Betty Jo Gigot, Editor and Publisher

For you political junkies, don’t throw this magazine away until you have read it. I know that by now, using the word “change” on the cover could be enough to curl your hair, but it certainly seemed to be appropriate for our industry. A lot depends on what happens in the political process over the next months. Years can go by without Washington, D.C. causing a great deal of apparent damage to the cattle-feeding segment and then, wow, politicians unfamiliar with our business can suddenly turn our world upside down.

I know you will enjoy what our featured cattle feeders have to say in our 2008 Outlook cover story. After you’ve read their thoughts, take a moment, think about what you would have said and then tell me that “change” is not the right word.

Also part of the New Year hoopla was one talking head after another discussing upcoming trends. I’m sure there is more science to that process than is obvious to me, but one who said that marketers were paying more and more attention to one-of-a-kind specialty products struck me. Not only are they targeting the customer but specific customers. It reminded me of a story that Stew Leonard Jr., founder of Stew Leonard’s grocery stores, told at the 2007 Kansas Livestock Association Convention. He had a customer request a miniature of the three-ton granite rock on display in their stores that’s inscribed, “Rule #1 – The customer is always right”; Rule #2 – If the customer is ever wrong, re-read Rule #1.” When he priced having the miniatures made, it turned out that producing several thousand didn’t cost much more than a dozen. So he put in the order, and when the small rocks arrived, placed them in the front of the store … where none of them sold. Then, as Leonard told it, he had a sale – buy two and get the third for free. Guess what? No takers. What to do … Then the staff noticed that the busloads of Japanese tourists touring the store loved the rocks. Now, the only time the rocks appear in the store is – you guessed it – when busloads of Japanese drive up. One of Leonard’s sayings is: “The big don’t eat the small. The fast eat the slow.” It looks like the fast also know which customer wants what.

Along the same line, we were in a small Italian restaurant this week, down on the Gulf of Mexico. When I asked about reservations for Saturday night, the very accommodating waiter told me that, on Saturday nights, they serve very special lasagna from an old family recipe, but you have to order it ahead of time. That technique must be part of that same trend, I guess, and certainly good marketing.

CALF News is delighted to feature an article by Eric Grant in this issue. Grant has been one of the outstanding writers in agriculture circles for years, and we congratulate him on his new position with Angus Productions Inc., and look forward to seeing more of his work.

Our newest writer is a hoot. My sister-in-law forwarded a series of e-mails to me from a friend who was ranch sitting. They were too good not to be published. I know you will enjoy reading about absentee ranch owner “Blaze” and her adventures as a novice rancher as she and her husband take care of the ranch while their manager is recovering from surgery. Her views of how things work and why are a delight. Happy the Coach Driver and I were in stitches from the first and could not wait for the next installment. Needless to say, we were sorry when she went back home to the city. Be sure to read her column on page 34. We will be including Blaze’s journal entries in upcoming issues for your enjoyment.