Prize winning third generation farmer is optimistic about the cattle market
DENVER, Colo. — There has never been a better time to be in the beef business, and 25-year-old Garrett Blanchard is glad to be there.
Blanchard is the show and sale cattle manager for Silveira Brothers Angus, a family operation at Firebaugh, California. He is the third generation of an operation that his step-grandfather and great-uncle started more than 45 years ago.
“The cattle market has been declining for a long, long time, so we are taking advantage of that,” he said.
“The cattle market is good and we are happy to be in it.”
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This year was particularly generous for his family at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, where they sold a yearling bull for $120,000 to a syndicate of eight buyers. There was considerable interest in the bull, Silveiras First Reaction 2510.
Blanchard and his parents, Rick and Allison, figured the youngster was worth six figures but weren’t sure which direction the bids would go.
“The attention we got on him was incredible. We knew it was going to be close to that but not quite sure. It all came together at once,” he said.
“It is always nice, but we have done things like that in the past with a few other bulls. People put a syndicate together and put up a certain amount of money and get a percentage of the bull.”
Some are investors who see the cattle business as a good investment.
The family also sold two lots at the Jan. 15 Denim and Diamonds sale that offered elite genetics on two females for $15,000 each.
The Silveira operation once numbered 800 mostly black cows, but it has downsized to 150 cows and now concentrates on raising high quality genetics for seedstock producers and the show circuit.
“Our numbers are smaller but the quality is much, much higher,” he said.
The costs of keeping a smaller herd are lower, but the higher prices paid for them makes up for it. Their show heifers are averaging $30,000 at recent sales.
The Blanchards’ show string is 20 to 25 head and calves are born year round so that they can fill the market year.
They are always looking for new bulls to refresh their program.
“We use a lot of our own genetics because we believe in our program, but we are always looking for the next new thing to get better,” he said.
The family operation consists of 1,280 acres near Fresno. They live in a drought stricken area where they flood irrigate their hay fields and provide drip lines to the almond groves. About half the farm acreage is dedicated to the nuts, which are contracted to Blue Diamond Almonds.
“We’ve been in the almond deal almost as long as the Angus,” Blanchard said.
All the irrigation comes from ground water wells, and they are forced to drill wells deeper at greater cost and more local controversy as the countryside becomes steadily drier.
“A lot of people don’t understand,” he said.
“When they think of California, they don’t know how much farming we actually do and help provide for the rest of the country.”
barbara.duckworth@producer.com
