Committed Growers
Wayne Mattingly
The successful project is a relationship
where you are as committed as the growers.
Topics
- It Could Happen Anywhere
- Frustration
- The Research Phase
- The Health Program and The Learning Curve
- Trust and Credibility
- The Interpreter Role
- Local Infrastructure
- The Group Matures
- An Historic Event
- A Pound of Flesh
It Could Happen Anywhere
Wayne Mattingly says there’s nothing special about Daviess County, no advantage of “geography or talent,” that’s made it possible for 75 local producers to join forces to command a premium in the feeder calf market. In fact, a few years ago, Western Kentucky had a reputation for poor quality cattle and the lowest prices in the state, according to Wayne, the county agent who “ate, slept, and bled” the Green River Cattle Sale project for two years, Daviess County has only the good fortune of committed cattleman who were willing to open their minds, do their homework, and put themselves on the line for its success. Since the first preconditioned sale in February 1999, the group’s persistence has built a thriving biannual event, raising the bar on local beef quality and bringing competitive prices on more than 2000 cattle per sale from Western Kentucky and Southern Indiana.
Frustration
In addition to a reputation for substandard cattle, most county producers were too small to be of interest to buyers dealing 800-1000 head at a time. In the mid-90s, the Daviess County Cattleman’s Association began investigating opportunities to improve quality and bring a higher market price through some sort of cooperative marketing program. Wayne thinks that although market conditions had been poor for a long time, it took a critical amount of cumulative frustration to galvanize the group. Also, a new generation of leadership had recently emerged in the group and was gathering momentum when Wayne was approached to help explore the alternatives. He coordinated a series of meetings conducted by various UK Extension specialists to familiarize the group with the basics of implementing a health management program and to begin reviewing marketing options.
The Research Phase
Beef specialist Dr. John Johns, livestock marketing specialist Dr. Lee Meyer, and cattle grader John Hanly helped to gather information on different systems that might fit the group’s needs. They found several marketing alliances operating across the state and in Tennessee and Iowa that helped generate ideas. “We knew we didn’t want to re-invent the wheel,” says Wayne, as they proceeded to develop a plan and organize their efforts. “We wanted to choose the best aspects of each [successful alliance]…I’m not a genius with original ideas, but I can copy with the best of them.” Researching established alliances helped the group to identify the need for a systematic and consistent health program, and for a way to pre-grade and combine a large group of cattle.
The Health Program and The Learning Curve
The key to obtaining a premium at the sale was to offer uniform lots of about 100 cattle, so the producers had to come up with a way to assemble these lots before the sale. A pre-sale grade is now given to all of the cattle to be sold, with a state certified cattle grader and the group leaders visiting each farm. For many producers, the pre-sale grade has been a great learning tool, a private tutorial in evaluating the quality and needs of their own cattle. This practice ensures quality, and also helps the farmers not feel like grading is random, mysterious, or unfair. Before the DCCA began the sale and the accompanying health program, Wayne says most producers didn’t have a clue how their cattle would be graded when sold. Now he says 95% could give him an accurate grade if asked.
The Green River group used the Kentucky CPH guidelines to develop its own health program. The CPH requirements pertain to weaning periods, vaccinations, lice and worm treatments, castration and dehorning, and several other standard procedures. DCCA went extended the weaning requirements and added an additional shot. Wayne organized a meeting of participants early in the season to review the requirements, feed recommendations, and the necessary paperwork. The results of the health program have raised the standard for local cattle quality, and the program has been adopted by those marketing outside of the Green River operation.
Trust and Credibility
In the past, the trend has been for small producers to take the lead from large-scale operations, which was problematic in convincing some of the more skeptical to consign. Why isn’t Mr. X consigning if it’s such a great opportunity, they’d ask. Wayne says that recruitment had multiple challenges: the small producers had to see that the traditional leaders in the local industry didn’t need the sale, and the more successful mid-size producers were worried that poor quality would drive prices down for their better cattle. Wayne credits the association president and other leaders with joining the sale as “a statement” and setting an example for the others. Through the process, “non-traditional leaders–” smaller producers for whom the endeavor was a matter of survival–emerged and did much of the organizing legwork. Wayne played a subtle role in encouraging several growers to run for office in the association, and notes that a facilitator can help identify and nurture leadership in formerly low-profile participants.
Facilitation Skills
Wayne received some formal training in group facilitation, which has reinforced much of his hands-on experience:
- He learned to help groups distinguish between goal and means to the goal; often a group starts with how it wants to accomplish things before it’s clarified what it will do.
- He learned to help groups distinguish between goal and means to the goal; often a group starts with how it wants to accomplish things before it’s clarified what it will do.
- He learned to make sure that everyone gets heard, as it’s easy to hear just the most aggressive or confident voices in the crowd.
- Basic habits of good facilitation include “not walking into a room with a big plan,” but “being open, listening, including, directing.”
Leaders can set the stage for more efficient problem solving: at one productive meeting Wayne broke a group of 30 farmers from six counties into five groups, each consisting of a farmer from each county. Then he split the exploratory questions and issues among the groups, spreading the work, relying on the farmers to represent their counties, and preventing unruly and repetitive argument among the full crowd.
Local Infrastructure
Initially the group agreed that selling through their own Kentuckiana Livestock Market was out of the question. They considered a satellite auction and other approaches before becoming convinced that local infrastructure was an absolute condition for success. The hard work of ensuring quality calves and coordinating the load would be futile if they couldn’t make a decent sale. But several things convinced him and the reluctant cattleman that going local was worth a try:
- New management was very cooperative, and provided a “clean slate.”
- They had formed a solid group that could leverage its power and arrange the sale on its own terms. “They were willing to walk away.”
- The group had dedicated itself to improving quality and assembling volume. Courting the order buyer with these distinctions should be the potential strategy, not bypassing the stockyard.
- Using the local site, with its existing facilities and equipment, made good financial sense
The Group Matures
Once the producers agreed to begin negotiations with Kentuckiana, Wayne took a step back into the group’s shadow. Wary of being perceived as a meddler, a broker, or further straining the historically rough relationship between cattlemen and stockyard, he encouraged the group leaders from behind the scenes. Knowing that they were in a good position to bargain, and could offer a mutually beneficial deal, the group persisted through several arduous stages of negotiations and finally settled on good terms. Wayne credits the group with being flexible and not too stubborn to compromise. Some of these compromises, such as giving up a 2% shrink rate to the buyer on each head, have proved to be great marketing tools and helped make a name for the Green River sale. The most noteworthy aspect of the process is that the group took on the responsibility of finding buyers and creating its own market. Wayne says he was amazed to find that there was no distribution list available. KCA, KDA, the stockyard, and several producers had a few names here and there, but no one had compiled a comprehensive database. (Now there’s a good electronic list available from the Livestock Marketing Division of USDA.) The group came up with its own list of more than 40 prospects, faxed and sent flyers with sale details and health information, and cold-called the buyers to introduce themselves and invite them to the sale. They sent out pre-sale orders and then followed up with each buyer several times, reminding them of the times and giving directions.
An Historic Event
The day of the sale, jokes Wayne, most of the county showed up, half to see them fail and half to see them succeed. The group was worried that Eastern Livestock, who had previously monopolized Kentuckiana sales, would be the only buyer. About a quarter of their prospects showed, a handful did most of the bidding, and Eastern did dominate the sale, but at an astonishingly premium price. The sale brought 30 producers about $60 per head above the Bluegrass average that week. Some producers griped that letting Eastern get the majority of the cattle wasn’t much of a victory, but Wayne says the other bidders “kept Eastern’s hands up.” The 2000 sale also brought competition out for Eastern, averaging $95 per head above the Bluegrass average. In addition, 45 more producers joined the sale in 2000, expanding to a two-day sale and moving 2200 cattle. The group is currently exploring cooperative purchasing and other ways to expand and strengthen the alliance. There is tremendous potential for sharing this regional enterprise model and developing statewide and national communication, resource, and infrastructure networks to increase market opportunities.
A Pound of Flesh
The group had a tireless champion in Wayne, who says he thinks about the relationship as a bargain he struck. If the cattlemen were willing to give it their all, to “get down in the trenches,” then he would be willing to stick by them. It’s easy for an agent to help out at the “great idea” stage, say good luck, and move on to the next project. An agent must commit not just to getting a project started, but also to maintaining involvement through its often tedious, slow, frustrating development
“You have to take a personal risk…and put your own reputation on the line,” says Wayne, remembering that he couldn’t sleep the night before the first sale. After experiencing the sense of achievement that comes with participating in a project of this size, Wayne feels confident that he’ll choose this role again. Much of his role is just helping the leaders of the effort persist through years of setbacks and clearing hurdles.
Wayne recalls the words of an early mentor: “Stay in your county, do your job, be reliable.” The wisdom of the advice lies in cultivating relationships and keeping people foremost in one’s mind. “When a farmer calls me with a question about his tobacco, he knows I was by his farm the other day and noticed it and paid attention.” This kind of rapport is what makes an agent able to efficiently assist a group and to cultivate internal leadership.
Too many “great solutions” for “fabricated needs” are handed down from Washington, making “perfect sense until they get to the farm.” Rather than starting with sweeping solutions that “trickle down to nothing,” Wayne insists that an idea must come from within the group to be worthwhile. Then the group must prove its commitment, as the cattlemen did by implementing the health program, negotiating the sale, and coordinating the marketing campaign. Given a homegrown idea and member commitment, the group has the essential ingredients to create a successful enterprise. As in the case of the Green River Auction, the results sometimes surpass the goal: not only does the sale move more cattle at higher prices, but it’s educated producers, created an incentive for better management practices, and set a precedent for collaborative enterprise within the cattle industry and beyond.