I interviewed Doug Cole, he works for the EBCI in the Commerce Department. He is also an entrepreneur that owns Coles Angus Farm cattle and a few rentals. I really enjoyed learning about the history and what all goes into having a Cattle farm.
- Tell me a little bit about how you started in the cattle business?
Our family farm started on November 6, 1877 when my great grandfather William Valentine Cole bought the first tract of land on Pole Creek in Buncombe County. He was married twice, and had six children by each wife. He outlived both of them and died in 1930 at age 84. He basically ran a subsistence farm which provided all of his family’s needs. He grew wheat, corn, oats for his horses, tobacco for a cash crop, as well as raised all the usual barnyard animals. He was also a blacksmith, and did work for people in the community.
My grandfather was Furman Cole, born in 1893, and he inherited approximately 200 acres from his dad. Throughout his life he ran a more modern day subsistence-type farm doing much the same things as his Dad. He had beef and milk cows, hogs, raised tobacco, wheat, corn, etc. He also worked for Champion Papers in Canton for a while, as well as the Southern Bell Telephone Company. He was severely injured in an accident while working at Southern Bell, and took up farming full time as well as making some whiskey on the side during Prohibition. He finally got electricity in 1947, bought a tractor and numerous implements and gave up “horse farming” for good. He died in 1975.
My father, Don Cole, grew up on the same farm, but worked for the American Enka Company for 46 years. He spent four years in the Pacific during World War II, and remained in the Air Force Reserves until the 1960’s. He helped my grandfather farm (as did I when I got old enough) and the focus of the farm shifted primarily to raising hay, corn, and black angus beef cattle. My Dad greatly improved the farm infrastructure with barns, sheds, and up to date farm equipment including five diesel tractors, disc mower, hay tedder, rake and round baler. The productivity of the farm became much greater with this equipment and the applications of appropriate lime, fertilizer, and herbicides as well as regular soil testing through the NC Department of Agriculture. My Dad also purchased some outlying property and got in the rental business with five housing units. When he passed away in 2009, I became responsible for running the farm and rentals.
a) Could you give me some examples to illustrate the challenge you faced in starting?
My first challenge was dealing with equipment and infrastructure (sheds, barns, fencing) issues that had not been addressed during my father’s period of declining health. There were significant costs incurred with fixing tractors, implements, and near total rebuilds of fences and lots. It is a whole lot easier to address repair needs as they become necessary, rather than wait for significant issues to develop.
My second challenge was learning the regimen of soil testing procedure, lime and fertilizer application, and what medicines to give the cattle and at what times. The NCDA and American Angus Association were very helpful in this.
Finally, administration was a challenge. My father’s accounting system was sound, but it was all on handwritten ledger books. I put the system on basic excel spreadsheets to rectify that problem. A legal issue developed when my father’s second wife (not my mother) sued me for part of the estate upon my father’s death. Fortunately, she had signed a pre-nuptial agreement with my father back in 1980 in which she relinquished all rights to his estate which he had left solely to me in his Will. It took three years on legal wrangling, but the pre-nuptial agreement was upheld in Buncombe County Superior Court. I subsequently had her evicted from the property and a restraining order put in place against her barring her from the farm as she caused some property damage and threatened my life after the verdict. Honestly, I obtained a concealed handgun license and carried a weapon with me at all times during this period, even while doing simple farm chores. It was not a pleasant time to be sure, and I learned that carrying a firearm 24/7 while on the farm was just plain uncomfortable.
2. When problems arise, how do you manage and resolve them?
When problems do arise, they usually involve issues like equipment breakdowns, animal issues such problems with calving, sore feet, or illnesses like pink eye. I have a person who helps me on the farm that I can call at any time of the day or night and we take care of the problems as quickly as possible. I also have a network or farmer friends in the area who assist me from time to time. We are all essentially in the same farming businesses, so we trade out work and equipment, and help each other out on our respective farms as necessary. As an example, I had a major hay baler problem last summer when I had nearly 15 acres of hay on the ground. I called my neighbor, who dropped everything and baled the hay for me with his baler. He wouldn’t charge me anything, but I did buy twine for him to replace what he had used. The previous winter that neighbor had two cows that got out into my pasture that he was unable to catch, so they spent the winter with me and I fed them all winter. When he finally caught them in the spring, he asked what he owed me. My reply was “Not a thing. Our families have worked together for longer than you and I can remember. I’m just glad your cattle are ok.”
3. How have the experiences that you have had during your entire career influenced the way you now run your own company?
I am the first member of member of my family to have graduated college and then go on to get an MBA. This has helped me enormously in running the farm, as has working nearly 40 years in management capacities either at an advertising agency or here at the Tribe. So the “book work” of farming for me is quite easy. Developing a Farm Management Plan and Forest Management Plan (both necessary for favorable tax treatment of my property) I know how to get done and filed with the NCDA and Buncombe County Tax Office. Although I have a CPA that files my taxes, I do most of the tax work myself. So my education and career experience have certainly helped me.
The actual farm work itself I grew up doing daily, so although age has slowed me, not many things occur that I am not capable of doing or getting done. My challenge now is to prepare my son to take on the business once I am no longer around.
4. When someone helps you out in the field, how do you orient them?
The people I have helping me know my farm almost as well as I do, so very little orientation is necessary.
5. How do you motivate and reward people?
Pay them well, and treat them as I would a member of my own family.
6. How many acres does each cow need?
In a normal non-drought year, approximately one to one and one-half acres of pasture per cow.
7. What type of maintenance do cattle need?
Yearly vaccinations for black leg, respiratory problems, and five other common bovine diseases whose names currently escape me. In the spring, they also need treatment with Ivomec to prevent horn flies and insect-borne skin problems. This is applied by pouring a measure related to the weight along their backbone. Finally, they need a spring vaccination to prevent pink eye, which can cause blindness. Cattle also must have mineral supplements; primarily salt, these vary with the season. In the spring the supplements must contain a high magnesium content so that they can better digest lush green grass without getting sick. In the fall and winter, the magnesium content must go down while they are eating a lot of hay. I have a back rub that the cattle must pass under in order to reach the salt lick. Applied to the back rub is an insecticide that keeps flies away which both bothers the cattle and can spread pink eye.
Sometimes cows will get a sore foot, especially in the winter when it is muddy and they are congregated. When this happens, they need a 60 ML injection of tetracycline. Occasionally, a cow will have trouble calving. This usually happens when a heifer is having her first calf. When this happens, you must have “all hands on deck” to pull the calf or the cow will die.
Primarily, though, cattle need lots of grass in the summer and hay in the winter, supplemented with corn and 12% protein sweet feed as treats. You also need to spend time with the cattle, and talk to them, even if you just talk nonsense. They can be spooked easily by a stranger, but being around them and letting them know who you are and that you are there to help them will make handling them a lot easier.
8. Are there a lot of places you can choose from when you take them to market?
I sell all my cattle at the WNC Livestock Market in Canton. There are markets in Del Rio, TN and in SC that you can take them to, but there is little to be gained because of the hauling expense.
9. If any, what are the qualifications to take them to market?
For the beef cattle that I sell, there are no written qualifications to take them to market. I suppose they wouldn’t take a cow that was obviously sick and at death’s door, but I’ve never tried that. I sell yearlings when they are in the 400-700 pound range. Under 400 pounds or over 700 pounds they bring less per pound. It pays to raise a recognized and popular breed of cattle, such as registered Black Angus as I do. Buyers know of the quality Cole Angus Farm cattle and I think we receive a slight premium for our livestock.
10. Is this a hard business to start up? Why? What is required?
The only way you can get started in the cattle business is to have a large amount of land. In my case, I inherited it. If you had to purchase land to go into the cattle business today, it would be impractical to do so in Buncombe County, NC. The market value of my farm is over $3 million, and you could never make that investment pay off from the cattle business. For me, raising cattle makes some money, lowers my property taxes due to using the land as a farm, enables me to live a lifestyle that I enjoy, and to pass that lifestyle on to my son once I am gone.
11. What advice can you give someone considering a career in the cattle business?
Choose a career that you enjoy and will make your desired lifestyle possible. Raise cattle “on the side” as a supplement to your other endeavors and because you just want to.
11. How do you select people to join your company?
Not really applicable to my situation. We are born into the company.
12. How are things going in your company in general, right now: are you hiring, downsizing, or “staying as you are” in terms of your company’s workforce; are sales up, down, or flat?
Right now, I am wintering 35 cattle, up from 20 last winter. That is because I had 14 calves born during the summer of 2016, and they were too small to take to market last fall. They will be sold in the spring. Prices of cattle are determined by the market which goes up and down as with any commodity. In recent years the prices have been historically quite high. As long as people enjoy eating beef, the future seems assured.
13. To gain a better understanding of what it’s like to work in your profession, can you describe a typical day?
Typical days vary by the season. Cattle just basically walk around and pick grass most of the time and take care of themselves during the warmer months. You do need to count your cattle daily and talk to them some, see if any appear to be sick, limping, or in distress, and make sure that they have mineral salt. Check the electric fence daily to make sure it will contain them (you have a tester to do this). Of course, watch for any newborns and the condition of both the cow and calf. Some specifics by season:
Spring: Spread fertilizer (typically 17-17-17) in early March. Go around the entire perimeter of your fence and repair as necessary. Remove any limbs or obstructions from around the hay fields so that they do not interfere with the hay season later in the Spring. Round up cattle on winter pasture in early April. Sell any yearlings that are ready to sell (400-700 pounds). Vaccinate all remaining cattle, treat with Ivomec, and move them to summer pasture. In May prepare corn land, fertilize and plant corn by May 10. Late May through June: put up first cutting of hay, spray corn with herbicide when it is about a foot tall to prevent weeds. Very intense time of year.
Summer: Bush hog summer pasture once it begins to “weed up.” Grass will come back quickly after bush hogging if you get rain. Monitor cattle daily to check for any sign of pink eye (cloudy eye). Vaccinate with tetracycline if necessary. Check condition of pasture to make sure cattle are getting enough to eat. Supplement with hay if necessary. Mid to late August: 2nd cutting of hay.
Fall: check fence at winter pasture for any needed repairs. Round up cattle at summer pasture and move to winter pasture, usually in October. Pick corn around mid-November.
Winter: Put out hay, corn, sweet feed and check fence and condition of cattle daily. Good time to do any equipment and infrastructure repairs that are necessary during this “slow” time of the year.
14. How do you keep up with best practices in your industry?
American Angus Association, USDA, and NCDA bulletins. Regularly Google pertinent topics as required.
15. What kind of formal education and additional specialized training would you recommend that a person should acquire to enter into a profession like yours?
A good background in business education is always beneficial. But by far the most important education is working on and being around a farm to see if you enjoy this type of work. It is often hot, cold, raining, or snowing. There can be drought or flood. But the cattle have to be taken care of no matter what. If you love cows and this lifestyle, it could be for you. If you want set hours and predictability, I can’t recommend it.
*Bonus*
By the way, I just received a check for $975.00 today from the USDA. It was a payment due to the drought we had last year and a declared “forage disaster.” They determined the payment using a formula based on the number of cows I have and the number of acres I own. Didn’t expect it, but I’ll take it!
