The Beefmaster Pay Weight - Spring 2024

the

BEEFMASTER Pay Weight

a publication dedicated to serving commercial cattlemen and produced by Beefmaster Breeders United Spring 2024

Vol. 11

Section 1

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Carcass Research Study Helps Gain Valuable Insight into the Breed

by Joe W. Mask, PhD., Beefmaster Breeders United When one thinks of Beefmaster cattle, the first thing that comes to mind is a maternal machine that was developed with the six essentials. There has been a lot of work done by BBU and its breeders over the years to look at carcass traits that help to determine Beefmaster’s place in the beef industry. I would like to talk about a research project that has been conducted over the past two years, and that will be continued by BBU with underwriting by the Beefmaster Educational Endowment Foundation (BEEF).

The purpose of the carcass research study was to determine the carcass quality of Beefmaster sired steers, and to observe the sustainability of Beefmaster cattle in the feed yard. The cattle on feed were Beefmasters sired out of Lasater En Fuego, owned by ISA Beefmasters, and Collier 955/5, owned by Dr. Jim Colvin. There

were also out of English type females, owned by the Noble Foundation. BBU purchased the steers and retained ownership through the feeding program. The cattle were fed at NextGen River Bend Feedyard in Hugoton, Kansas. You can review the data below on the two years of data, as well as the averages. There will be a full article coming with more indepth information.

Dr. Joe Mask Excecutive Vice President Beefmaster Breeders United

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Articles In This Issue...

Page 1 - Carcass Research Study Helps Gain Valuable Insight into the Breed by Joe W. Mask, PhD., Beefmaster Breeders United Page 5 - Performance Article Series: Purpose of the Seedstock Industry by Lance W. Bauer, PhD., Beefmaster Breeders United Page 8 - Supplementation options when wheat pasture is short by Paul Beck, Oklahoma State University Extension Page 9 - Two key productivity measures with profit implications for cow-calf operators by Kenny Burdine, University of Kentucky Page 11-12 - Higher Inputs and Interest Rates Impacting Cow Costs by Aaron Berger, University of Nebraska Extension Page 16-17 - Reducing Development Costs for Replacement Heifers by Kiernan Brandt, Drovers Pages 21 & 24 - Comprehensive report on U.S. cattle market published for Congress, USDA by Paul Schattenberg, Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M leads collaborative effort, AgriLife Today Page 26 - Spring 2024 Beefmaster Sale & Event Calendar Page 35 - Advertisers' Index

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Beefmaster Breeders United

The Beefmaster Pay Weight is a publication produced by Beefmaster Breeders United and dedicated to serving commercial cattlemen.

The Beefmaster Pay Weight Team Editor: Addison Coburn Managing Editor: Dr. Joe Mask & Dr. Lance Bauer Advertising Coordinators: Dr. Joe Mask, Dr. Lance Bauer, & Addison Coburn Graphic Designer: Addison Coburn

Beefmaster Breeders United Staff Members Dr. Joe Mask: Executive Vice President Dr. Lance Bauer: Director of Breed Improvement Jon Garza: Director of International Programs Donna Henderson: Office Manager Kylie McIntosh: Assistant Office Manager and BEEF Liaison Laurel Kelley: Youth Program Coordinator Addison Coburn: Communications Coordinator and Membership Services Brinley Allison: Student Worker - Membership Services Taylor Brown: Student Worker - DNA

For advertisement sales: Contact Addison Coburn or Dr. Lance Bauer at 210-732-3132 Contact BBU: P.O. Box 3790, Bryan, TX 77805 - (210) 732-3132 - info@beefmasters.org Beefmaster Breeders United reserves the right to refuse advertising in any publications. © 2023 Beefmaster Breeders United. All rights reserved. The contents of this magazine may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or part, without prior written consent of Beefmaster Breeders United.

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Performance Article Series: Purpose of the Seedstock Industry

by Lance W. Bauer, PhD., Beefmaster Breeders United What is the purpose of the seedstock industry?

Where do purebred cattle fit into the beef cattle industry?

While it is nice to sell bulls for $20,000 and females for $10,000, the purpose of the seedstock industry is not that.

It is to produce cattle that will help the commercial producer become more profitable in what they do. Whether it is a small producer that just sells calves by the pound at the local auction barn, or a large producer that sells a lot of steers or even retains ownership of the cattle.

Seedstock producers need to know their target audience and produce a product that will help the bottom line of their commercial customers.

A Seedstock producer needs to be in touch with the commercial industry, while also keeping up with the latest technology that will help them advance their cattle for future generations. Most commercial operations get paid for pounds of product, either as a live calf or as a carcass. Seedstock producers need to realize this and make sure that the cattle they offer to commercial producers helps increase weight gain and efficiency. EPDs are a great way to do this and should

be considered when making breeding decisions. There are also feed tests that Seedstock producers can try that can help prove efficiency and help with future breeding decisions.

Commercial producers that take the product all the way to the rail can make or lose money based on carcass quality grade and or yield grade. Ultrasound technology for scanning carcasses on live animals is a great way to estimate how an animal will perform, and again goes into the EPDs that can be used for breeding decisions.

It is very important to use the technology available as a seedstock producer because that same technology is being used by commercial producers.

There are also commercial producers that are in the market of making commercial replacement females. These commercial producers focus on using the best genetics available to them to make cows that will go out and generate profit for other commercial producers.

The Seedstock producer can help with this by making bulls and females that are fertile, sound, and functional, while not sacrificing a large amount of weight or carcass traits.

Beefmaster cross females are

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highly sought after because they can go to work and make great calves for commercial producers. This is an area that Beefmaster breeders should try to capitalize on and continue improving on. A good cow is the foundation for great calves that generate a profit.

As Seedstock producers, it is crucial to pay attention to the commercial cattleman and his needs. If the cattle that are being produced do not meet the needs of the commercial man, then why are they being produced? It is also important to stay on the edge of technology so that the seedstock cattle being produced not only meets the goals of the commercial industry but will help advance it into the future. Part of the seedstock industry is also the elite of the purebreds going back to seedstock producers.

However, that is a small part.

The overall purpose and focus should be to produce cattle that work for the commercial producer. The flow chart illustrates how the cattle industry works and it is very important to keep in mind when making breeding decisions.

Dr. Lance Bauer Director of Breed Improvementt Beefmaster Breeders United

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Supplementation options when wheat pasture is short

by Paul Beck. Oklahoma State University Extension

Prospects for wheat pasture started off in good shape this fall with many areas getting late summer rains. However, most of the wheat grazing areas did not get adequate rains to push the emergence and growth of wheat pasture for most of the month of September and October. Most of the region got nice rains that will likely drive enough forage production on early planted wheat for grazing by mid-November or early December. Later planted wheat or wheat that had not emerged from earlier plantings will probably be severely delayed even with the latest round of precipitation in October.

What can we do to sustain stocking rates that support at least approaching our normal levels of production?

Setting stocking rates on wheat pasture in the fall and winter has large impacts on performance of growing calves and can have large influences on productivity of pastures during the spring. We have found that the maximum (average daily gain) ADG could be expected at 5.0 pounds of forage dry matter per pound of initial calf bodyweight and ADG and if the initial forage allowance is restricted to 2.4

lb. forage DM/lb. initial calf bodyweight we can still see adequate performance of around 2 lbs./day. If forage allowance falls below 2 pounds of forage dry matter per pound of calf bodyweight, supplementation should be considered. If we use an average of about 200 pounds of forage per inch in plant height, a good stand of wheat that is 4 inches tall (800 pounds of forage dry matter per acre) will require stocking rates of about 2.5 to 3 acres per 500-pound steer for adequate season long performance.

Research from the OSU Wheat Pasture Research Unit at Marshall showed that providing a concentrate supplement (based on either corn or a soyhull/wheat middling blend) containing monensin at 0.65 to 0.75% of body weight (for example, 4lbs./day for a 533-pound steer) increased potential stocking rate by 33% and weight gains by 0.3 lbs./ day. This supplementation program can also be used to “stretch” wheat forage when pastures were 60% to 80% of normal, allowing for “normal” stocking rates. Recently, we stocked steers on wheat pastures at forage allowances of either 1.5 or 3 lbs. of forage DM/pound of steer bodyweight

with or without 3.3lbs./ day of a wheat middling/ soyhull feed blend. Steers on the higher forage allowance (3.0 lbs. forage DM/ pound of steer bodyweight) with supplementation gained the most (3.8 lbs./day) while unsupplemented steers on the higher forage allowance gained 3.6 lbs./day. Supplementation increased gains more for steers at the lower forage allowance where gains of steers stocked at forage allowance of 1.5 lbs. forage DM/pound of steer bodyweight increased from 2.5 lbs./day to 3.2 lbs./day with supplementation.

Intake of low-quality roughages is not high enough to offset wheat forage intake and can reduce performance of growing calves. Research has shown that offering moderate to high quality roughages such as corn silage or sorghum silage or round bale silages can be used to replace short wheat pasture or double stocking rates on wheat pastures. Early research showed that feeding corn or sorghum silage daily to calves on wheat pasture allowed stocking rates to be increased by up to 2X without reducing steer performance.

We repeated this research by offering bermudagrass round bale silage to steers stocked

at 1, 1.5 or 2 steers per acre with forage allowances going from 2.9 to 1.2 lbs. forage/ pound of bodyweight. Offering round bale silage at the lowest stocking rate actually increased gains compared with steers at the same stocking rate without silage (3.15 vs 2.79 lbs./day). As we increased stocking rate, average daily gain decreased, but total gain per acre increased by 52%.

There are some feeding options available to us when the economic conditions are right, but forage conditions are lacking. Feeding either limited concentrate supplement or moderate quality roughage during the fall can increase production stability and thus improve economic stability of the wheat stocker enterprise.

There does not appear to be economic advantage of feeding stockers grazing spring wheat when producers decide to forgo wheat grain harvest and steers graze out the wheat crop.

Reprinted with Permission from Beef Magazine

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Two key productivity measures with profit implications for cow-calf operators

by Kenny Burdine, University of Kentucky As we open the final month of the year, most springcalving cow-calf operations have weaned calves and have an opportunity to assess the productivity and profitability of their herds. To that end, I wanted to quickly review two measures that I feel are of utmost importance to a cowcalf operator. Neither measure carries a dollar sign, but both have serious implications for the revenue side of the profit equation. There is no shortage of measures and indices that can be helpful for cow-calf operators, but weaning rate and pounds of weaned calf per cow are two very important, but also relatively simple to understand and calculate.

Weaning rate is the percentage of cows exposed to a bull that wean a calf in a given year. If a farmer exposed 50 cows and weaned 45 calves, the weaning rate for that operation would be 90% (45 calves divided by 50 cows). There is a cost to maintaining and breeding cows whether they wean a calf or not, so limiting the number of cows that incur costs and fail to wean a calf is crucial. Holding all other things constant, herds with higher weaning rates will be more profitable than those with lower weaning rates. If weaning rate is an issue, farmers should work to determine if the issue is cows failing to breed, cows losing calves, or calf survival. more profitable than those with lower weaning rates. If weaning rate is an issue, farmers should work to determine if the issue is cows failing to breed, cows losing calves, or calf survival.

An easy way to think about weaning rate is that it converts revenue per calf to revenue per cow. Table 1 below provides a simple way to illustrate this concept. If one assumes that an average calf is weaned at 550 lbs. and is worth $2.30/lb. (for simplicity think steer-heifer average), then the value of each calf is $1,265 at

weaning. However, when this is discounted for cows that were maintained but did not wean a calf, the revenue picture on a per cow basis is very different.

Each 5% change in weaning rate impacts revenue per cow by more than $60. That difference expands in stronger calf markets and contracts in weaker calf markets, but the fact that weaning rate

Table 2 shows pounds of weaned calf per cow for a range of weaning rates and weaning weights. Increasing the percentage of cows that wean a calf each year and/or increasing the weaning weight of calves are two of the primary ways that cow-calf operations can see increased revenues, with calf price being an important third factor. The wide range

significantly impacts profit is undeniable.

The second measure briefly worth discussing is pounds of weaned calf per cow. This measure builds upon weaning rate by also including weaning weights. Pounds of weaned calf per cow can be calculated by dividing the total number of weaned pounds by the number of cows exposed to a bull or by multiplying the average weaning weight for the operation by the weaning rate. I like to think of pounds

across the table speaks to how much this measure can vary across operations. This is not to say that a higher level of pounds of weaned calf per cow is always desirable because this measure does not incorporate any additional costs associated with higher weaning weights or other considerations of the operation. But, tracking and managing that number will have profit implications for the operation over time.

of weaned calf per cow much like a yield measure for a crop operation – production per unit. Weaned pounds are the production level and cows are the unit. So, this measures the pounds of weaned calf a cowcalf producer can potentially sell for every cow maintained.

Reprinted with Permission from Beef Magazine

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Higher Inputs and Interest Rates Impacting Cow Costs

by Aaron Berger, University of Nebraska Extension As the 2023 calendar year winds down, this is a good time for spring calving herds to look at what it cost them to produce a calf in the past year.

What did it cost to run a cow on your operation this year?

How do you calculate the costs?

How do you value raised feed, labor, equipment, as well as replacement females grown on the ranch? These questions are frequently asked when the conversation of annual cow costs comes up.

The Estimated Annual Cow Costs for Nebraska is a simple one-page sheet that producers can look at to compare their costs to and see the resulting total to produce a weaned calf under current market conditions in 2023. This budget values all feed at market value, as well as labor, equipment, capital investment and the market value of replacement heifers at weaning. The Center for Ag Profitability Cattle Budgets are another interactive budget tool that producers can download in Excel® and use to calculate their own cost of production based on their location and herd size in the state. Frequently, when either of these tools are used and all these costs are tallied, the total surprises many cowcalf producers. A response often heard after tallying up the numbers is, “Does it really cost that much?”

FEED In looking at this budget, feed is the first and largest cost.

For many cow-calf operations, grazed and harvested feed makes up 40 to 70% of annual cow costs. The market value for grazed feed and harvested feed was higher in 2023 as drought conditions, a harsh winter and inflation pushed hay and grass prices higher. In this budget, when all pasture and feed are valued at market price, including what is needed for replacement heifers and bulls, annual feed costs are almost $800 per cow unit!

LABOR AND EQUIPMENT they still need to be monitored and Labor and equipment costs continue to increase. analyzed. Interest rates When labor is valued at are significantly higher what it would cost to hire than they were two someone to do the work and years ago and that is depreciation and expenses impacting the cow-calf related to equipment ownership enterprise. The Bank and operations are calculated, Prime Loan Interest it frequently makes up 15 to Rate reported by the St. 30% of the total annual cow Louis Federal Reserve costs. Equipment replacement, as of July 27 of this year interest, repairs, maintenance, was 8.5%. This rate and operating expenses trended is what commercial higher in 2023. banks typically charge COW DEPRECIATION OR customers that are REPLACEMENT deemed to be the lowest Whether replacements risk when making are raised or purchased, the a loan. To put this costs associated with getting a in perspective, the bred female into the herd are reported prime loan significant. The economic cost rate from March of of getting a bred replacement 2008 through July of into the herd in 2023 is much 2022 was never higher higher than it was in 2022. than 5.5%. For several When heifers are valued at years during that market price at weaning and all period, it was 4% or costs from weaning to entering less. The total amount the herd as a bred female are of dollars needed for calculated, this total frequently operating expenses in comes in as the third largest 2023 is higher due to cost in a cow-calf budget. In inflation of input costs a typical herd where open or and the increasing old cows are sold and then value of replacement replaced with bred heifers, females. The interest the cost to do this often is 15 rate on operating loans to 30% of total annual cow for most producers has costs. A quick way to get an doubled from what idea of the significance of it was two years ago. cow depreciation is to look More dollars need to at the relationship between be borrowed to operate the market value of bred and those dollars are replacements coming into the being borrowed at a herd in relation to the total higher interest rate. value of cull cows leaving the Interest expenses as herd as well as those that died. a percentage of total Assuming the cow herd keeps operating costs are a constant head count, this significantly higher for value difference divided by the many producers than number of cows in the herd they were just two years gives a current depreciation ago. relationship value.

Would you like INTEREST RATES, OTHER to get a better handle on what is happening COSTS INCREASED in your operation SIGNIFICANTLY IN 2023 Interest, breeding, with annual cow veterinary, marketing, and costs and your cost of other costs often add up to production? This fall 10 to 20% of total cow costs. unit cost of production While not as large as other workshops will be continued on page 12 cost categories, they still

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held in the Panhandle and Sandhills designed to help producers learn the skills needed to calculate cost of production numbers for their own operations. At these workshops, ranchers will learn how to perform an economic analysis of a ranch operation and see how different enterprises perform and interact with one another.

Using an example ranch, participants work through the different costs associated with the most common enterprises found on a ranch.

Past participants have indicated the knowledge gained and conversations that occurred prompted them to look at their operations and see the value of resources produced and used on the ranch in a new light.

Below are dates, locations, and contact information for pre-registration with the local host.

Nov. 28 and 29 at Valentine: Location Middle Niobrara NRD Board Room, 8:30 am - 4 pm CST; contact Ryan Benajmin 402-376-1850 or ryan.benjamin@unl.edu.

Dec. 5 and 6 at Kimball: Location Kimball County 4-H Building, 8:30 am - 4 pm MST; contact Aaron Berger 308-2353122 or aberger2@unl.edu Cost is $85 per person and covers meals for both days. Please pre-register one week prior for a meal count.

Payment is due the day of the workshop. Workshops are limited to 25 people per location. Contact Aaron Berger at 308-235-3122 with questions about the workshops.

Previous Years Estimated Annual Cow Costs for Nebraska 2022 Estimated Annual Cow Costs for Nebraska 2021 Estimated Annual Cow Costs for Nebraska Reprinted with Permission from Drovers

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Reducing Development Costs for Replacement Heifers

by Kiernan Brandt, Drovers

Regardless of how efficiently reproductive success is managed on the ranch, beef producers are tasked annually with incorporating new females into the herd in the form of replacement heifers.

Whether purchasing females off the farm or retaining heifers from this year’s cohort of marketable calves, both represent significant input costs to replace the 10–15% of cows leaving the herd annually, plus any additional heifers to expand the size of the operation in years when conditions allow. To reduce dependence on purchased or harvested feeds and susceptibility to poor weather or market conditions, there is growing interest in developing replacement heifers at a lower cost without compromising reproductive performance.

Much of the lifetime success of a beef female is

determined by her performance in her first breeding season. The overall objective of any heifer development program should be for those females to conceive a pregnancy early in a defined breeding season and to calve for the first time prior to two years-of-age. Since bred heifers will still only be approximately 85% of their mature weight at calving, having a large proportion deliver early in the calving season allows these females maximal time to go through uterine involution and prepare to gestate their second calf, while affording them extra nutrients to heal and continue developing, which is why many producers begin calving heifers 21–30 days ahead of the mature cows.

HISTORICAL RECOMMENDATIONS To maximize the number of heifers that have reached puberty prior to the

breeding season, it has been traditionally recommended that heifers weigh 60–65% of their mature body weight. This threshold was developed at a time when cattle production systems were transitioning from calving heifers at three years-of-age to calving them as two-year-olds. As this shift occurred, it indirectly required producers to select females that reach puberty at a lighter weight and younger age. Likewise, over the past several decades, consistent selection for increased scrotal circumference in young bulls may have indirectly decreased the age at which heifers reach puberty, as these traits are moderately correlated. Despite average mature cow sizes increasing as result of constant selection for larger yearling weights, heifers continually demonstrate the ability to reach puberty sooner and at lighter

weights than have occurred historically.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHANGE Acknowledging these changes in cattle genetics provides opportunities for producers to reduce development costs during the post-weaning period leading up to the breeding season. One caveat of dealing with such specific target percentages is the need for replacement heifers to be managed separately from the cowherd to monitor growth and development more accurately.

Whether this is accomplished through allocating pastures for heifers or feeding them in a drylot, the opportunity costs associated with these options must be evaluated on an operation-to-operation basis. Several studies in recent years have investigated whether heifers

continued on page 17

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www.beefmasters.org can be developed to lower bodyweight thresholds, ranging from 50–57% of their expected mature weight, without sacrificing reproductive performance. Regardless of whether heifers were developed on crop residue or dormant winter forage, collective studies from three different states all found economic benefits compared to drylot development, with savings of $37 to $99 per pregnant heifer.

These results are not surprising, given that grazing heifers were limit-fed protein supplements and consumed less overall feed.

Acceptable pregnancy rates were achieved by all groups, which is the ultimate indicator of a successful development protocol. The interesting part of these collective datasets is that by restricting heifer intake leading up to the breeding season and then turning them out on lush pasture, these heifers experienced higher rates of average daily gain (ADG) compared with heifers developed in the

which aids their performance drylot. Grazing habits are a and eliminates any adaptation learned behavior, so heifers period when they are turned who have been out grazing appear to perform better when out into the environment they turned out after breeding, and, will be expected to perform on as mature cows. If you despite entering the breeding season at a lighter weight, this are breeding heifers later in the summer when forage compensatory gain resulted quality is declining, consider in similar weights at calving providing additional protein between groups. to ensure adequate metabolic TAKEAWAYS status. Heifers should still Maintaining a positive enter the breeding season plane of nutrition leading up at a body condition score to and immediately following of five-to-six and be in an breeding is crucial for the environment that provides successful establishment of enough nutrients to be gaining pregnancy, so developing heifers to a lighter bodyweight weight. When transitioning to a low-input development may provide advantages in system, it is recommended adapting heifers to perform to retain more replacements well during the breeding than needed to help monitor season in a range setting.

Additionally, there is a growing how herd genetics respond to a nutritional challenge. Please body of literature suggesting contact Kiernan Brandt with economic advantages of any questions regarding heifer developing heifers to lower bodyweight thresholds, without development strategies. compromising conception rates. Heifers developed in Reprinted with permission low-input systems using from Drovers grazed forages may gain more experience consuming forage,

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Section 2

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Comprehensive report on U.S. cattle market published for Congress, USDA

by Paul Schattenberg, AgriLife Today, Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M leads collaborative effort In response to a request from Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, the Agricultural and Food Policy Center, AFPC, at the Department of Agricultural Economics in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences have completed an extensive report on the U.S. cattle market, including information on supply chain disruptions.

The 180-plus page book, titled “The U.S. Beef Supply Chain: Issues and Challenges” can be viewed on the AFPC website at https:// afpc.tamu.edu. It is the result of proceedings from an AFPChosted workshop on cattle markets held June 3-4 in Kansas City, Missouri.

The book puts into context a variety of disruptions in the cattle market, including the 2019 fire that took the nation’s second-largest beef packing plant offline for four months and the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on packing plants and significant disruption of beef supply chains.

“This is the product of a collaboration between the AFPC and the Office of the Chief Economist at the USDA,” said Bart Fischer, Ph.D., co-director of AFPC and one of the book’s editors.

“The work originated from a request by the bipartisan leadership of the Committee on Agriculture in the U.S. House of Representatives during the 116th Congress.”

When preparing this book, the AFPC commissioned papers from noted experts around the country on a variety of topics. Fischer noted that while the book is

“admittedly very technical and assumes a working knowledge of the industry,” a definition of technical terms has been provided wherever possible.

About the book In addressing the overall situation of the U.S. cattle market, the book is presented in 10 chapters to focus on some of its key aspects. The chapters are: — How We Got Here: A Historical Perspective on Cattle and Beef Markets.

— Price Determination and Price Discovery in the Fed Cattle Market.

— How Market Institutions, Risks and Agent Incentives Affect Price Discovery.

— Enhancing Supply Chain Coordination through Marketing Agreements.

— Another Look at Alternative Marketing Arrangement Use by the Cattle and Beef Industry.

— Market Reporting and Transparency.

— What Can the Cattle Industry Learn from Other Agricultural Markets That Have Limited Negotiated Trade?

— Implications of Fed Cattle Pricing Changes on the CowCalf Sector.

— Examining Negotiated Cash Trade Targets.

— Workshop Discussion Summary.

“Although this book is focused primarily on fed cattle pricing, Congress also asked us to weigh in on packing capacity issues,” Fischer said. “In many ways, packing capacity and fed cattle pricing are inextricably linked. As a result, capacity is addressed in a number of places throughout the book.”

The book also notes while economists offer explanations typically tied

to supply and demand relationships, others view such events as evidence the system is broken, particularly as it relates to fed cattle pricing, said Joe Outlaw, Ph.D., AFPC codirector and an editor for the book.

Outlaw said systemic issues have led to renewed concerns about packer concentration and lack of transparency in fed cattle pricing and insufficient packing capacity.

continued on page 24

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Chris Cooley: 303-588-7717 Brian Barnes (Ranch Manager): 863-840-2021 WWW.GoldenMeadowsRanch.com

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“This has also brought about an abundance of legislative proposals from policymakers attempting to address constituent concerns,” he said.

Findings from teh cattle market concentration evaluation “In our discussions among cattle industry stakeholders, the viewpoints on solutions to current concerns about cattle markets were highly diverse,” said David Anderson, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agricultural economist, Bryan-College Station, who contributed to and was an editor for the book.

He noted, however, there was general agreement that price discovery is important to the functioning of cattle markets, including fed cattle markets. “But agreement on any related policy changes remains an open question, and there is also concern about the unintended negative consequences of otherwise well-intentioned policy changes,” he said.

Some findings from the AFPC’s evaluation of cattle market concentration — the extent to which a small number of firms or enterprises account for a large proportion of economic activity — include: — Confirming and validating the linkage between fed cattle pricing and packer capacity.

“With respect to fed cattle pricing, research shows that alternative marketing arrangements

do not create market power because they do not change underlying supply and demand fundamentals,” the report stated.

— Although not necessarily a popular position, most research confirms that the benefits to cattle producers due to economies of size in packing largely offset the costs associated with any market power exerted by packers. Research indicates that there is market power, but its effect has been small.

Findings from the fed cattle pricing and packing capacity evaluations Some key findings from the AFPC’s evaluation of fed cattle pricing include: — Innovation via alternative marketing arrangements, AMA, originated with feeders who were attempting to capture value associated with improved quality. There has been tremendous variability in the adoption of AMAs, with the Texas-Oklahoma-New Mexico region by far being the largest users.

— Reliance on formula pricing significantly reduced transaction costs associated with negotiation and induced predictability in the supply chain.

— There was general agreement among cattle market economists consulted that price discovery in fed cattle markets is still robust, even though less than 30% of the transactions are from for-cash negotiations.

— Some argue that imposing

mandatory minimums on negotiated, or cash, transactions would improve price discovery in the fed cattle markets and accrue benefits to the cow/calf producer. However, the report notes it could have the opposite effect, potentially imposing huge costs – up to $16 billion according to one estimate in the book — that would be passed down to cattle producers in the form of lower prices.

— While the economists consulted argued that fed cattle price discovery was still robust, they also noted that additional transparency in general would be good because it could help build confidence in the market.

Some key findings from the AFPC’s evaluation of packaging capacity include: — The cyclical nature of the cattle business must be emphasized.

“While cattle supplies have outpaced available packing capacity, that will not always be the case,” the report noted. “As a result, anyone who decides to build additional capacity must understand those market dynamics and be aware that packer margins can plummet with that cycle.” The report also noted the decline in packing capacity is not a recent event but has occurred over several decades.”Expansion of small and regional packing capacity needs to be done in a way that is sustainable and economically viable,” it states.

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The ever-changing beef cattle industry “Over time, the cattle and beef industry has evolved significantly, with a growing set of beef products marketed through a vast array of outlets and export markets, as well as an expanding set of specialized beef markets to meet consumer desires,” Anderson said. “However, in all this time, relatively little has changed in relation to the adversarial relationship between producers and packers.”

During the past decade, the nation’s cattle and calf inventory has averaged 92.1 million head and the net value of trade for all cattle-related markets has been about $1.5 billion annually.

“International trade of beef and cattle continues to grow in importance to the beef cattle industry with the U.S. being both a major exporter and importer of beef,” he said. “The U.S. is currently projected to be the No. 2 global beef exporter and the No. 2 global beef importer.”

He also noted the COVID-19 pandemic revealed to both consumers and producers that the supply chains for the retail grocery and food-service industry are “largely separate, very specialized and quite complex.”

“It is abundantly apparent the U.S. cattle and beef industry represents one the most complex set of markets in existence today,” Anderson said.

Reprinted with permission from AgriLife Today

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2024 Spring Beefmaster Sale & Event Calendar February 10, 2024 - San Antonio Rose Classic February 13 - 15, 2024 - World Ag Expo., Tulare, CA February 14, 2024 - Western States BBA Sale at the World Ag Expo. in Tulare, CA February 17, 2024 - Beefmaster Border Classic, Santa Ana Ranch, Edcouch, TX February 24, 2024 - Advantage Plus Beefmaster Bull Sale - Brenham, TX 12:00 PM March 1, 2024 - STBBA Houston Futurity Sale, NRG Sale Pavilion March 1, 2024 - Houston Magic XXIV, NRG Sale Pavillion March 9, 2024 - Cattlemen Elite Bull & Heifer Sale, Damascus, AR March 13 - 14, 2024 - Lyssy’s All Access Online Sale on DVAuctions March 16, 2024 - Beef On Forage Bull and Registered Female Sale-McAlester, OK March 16, 2024 - Live Oak BBA Spring Showdown Sale, Three Rivers, TX March 23, 2024 - EMS Bull Sale, Groesbeck, TX April 3 - 4, 2024 - CJ, CF, BF, NG Commitment to Excellence Online Frozen Genetic Sale April 6, 2024 - LBBA Spring Sale at Kinder Livestock Market, 13008 US-190, Kinder, LA 70648 at 11 AM April 6, 2024 - Midwest Beefmaster Bull & Heifer Sale, Four State Stockyards, Exeter, MO April 6, 2024 - Arkansas Beefmaster Breeders Field Day in Quitman, AR April 13, 2024 - Collier Farms Advantage Sale - Giddings, TX 10:30 AM April 13, 2024 - OHOA Spring Sale and Futurity, Springfield, MO April 18 - 19, 2024 - Nextgen Flint Hills Classic Spring Sale April 20, 2024 - ETLBMG Sale and Grading, Crockett, TX April 27, 2024 - Springtime in Texas Beefmaster Breeders United National E6 Show, Brenham, TX May 4, 2024 - Central States BBA Mid America Futurity and Sale, Locust Grove, OK May 18, 2024 - Genetic Investment Sale, Salado, TX June 8, 2024 - Wallen Prarie Ranch Power and Performance Production Sale, Lockwood, MO June 22, 2024 - Clark Jones and Cottage Farms Southern Tradition XXIV, Savannah, TN August 3, 2024 - J&T Farms 10th Production Sale, Lexington, TN August 17, 2024 - Emmons Ranch Production Sale, Brazos County Expo., Bryan, TX August 24, 2024 - SEBBA Convention Sale and Miss Beefmaster Futurity, Lexington, TN

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MCK FLINT ROCK 142 - C1103594 CE

BWT

WWT

YWT

MILK

MWWT

MCE

EPD

4.90

-1.3

41

69

10

30

2.28

%Rank

20

10

10

10

40

15

90

SC

REA

IMF

FAT

$T

$M

EPD

1.01

0.89

0.04

-0.03

121.74

26.14

%Rank

15

3

35

55

10

15

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Lowell, Rick, Scott, Abe, Owen and Derick Stonecipher

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BM

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Walking M Cattle Co. Brien & Bekah Moules 24561 N. Dustin Rd, Acampo, CA 95220 (209) 712-6023 walkingmcattle@live.com

Look for Our Consignments

Western States BBA Sale, February 14, 2024 C1174115 WMCC Mr 1528 (CF Turn the Page 110/9 X Miss WMCC 5548-5802) Embryo Lot CJ’s Revolution 1772 X CF Miss Heavenly Honey 325/5

Advantage Plus Bull Sale, Febuary 24, 2024 P304774 WMCC Mr 2905 Polled(CF Bravado 373/5 X WB Kesha 94/9)

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©2023 CNH Industrial America LLC. All rights reserved. Case IH is a trademark registered in the United States and many other countries, owned by or licensed to CNH Industrial N.V., its subsidiaries or affiliates. Any trademarks referred to herein, in association with goods and/or services of companies other than CNH Industrial America LLC, are the property of those respective companies.

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