October 2010 | www.theprofitpicture.com
In this Issue:
What Drives Value in Feeder Cattle? Complement Your Cows Build Females to Keep and Sell Southern Balancer™ A Gelbvieh Composite for the South
Commercial
Producers Have a Long History with Gelbvieh
Adding Value to
a Weaned Calf Marketing System
What Drives Value in Feeder Cattle? By Frank Padilla, Director of Breed Promotion, American Gelbvieh Association Value in the marketplace is determined by the prices customers are willing to pay for a certain product, and if they are satisfied, they will return to buy that product again. The same is true in the cattle industry. Feeder calf buyers demonstrate their preferences through the prices they pay, on or off the farm or ranch. The value of various traits can vary widely from sale to sale and depends on the market conditions. However, over time, a good estimate of what buyers prefer can be determined. The factors that drive the value of a feeder calf are its sex class, weight, frame size, muscle score, health status, bloom and appearance of freshness. The market dictates the value of what management and marketing practices a producer chooses to do. Several land grant universities as well as private industries, have tracked feeder calf demand. An Internet search finds a wealth of information from various regions of the United States. In an Oklahoma project, buyer preferences were estimated with data from 20 Oklahoma Quality Beef Network sales. The research found that buyers paid more for: • Steer calves compared to heifers, bulls or mixed lots; • Medium framed calves compared to largeand small-frame calves; • Heavy-muscled calves compared to moderately and thin-muscled calves; • Polled or dehorned and healed calves compared to horned calves; • Healthy calves compared to unhealthy appearing calves;
• Uniform sale lots compared to nonuniform lots, includes color and; • Larger sale lots, even 15-20 head, compared to single lots.
The factors that drive the value of a feeder calf are its sex class, weight, frame size, muscle score, health status, bloom and appearance of freshness. Another research study conducted by the University of Arkansas documented the traits and management practices that can add value to a feeder calf. In 2000-2005, U of A staff worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture livestock news reporters to track data from 17 markets across the state. The data included: the number of cattle sold at a time, gender, breed or breed type, color, polled or horned, frame (large, medium, or small, muscle score (1, 2, 3 or 4), fill (gaunt, shrink, average, full or tanked), condition (very thin, thin, average fleshy or fat), age (calf or yearling), health, weight and price. The U of A results was similar to the Oklahoma results. The highlights included: Continued on page 4
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