On Monday of this week , I headed to a livestock auction with my friend Jonathan to see what it is was all about.
Heading north on the Taconic and then staying on rt. 203 into Chatam ......we hit it. It is about 120 miles from Manhattan.
It is pretty hard not to look like a "Citiot" when you walk into the auction with Prada Sandals, an I phone, a Blackberry and a Flip Camera! (That would be me)

I have always admired people that take up farming, whether they are born into it, or just choose to do it.
It has got to be one of the toughest jobs out there!

As we watched the 1-2 day old calves being paraded around, and being sold for $.30 per pound or $30 bucks for a #100 Calf, I began to wonder?

Do small town cattle farmers have a specific formula for the amount of food, water , rest and exercise they give each animal, to get them to the perfect weight and the highest profit margin? Hmmm- I wonder.....or do they just feed them as much as possible and in the end hope to make a profit and then put food on there tables, pay there bills and keep the farm going?

I have a feeling that for most farmers, it is the latter.

I remember when I was younger, my dad used to tell me about this pizza man. He had a store and from the minute he opened to the minutes he closed, there were lines out the door. He would sell each pizza for $5 a pie, but every pizza he sold cost him $7 to make.

The moral of the story is that just because you are busy and your costs don't line up- your business will be dead. I just hope the cattle farmers are not selling below cost Pizzas!