Have you ever ever stood within the checkout line at your favourite grocery store and twiddled your thumbs whereas all the parents in entrance of you slowly make their well past the cashier? Have you ever ever taken the time to think about what actually occurs with each single merchandise of their buying carts?
Right here’s what actually occurs: When the cashier pushes the merchandise previous the scanning mild, it reads the bar code and goes “beep” and registers on the whole quantity display screen. Think about what that “beep” really signifies. That “beep” means you might be paying for each cent of price and revenue in getting that merchandise to the cashier.
For manufactured objects that features prices — and the earnings — of all of the uncooked supplies, all of the equipment, all of the labor, all of the packaging, all of the transportation, all of the analysis, promoting and promotion.
For meals objects that “beep” represents the price of the cashier’s labor, the price of maintaining the grocery store working, the trucker, the processor, the packager — and the revenue of each entity alongside the distribution line.
However, are you aware what? That “beep” doesn’t mechanically signify a revenue for the farmer or rancher who produced the meals within the first place. It merely represents what {the marketplace} paid him on the day of sale — revenue or loss.
Why is {that a} reality? As a result of the meals producer by no means has an opportunity to cost his product to incorporate all his prices, plus an affordable revenue.
Now I ask. Is electrical energy extra necessary than meals? Actually not. Meals is extra necessary as a primary want. However, the worth of electrical energy that you simply pay for isn’t set within the aggressive open market. It’s set by a utility price fee. In Kansas, that entity is the Kansas Company Fee.
Right here’s how pricing electrical energy in Kansas works — and it’s comparable all over the place. The fee’s position, in keeping with Kansas Statute 66-101 et seq., is to determine charges which might be simply and cheap whereas making certain environment friendly and ample service from the utility. Step one is to find out the utility’s annual income requirement. 5 components are considered when figuring out the income requirement. The price of capital invested in belongings known as a price of return that displays the precise price of debt and an affordable return or revenue the utility has a possibility to earn on fairness invested by shareholders. The overall funding or “price base” upon which a return shall be earned. The amassed and on-going depreciation of plant(s) and gear. The corporate’s cheap and prudent working bills. Revenue taxes. The second step is to design charges that can effectively and equitably gather that income requirement from the utility’s prospects.
Now guess what the traditional revenue price is for an electrical utility? It’s round 10%. And that’s an affordable revenue price for one thing as necessary in our lives as electrical energy. However I ask: If a ten% revenue price is affordable and equitable for an electrical energy utility, why is it not the identical for a meals producer?
Effectively, all the above “obfuscation” has a objective. As my trustworthy readers know, after I see an issue in agriculture, I attempt to discover a honest and equitable resolution. I made a decision to begin with the hard-pressed beef producers. Nationwide they’re promoting down their collective cowherd. They’re experiencing extreme drought and manipulated markets. Briefly, to remain in bizness, they want a assured revenue that may solely be obtained by worthwhile costs after they promote their beef critters.
So, if bar codes work for each different entity within the beef provide chain besides the rancher, it will probably work for the rancher, too. And, if 10% assured revenue price is honest and equitable for electrical utilities, that must be superb for ranchers, too.
So, I’m proposing that state utility price commissions tackle the position of setting a ten% revenue price for ranchers. And, the ranchers can money in like everybody else within the beef provide chain by utilizing authorities authenticated and issued “BEEF BAR CODES,” which can turn into popularly referred to as “Beef Beep Codes.”
Right here’s the way it works: The rancher determines his break even worth for his beef critters and the state authorities points him an unique Beef Bar Model. He and his cowboys and cowgirls then scorching or freeze model that Bar Code on the appropriate hip of each animal on the market.
Then when the critter heads up the loading chute, after weighing, a scanning mild reads the Beef Bar Code and retains a operating whole for all of the cattle. The ultimate worth the rancher will get from the client is the whole on the pc learn out. Easy as pie and honest to all. You ranchers can thank me later with a superb ol’ filet mignon.
Meals bar code branding may work for each uncooked meals commodity produced.
A heifer branded with a “Beef Bar Code Model” is pictured under.