For years purebred bull breeders didn’t
get paid what they deserved for making such a big investment in better
genetics, so I’m glad to see them finally getting paid handsomely for
their better bulls.
Having said that, the rise in price has made it
difficult on cheapskates like my friend Patch who never spent more than a
$1,550 on a bull before in his life. Despite being one of the richest
guys in the county he’s a sub-optimal spender who wears big patches on
his drugstore pants. Hence the nickname.
Patch is tighter than the wires on a
brand new fence, looks in vending machines for any change left behind
and worships the almighty dollar. In his 66 years of life he has never
been known to utter the words, “Keep the change.”
Most ranchers I know study all the bull
sale catalogs and step up when it comes to buying better bulls because
they know it will pay off when it comes time to sell their calves. Not
to mention the added bonus of building a front pasture kind of cow herd.
Granted, the typical wife of a rancher may be driving a 15 year old
Yugo but the rancher will not hesitate to spend $7,000 for a bull.
Not so Patch. For 35 years he has called
me before every bull sale season and asked me to buy a couple bulls for
him but to keep the price under $1,500 each. I didn’t mind buying bulls
for him if he would just keep it a secret but no, every time his calves
hit the sale ring he’d stand up, interrupt the auctioneer and say,
“These calves were all sired by bulls selected by Lee Pitts.” And then
the sorriest looking calves you ever saw would sell fifteen bucks behind
the market toppers.
Yes sir, if you wanted to crash the
market then Lee Pitts was your guy. He never mentioned his cheap budget
for bulls or that his wallet was rusted shut. One year I went fifty
bucks over my limit on a better type of bull and you should have heard
Patch cry.
Needless to say, it has become
increasingly difficult to fill Patch’s bull order and when he called
last time the conversation went like this...
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