THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 29, 1996 TAG: 9605250169
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JODY R. SNIDER, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: ISLE OF WIGHT LENGTH: 137 lines
IN THE 1960s, farmer Dwight Doggett Sr. was holding, in this county, an ordinary hand: a full house of hogs.
But Doggett wanted something different. He reckoned that he wanted to trade that full house for a field full of cattle, he recalled.
So Doggett put his cards on the table when he learned that a Powhatan County cattleman also was hankering for something new.
The farmers struck a deal.
``He offered to trade me 25 cows and calves for 50 of my hogs,'' recalled Doggett, now 75. ``I said, `OK, but I get to pick the cattle.' ''
Back then, Doggett said, hogs were selling for about $80 apiece. Sixty days after drawing the winning hand, Doggett sold the cows for $250 each.
``I made $170 on each calf,'' he said. ``A deal like that doesn't come along very often.''
Today, Doggett is still drawing to the already strong hand. His cattle legacy has been handed down to his two sons, Mike and Dwight Jr., who operate 500 head along U.S. 258 in Isle of Wight County. The Doggett farm is a mix of Charolais, Black Angus, Brangus and Brahma cattle, and it is the largest cattle operation in the county.
The Doggetts raise cattle from birth to 600 pounds, then sell them to feed lots as far away as Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. Feed lot cattle are grown to about 1,200 pounds before they are sold to slaughter.
The key is to tailor the operation to what sells, said Dwight Jr., 47.
In the spring and summer months, cattle get fat from feeding off clover and hay in pastures. But in the winter months, when calves are born, cattle farming becomes a full-time job.
``There could be a calving problem, a sick animal, a fence that needs repairing or an equipment breakdown with trucks that haul feed,'' Dwight Jr. said.
Each Memorial Day, when cattle have returned to the pastures to feed, the Doggetts sell their ready cattle.
``Some breeds don't sell as well,'' Dwight Jr. said. ``Herefords have a bad name in this part of the country, and I'm not sure why. Maybe their performance in the feed lots isn't good - meaning they don't pick up weight as fast. The Charolais do have good performance in the feed lots. They go to slaughter at a more desirable weight.''
Other cattle are better at producing calves.
``You have your favorites,'' Dwight Jr. said. ``You have some calves that weigh 650 pounds when you wean them. Others might weigh 550 pounds. The cows that produce 650-pound calves have done something that the other cows haven't done.''
Recently, one of the Doggetts' cows gave birth to her third set of twins in six years - a pair of Charolais bull calves, born this winter.
``That's very unusual,'' Dwight Jr. said. ``In the last six years, all the other cows I've had have only produced one other set of twins.''
``It's real exciting to someone who's never seen a calf born before,'' said Dwight Sr. ``But I've sat up a million nights with cows having babies. If they try for an hour or two, and they can't have it, you have to help them sometimes by attaching chains to the calf and jacking it out with a manual jack.''
The Doggetts said about 200 calves are born on their farm each winter.
Even with a full house now, cattlemen are playing out a losing hand this year.
Farmers like the Doggetts are trying to ride out a storm that recently has showered the cattle industry with low beef prices and high grain and fuel prices.
Today, the Doggetts are selling beef for about 40 to 50 cents per pound.
In comparison, only two years ago the same cattle would have brought about $1 per pound.
``Cattle prices are the worst I've seen since I've been messin' with it in 25 years,'' Dwight Jr. said. ``Cattle's selling for about $250 apiece now. But in the last three years, they've sold for $500 each.''
The storm began brewing in the cattle industry three years ago, when cattle prices soared and more farmers began raising beef to cash in on the profits.
High prices created a surplus of beef, and the industry reacted by dropping prices.
``It had to happen,'' Dwight Sr. said. ``There's about 115 million head of cattle in the U.S. right now, and there should be between 95 to 100 million head. A 5 percent surplus will ruin the price on anything.''
To compensate for the low prices, Mike Doggett said farmers are decreasing herds by getting rid of old cows or cows that don't reproduce.
``In times like this, you opt to remove those cows,'' said Mike, 44. ``You hope a cow's productive for eight years, producing one calf each year. But if they don't produce a calf or they produce a dead calf - what has that cow done for you? That's the business. You get rid of her.''
During lean times, uncooperative cattle also are removed from the herd.
``If I go out and call 75 cows and 70 come and five don't, I'll remember the ones that didn't come,'' Dwight Jr. said. ``And it will be hard for them to make it here eight years. Bad actors have to move on.''
While the payback for farmers have been slim, grocery store prices for beef haven't dropped, the Doggetts said.
``Carcasses are hanging for $1 a pound,'' Dwight Jr. said. ``There's no reason there should be a $7 steak cut from that carcass today. The consumer isn't benefiting from the low beef prices.''
``Steak should be a lot cheaper,'' Mike agreed. ``There's too much difference between what we're being paid and what consumers are paying. Steaks are priced off the market.''
As the calves continue to fatten up for another sale on Labor Day, the Doggetts are turning their attention to growing row crops - 250 acres of peanuts, 300 acres of wheat, 300 acres of corn and 300 acres of soybeans - all crops that will buffer this year's lean cattle profits.
``When cattle prices went down and grain prices went up, we did have something to sell - grain,'' Dwight Jr. said. ``But there were some people who only had cheap cattle, and that really hurts.
``But the cattle industry will come back. And those who are able to weather this will benefit when prices go back up again.''
But the Doggetts said the down trend in cattle is only part of the market's continuous cycle.
``This isn't a frustration,'' Dwight Sr. said. ``It's part of the market, and we understand that. You either stay in or get out. You got to fight the down cycle.
``I still like to ride around and look at 'em getting fat and laying in the grass and in the swamps. I still like 'em, even though they're not making much money.''
``If you don't like this, you won't do it,'' Dwight Jr. said. ``I just like working with the animals.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color photo]
LEAN PROFITS
JOHN H. SHEALLY II
The Virginian-Pilot
Dwight Doggett tends to some of his cattle. The 500-head herd makes
the Doggetts' farm the largest in Isle of Wight County.
Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Dwight Doggett Jr. stands in front of the family home. The Doggetts
raise cattle from birth to 600 pounds.
ABOVE: Dwight talks with his brother Mike. The brothers now operate
500-head herd of cattle on the farm along U.S. 258 in Isle of Wight
County.
Dwight carries feed to some of the herd. The Doggetts sell adult
cattle to feed lots as far away as Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. Feed
lot cattle are grown to about 1,200 pounds before they are sold to
slaughter. by CNB