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1 |
Be
honest with yourself. Try to avoid overestimating the value
of lost animals and the costs of materials, repairs, etc.
Make an honest assessment at the time of a loss. For instance,
if hay cutter blades wear out twice as fast because of fire
ants, don't hold ants accountable for the entire cost of new
blades, just half the cost. |
2 |
Calculate
your losses on an annual basis. Most current treatments control
fire ants for a year or fraction of a year before they must
be repeated. For instance, if fire ants cause a well pump
to short out about every other year, include only half the
cost in the analysis. If you lose an infested hay bale or
two every time you cut hay, multiply the profit you would
have made on those bales (remember it often varies) by the
number of cuttings per year. |
3 |
Don't
sell yourself short. Time is a big, hidden cost of fire ants.
Ranchers often spend many hours dealing with fire ant problems
but value their time at $10, $5 or less per hour. Even if
you don't actually pay yourself, that time could be spent
doing something else. Put a value on it. If it takes you all
morning to load up a broken shredder and haul it into town
for repairs, plus another morning to retrieve it, the cost
was not only what the shop charged. You, or your hired help,
lost two mornings of otherwise productive work. |
4 |
In
analyzing cattle deaths and injuries, be sure to lay the blame
correctly. A calf blinded by fire ants is fairly unmistakable,
but the reason for a calf's death may not be apparent, even
if the carcass is covered with ants. Ants will soon find a carcass
whatever the cause of death. On the other hand, if an otherwise
healthy calf was exhausted from a difficult delivery, couldn't
get up for a few extra minutes, and was over- whelmed by ants,
then blame the death on the ants. Only the producer can make
this kind of judgment call. |
5 |
Value
lost/injured animals accurately. If you paid for a pregnant
heifer and ants killed the calf, don't just include the added
purchase price of that calf. Include what that calf would have
brought at sale time, minus production expenses. Also, don't
forget any rebreeding costs for the mother or any other value
she may have lost or gained as a result of not having a calf
around. |
| 6 |
Be
careful estimating one-time losses and expenditures. For example,
a bull rendered sterile by ant stings is certainly a major loss,
but it's a rare incident. As another example, many hay producers
have switched from sickle-bar to disc-type cutters because of
ant mounds. This is a very large expense, but it must be spread
out over the life of the cutter and any other benefits or losses
the cutter brings must be considered also. |
| 7 |
Be
thorough. Include any unique losses or ones on which you put
a particularly high value. |
| 8 |
This
analysis is only as good as the time and information you put
into it! |
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