Am I the only one that feels like I'm on a treadmill, or even worse a rat wheel and I can't get off? Whew! I actually think I'm starting to exhaust MYSELF these days-and if you know me then you know I passed you a long ways back! :) So much goes on in a day, that sometimes I feel like a week went by. So just some brief little tidbits of really exciting changes, things to come, and buzz on the "street"!
**Well, a brief snippet from Bloomberg today-Argentina may need to import beef for the first time EVER due to a couple year long drought they've been dealing with! I hate to celebrate one man's curse, but it is another man's blessing. If only we could be so lucky, especially if we can export some of our product to them! :) Fingers Crossed!!! These foreign export markets are absolutely essential to our industry-increases sales in a downward home economy but also these other countries will eat up parts of the carcass that Americans wouldn't dream of touching! I know I got a good wave of excitement this afternoon when I read the article!
**Officially joined the "Cattle Knowledge Team" of my company this week. My first conference call is Friday afternoon so I'm excited for what I'm to hear from across our 4 state region & also nervous for the work and mental challenges headed my way! This will be a GREAT resource for me personally to help build my all encompassing of every level of the industry and a big win for the YWCA venture & WCA as well. I hope WA cattlemen will be a great resource for me to share with others what our cattlemen's need, hopes, and fears are!
**Talked with a WSU Alum this weekend who has been eagerly wanting to get more involved with the WCA, and helping with the YWCA! That is literally an answer to my prayers. I can't do this alone folks. I was hoping to plant a little tiny seed of enthusiasm & watch it grow! I would love and NEED all the help I can get. I've never started a brand new charter group before and its daunting! I'm not artistic or super creative in the design department so bonus points if someone out there is! :) Thank you Lacy for wanting to get on board and be game for whatever I throw your way!!!
**I spoke with Kirsten this evening, the gal we are designating as the Student Director of the YWCA this year! Cows bellowing in the background, and kids hollering proved she was calling me in between showing and herdsmanship duties at her cattle show in Lynden! Kirsten has been so supportive, EXCITED and willing to help in any way since the very first day I asked her early last spring if she thought there would be any interest for youth in a college presence of the WCA! I only needed that one person who was looking for a group like this to be involved in and I could test my idea & I found my person! I love that those that have stepped up are game for an adventure that hasn't been tried before-they'll be mistakes, and falls, and hard paths to cut but they are just as excited to try as I am and that is all you need for success! :)
**I've been in contact with the NCBA Young Producer's Council leadership this week as they contacted all of us who showed interest in being a media contact for our individual states! They are starting a YPC Blog, a YPC twitter, encouraging everyone to get their MBA (Masters of Beef Advocacy degree) and then setting up webinar courses for us on further media training and policy briefing! I am SO excited for whats to come with this media outreach group. I only wish I could just focus on this stuff all day long....those dang day jobs sure do get in the way sometimes! :) More to come on this awesome venture from the NCBA YPC!
**BIG THINGS are happening every day through the MBA graduates, YCC Alum, YPC members-look for us. We are out there on every social network site posting FACTUAL information on the beef industry, responding to false stories, urban myths, and rumors on blogs, newspapers, television, and radio.
**My next goal is to get some Team Zip gear and try to get my rusty old hips to run some races here in the next year! (Ssshhh...just don't tell my physical therapists!!) They have a great blog on here: Team Zip The Power of Protein!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Monopolies: Good, Bad, or Indifferent?
The past couple days I've had much on my mind. My mind can be a pretty a scary place to be in most of the time, especially trying to muddle your way through some thoughts! :) Lately I've been thinking a lot about monopolies. Monopoly can be a pretty dirty word in the English language and a taboo topic most folks like to shelve for another day's conversation. But what is it about this word that gets us so fired up? Is it the fear of a socialistic, government-monopolized nation? Is it man's competitive nature rising to the surface and not wanting their neighbor to be stronger & more powerful than them? Is it lack of education or is it all of the above?
I'd like this topic to be my next Ketch Pen article but I wanted to bring it up to get people thinking. Are all monopolies truly bad? Or do we only think of them as bad because it has been imprinted on us from a young age? I have staggeringly different opinions depending on the industry, company, and situation, which obviously shows my lack of knowledge or education on the subject. I'm in no position to go on the O'Reilly factor any time soon arguing my opinions!
The monopoly "battle" I'm most familiar with is the one that has seemed to follow Microsoft around for nearly the life of the company. Now, I fully understand the importance of competition and all the benefits that healthy competition provides. However, in the case of Microsoft specifically can one company help that they have created a hold on an entire market through making a product that no other company has been able to recreate as well? Are we going to punish every person and every company who just happens to be the best in their class? It would be like telling Tiger Woods that he has to give up every win he has ever had just because he is better than his competitors.
Now on the opposite end of the spectrum for me is Wal-Mart. I fully believe that Wal-Mart is an example of an unhealthy monopoly. Now they not technically have a full-fledge hold on the market but they are certainly close and one could say there company's success has changed American Industry. I bring up Wal-Mart because of the fact that their stores with grocery sections can be very frustrating to shop in due to the fact they often only carry 1 or 2 brands of a product. When a corporation who has thousands of locations carries only a few brands in their stores, they are creating a chain of monopolies that trickle on down to every supplier, transporters, and even growers of their products. Do we need to worry about one corporation in one industry being a monopoly when we could have one corporation change multiple industries?
I wanted to get the thoughts rolling on the whole monopoly debacle because the biggest monopoly chatter I have always heard has been in relation to the PACKERS. That's right, I blew the cover right off of that bottled up topic!!! Are the packers a monopoly? If they are a true monopoly, does it really matter? Have you ever thought that perhaps all the regulations today make it almost not impossible for the strongest contender to stay? Survival of the fittest in food processing? You can't have it all ways....you can't have the safest supply in the world, the healthiest, the greatest amount, and STILL have multiple companies trying to save in that arena.
Hmm.....gets ya thinking doesn't it? :) Next WCA ketch pen article is brewing.............
I'd like this topic to be my next Ketch Pen article but I wanted to bring it up to get people thinking. Are all monopolies truly bad? Or do we only think of them as bad because it has been imprinted on us from a young age? I have staggeringly different opinions depending on the industry, company, and situation, which obviously shows my lack of knowledge or education on the subject. I'm in no position to go on the O'Reilly factor any time soon arguing my opinions!
The monopoly "battle" I'm most familiar with is the one that has seemed to follow Microsoft around for nearly the life of the company. Now, I fully understand the importance of competition and all the benefits that healthy competition provides. However, in the case of Microsoft specifically can one company help that they have created a hold on an entire market through making a product that no other company has been able to recreate as well? Are we going to punish every person and every company who just happens to be the best in their class? It would be like telling Tiger Woods that he has to give up every win he has ever had just because he is better than his competitors.
Now on the opposite end of the spectrum for me is Wal-Mart. I fully believe that Wal-Mart is an example of an unhealthy monopoly. Now they not technically have a full-fledge hold on the market but they are certainly close and one could say there company's success has changed American Industry. I bring up Wal-Mart because of the fact that their stores with grocery sections can be very frustrating to shop in due to the fact they often only carry 1 or 2 brands of a product. When a corporation who has thousands of locations carries only a few brands in their stores, they are creating a chain of monopolies that trickle on down to every supplier, transporters, and even growers of their products. Do we need to worry about one corporation in one industry being a monopoly when we could have one corporation change multiple industries?
I wanted to get the thoughts rolling on the whole monopoly debacle because the biggest monopoly chatter I have always heard has been in relation to the PACKERS. That's right, I blew the cover right off of that bottled up topic!!! Are the packers a monopoly? If they are a true monopoly, does it really matter? Have you ever thought that perhaps all the regulations today make it almost not impossible for the strongest contender to stay? Survival of the fittest in food processing? You can't have it all ways....you can't have the safest supply in the world, the healthiest, the greatest amount, and STILL have multiple companies trying to save in that arena.
Hmm.....gets ya thinking doesn't it? :) Next WCA ketch pen article is brewing.............
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder......
Our preferences to nature's landscapes are a wonderful example of what each of us deem "beautiful" are independent opinions from one another. Do you feel that the most beautiful landscapes in the world are similar to what you saw outside your kitchen window growing up? The scablands or deserts of the US can be called eye-sores, or God's Country....its all in which lenses you are looking through! :)
