premiums or discounts should not be based on hide color or breed composition. Beef community members agree that nothing affects profitability more than genetics, and having a documented genetic pack age ensures feeders and packers can identify animals that will perform as they move through the production chain to the consumer. As the beef industry continues to evolve, we will see fewer producers, a smaller number of feedlots, limited packing operations and only a handful of major re tail grocers. Industry consolidation will lead to increased competition for the “right” type of cattle – cattle that calve unassisted, breed back quickly, gain ef ficiently, produce a carcass that is acceptable from both a yield grade and qual ity grade standpoint, and produce a carcass that results in a tender, consum er-pleasing eating experience. It is clear to me that Santa Gertrudis is the total genetic package fitting all industry segments. That is the reason I am confident our association can remain a viable member of the beef industry.

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SANTA GERTRUDIS SOURCE

FEBRUARY 2025