Farmers, ranchers methods and goals have changed over 20 years

Farming and ranching have had many changes in the past 20 years. With the new technology, ranchers are able to make changes in their herds that would never have been possible, years ago. -Staff photo by Taylor

November 22, 2001 -- (Editor's note: This is the first of an occasional series to run during the year celebrating Country World's 20th anniversary.)

Since 1981, crop producers have seen a number of very important changes in the way they purchase seed, plant, water and harvest crops. Livestock producers have undergone changes that none could have imagined, 20 years ago.

The Texas Agricultural Statistics Service (TASS), since 1975, describes a farm as "any establishment from which $1000 or more of agricultural products were sold or would normally be sold during a year."

This relates to crop or livestock production. In 1981, TASS reported 195,000 farms in Texas, with an average acreage of 706 acres. In the most recent figures, that number has risen to 226,000 with an average acreage of 575 acres.

These figures can be confusing, but you need to realize that the TASS considers "one head of cattle" on the acreage, during the year, a farm, too. This would include the "weekend ranchers" who live in cities and have a couple of head of cattle at a country place.

Again, acreage doesn't count; income from agriculture does. Rather than farms, "operations" might be a better description.

According to Dr. Larry Boleman, professor and beef cattle specialist at Texas A&M University in College Station, 20 years ago, in the cattle industry, producers were more competitive with each other. They usually chose not to share information concerning their herds unless there was a profit in it for them. Alliances were few, and "Expected Progeny Difference" (EPDs) were an unknown.

Performance within breeds was not as important as the size of the cattle, said Boleman, and there was little concern with the various cuts of meat and the end consumer. The object was simply to make money from your herd.

Over the years, the cattle did become smaller, but they lost some of the marbling and fat that makes the end product for the consumer tougher and less tasty.

Boleman said that three major things had to be addressed to change the market and develop beef the consumer would continue to purchase.

The performance of the cattle was important. This meant that producers needed to start documenting how often a cow had a calf (yearly is desirable), how the weight progressed through the various stages of life and management and, finally, how much money would these types of changes bring to the producer.

According to Boleman, there were two programs over the past years that have contributed much to improving cattle carcass. "Ranch to Rail," which follows cattle from birth to slaughter, and the "Beef Cattle Short Course" which relates the producer through the ranks all the way to the consumer.

Along with all these things, producers have become more aware of disease prevention vaccines and methods which has placed added value on the end product.

In recent years, new cuts of beef have been developed, because of changes in the way we live ... most two-parent homes have both working outside the home ... and, certainly, with the increase in working single-parent homes. This consumer base has demanded food that can be cooked in short periods of time, frozen and heated, and most important, be healthy and tasty to the consumer.

All these changes have been ongoing in the past 20 years, along with the different ways of marketing cattle, said Boleman. In 1981, 99 percent of the cattle were marketed through livestock auctions. Today, about 15 percent are marketed through alliances formed by producers. These alliances allow the producers to share information and educates them concerning carcass, health, production and marketing issues.

Cody Dennison, county extension agent in Fayette County, said he feels that the past 20 years has made the production of all livestock, including beef, pork and poultry more uniform and confident in disease control, citing new USDA testing and regulations for packing plants.

Derek Freeman, manager of the Freeman Ranch in Katy said that the biggest change in the cattle industry over the last 20 years has been in the technology which has allowed his family to go more into cattle production, as the need and profitability of rice has decreased.

As for crop farming, Charles Stichler, Extension Agronomist for Texas A&M University in Uvalde said there were "two things that drastically changed with row crops."

Number one has been the cost of production, and the second, the price of the commodities. Even with modern technology, it continues to cost more to produce the product than the income derived from it.

Stichler said that cotton is worth less today than it was 20 years ago, and he feels that producers "have topped out the yield increase." He sites the example of the price of cotton lint. Earlier, a producer could depend on about 250 pounds of lint per acre, and that has leveled out at 1000 pounds per acre and held there for a number of years.

Two things that have hurt the crop producers the most, according to Stichler, are the economy and exports.

"The United States used to be the 'Breadbasket of the World,'" said Stichler.

Over the years foreign students have been educated in the latest agricultural techniques and taken the knowledge back to their own countries. Shortly after that happens, most countries are able to start producing for their own needs, thus eliminating the need for United States' aid.

He expects cotton to be exported in the near future as most of the cotton mills in the United States continue to close, due to profitability. South American countries export huge amounts of grain and rice imports from the Far Eastern countries is much less expensive than production in the States. Stichler believes we will reach a point where we are producing grains for our own use and consumption, only.

"You're either going to be a good size farmer, or you're not going to be a farmer at all," said Tommy Mozisek of Edna.

As government subsidies fall off, the economy becomes more stagnant and cost of production continues to rise, most producers feel it can only get harder to maintain family farms.

Most experts agree that with all the changes and technology in the past 20 years, the farmers of the past may become a disappearing group, and "weekend rancher" with a few head of cattle will continue to increase.