Bud Williams Stockmanship and Livestock Marketing

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Bud Williams Stockmanship
Eunice Williams
883 E 505th Road
Aldrich, MO 65601
417-719-4910
eunice@stockmanship.com
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Something

Many years ago a rancher wanted me to start a young horse, and then he wanted it sold. One day as I was working with this horse, Eunice asked me what its name was. I said, “He doesn’t have a name, but we will only have him for a short time so he doesn’t need one.” 

Eunice disagreed and said, “We have to call him something.” Now that seemed like a strange name, but what Eunice wants, she gets. So I named him “Something.” 

After a month or two we sold the horse. The buyer didn’t like the name Eunice gave it so he renamed him Blaze. About four years later Eunice went with the vet to worm some horses and there was this horse and his name was back to being “Something.”

I bring this story up because when we give a name to a thing it seems to stick. Right now we have things going on that can be named a problem or an opportunity. Whatever we call it first will have the biggest influence on us. Corn may go to $8.00 or not. If we feel that is a problem, even if it only goes to $5.00 it will be a problem because that is the name we put on it. Or we can call it an opportunity. Then, even if it goes to $10.00, we will be all right. The prices of things go up and down. Treat them as opportunities. Use good money management and be sensible on your business decisions, and everything will be all right.  

During the 1930 to 1950 years my father bought and paid for a farm. During this time, many people were losing their farms. Before I was 10-years old, I had learned good money management including how to prepare for and handle risk.

Prices going up is “Opportunity,” and prices going down is “Opportunity.” Or we can name them “Problem,” and that is probably what they will be.

During the “Dot.com” boom to bust, some people made millions. Some people lost a lot of money. Most of the money that was lost was by people who had no business having money in it. They were there trying to make a lot of money on something they knew very little about. 

We have a world market now, and many thing influence prices. Work with what you know. Risk is very little in things you know about. As my father said, “Risk the same amount as the knowledge you have about it.” If you know very little, risk very little.” If we pay attention to these things, high prices, low prices, or anything in between will not hurt us much. In fact, if we put the right name on it, we come out way ahead. 

“Opportunity” is a name, like “Something.”