TLR Newsletter

 After taking our recent load of animals into the processor, we were met with yet another unpleasant surprise, as the price to process animals has increased yet again, this time by a much lower $7 per animal (versus almost $80 with the previous round).  Although the $7 increase per animal is small by most standards, it represents yet another increase among many others in the supply chain, whether it be hay cost, fuel cost, processing cost, or seed.  Make no doubt about it, the huge array of different cost increases truly represents an existential threat to TLR, and our existing operating framework may need to change dramatically in the coming years.  We will continue to update our customers of any changes, and possible disruptions through our newsletter as usual.

Even a small farming operation is a highly complex undertaking, with an extremely wide array of variables that can be manipulated, usually with imperfect information, and based on speculation about the future.  In this environment, there is ample room for experimentation, and farmers are known for continual experimentation and innovation.  With the price of inputs going up in price so dramatically, it is an imperative that we focus on innovation to keep costs down to maintain the operation. Although innovation can lead to improvements over time, the development cycle in the agricultural sector tends to be significantly slower than in other areas.  Farmers often must wait a whole season to see the effect of their experiments, and only get to modify/update their experimental trials once a year.  A commonly used estimate for the time needed to determine the efficacy, and to further calibrate a new system in agriculture is  7 years!  Despite this, research and...

One of the changes that we have made in response to the steep increase in fees we have experienced has been to grow our animals out to a larger size, to reduce the price per pound of processing fees.  Because of this, we have taken far fewer animals in to the processor recently, which led to a steep dropoff in product availability.  We had to cut off one-time/non-subscription purchase, to prioritize our monthly subscription members.  But we are now reaping the benefits of this patient approach.  We now have a cohort of animals that have increased in size to the point where they are much more marketable in light of the higher fees, and we will be stocking up our inventory to have product available for one-time (non-subscription) purchases.  The order form will open in September, for October delivery, and we believe the inventory will be sufficient going forward to keep the one-time purchase option open long term. We also had to turn away potential monthly subscri...