Losing Faith In “Blank”

DR. ANDREW P. GRIFFITH

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE

   There are two basic definitions of faith. The first is believing in something without seeing or having some form of physical proof. The second, which is the way most people use the word faith, means having trust or confidence in something. For instance, someone may say, “I have faith he will get the job done.” The reason they say this is because there has been prior proof to support that statement. That is probably not the purest form of faith, but it is how the English language uses the term. Here are some things I am losing faith in as it relates to cattle production and markets.

   I am losing faith in the drought monitor. It does not matter if I am looking through the windshield or if I am walking through a pasture, it is extremely dry in my neck of the woods. However, the drought monitor, as of this writing, did not have my area experiencing any type of drought. There were some surrounding areas classified as “abnormally dry.” My definition of abnormally dry is my skin during the winter. What we are experiencing is a prolonged drought that has encompassed most of the summer and now is extending into the fall. My lack of faith in the drought monitor probably stems from not knowing exactly how it works, and that is because it is not working based on my situation.

   I am losing faith in the ability of the futures market to be an easy method to manage price risk for livestock producers. The futures market always offers an opportunity whether it is buying or selling. 

   It offers the flexibility of entering and exiting positions at any time. It has sufficient liquidity for individuals to make a trade. 

   However, the volatility of the market has resulted in users of the tool having to provide a larger sum of funds to hold a position in the market. The larger quantity of funds needed for a hedging account ties up capital resources that could be used in other areas of the operation. This does not mean it is not a useful. It means users of this tool may need to approach it differently than they did several years ago.

   I am losing my faith in many people to do what is right. I am not losing my faith in all people, but I am in some people. Doing what is right can be up for interpretation in some instances, but in other instances it is a black and white decision. The selfish nature of people has many of those people watching out for themselves and not worrying about the consequences their actions have on others. In some instances, those same selfish people knowingly and willingly inflict harm on others. On the other hand, there are still a good number of people that demonstrate selfless acts, which restores one’s faith in people. I guess it is knowing who to put faith in and who to not put faith in. It is probably easier than it sounds.

   I am losing faith in cool-season perennial grasses in Tennessee. It seems the cool season perennial pasture that we have is not as persistent as it once was. I am not a proponent of climate change in the sense the general public discusses it that we humans have caused all these problems, and we can fix them by doing prescribed things. 

   However, I do think there are cycles and that we are in a different part of that cycle right now. Thus, the part of the cycle we are in right now has made cool-season perennial forages less productive and less persistent in some instances for our region.

   There are probably more things I have lost faith in, but here are some things I still have faith in as it relates to the cattle industry. I have faith that cattle producers are focused on producing the best product for the consumer. I have faith that cattle producers try to do what is best for their livestock while trying to make a living wage with them. I believe cattle are an important part of the ecosystem in that they can graze a lot of areas that are not arable, and in some cases, not easily manageable. As it has to do with my deeper faith, I would be glad to share face-to-face. I am not losing that faith. ∆

   DR. ANDREW P. GRIFFITH: Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Tennessee