24 minute read
Having Your Cake and Eating It
Spring 2020 | Volume 3, Issue 3 LivestockResource F&R Your direct source for livestock news and information
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Published by Farmers & Ranchers Livestock, Salina, Kansas
In this Issue:
1 Having Your Cake and Eating It A topic that’s been debated ad nauseum, especially in the area of value-based marketing, is the correlation between cow reproductive traits and marbling. Recent research from Iowa State University suggests that little, if any, antagonisms between reproduction and carcass marbling exists.
12 Gone Global The U.S. beef export market accounts for a significant and growing portion of cattle value. The “devil is in the details”, but as reported by Randy Blach, CattleFax, “We’d lose a third of the value of your calves if we lost our export markets.” Not to mention, the value added through exports is often on cuts of beef and organ meats with little or no value in our domestic markets. 16 Been Green The facts about positive cattle contributions to the global environment and sustainability speak for themselves. The facts, however, are incredibly complicated. As we move toward global solutions to address climate change, there’s a lot at stake for food animal production. It’s imperative that facts, not politics, provide the road map.
19 Searching for a Solution Common diseases, like pinkeye, have most likely been around since cattle have roamed the earth. Today, it’s important to quantify the economic loss resulting from pinkeye. Modern science has provided more information about causation. But it’s up to us as practitioners to commit the time and compassion to ask the right questions and seek long-term solutions.
23 Cattle Prices Set to Strengthen Market projections for 2020 are mostly bullish as indicated by most every beef industry analyst moving into the new year. Demand is strong and new trade deals should support robust exports. Caution should be exercised relative to continued political and economic turbulence that could dampen an otherwise positive outlook.
Having Your Cake and Eating It
Continued on page 4 ________________________________________ By Wes Ishmael
Between the lengthy generation interval of beef cattle and the longev ity of commercial cattle producers, it can be easy to make decisions based on facts and perceptions that no longer apply.
For instance, the fact is that it used to be nearly impossible to find a pool Ongoing research suggests little, if any, antagonism between cow reproductive traits and carcass marbling, at least in one breed.
of bulls with high weaning and yearling growth that didn’t also have a propensity for higher birth weights and less calving ease. These days, of course, bulls with high growth potential and calving ease abound.
Similarly, the perception that selecting
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Livestock
Resource F&R
From the Editor
Volume 3, Issue 3 Spring 2020
Published quarterly by Farmers & Ranchers Livestock, Salina, Kansas 1500 W. Old Hwy 40 Salina, Kansas 67401 785-825-0211 • 785-826-1590 (fax) FandRLive.com
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Owner: Farmers & Ranchers Livestock, Mike Samples, Salina, Kansas (785) 826-7884 Editor: Deb Norton, Deb@CogentIdeasInc.com Production Coordinator: Julie Tucker Graphic Designer: Daric Wells Editorial Assistants: Dixie Russell, Dave Cumpton Contributing Editors: Wes Ishmael, Paige Nelson and Micah Samples
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Living in the city yet being raised in and working in the country has given me a different lens to view many issues throughout the years. Being fortunate to work with many of the nation’s most progressive beef operations, cattle feeders and other industry stakeholders has given me an immeasurable education far beyond the degree I earned decades ago.
Several years ago, a few days before Thanksgiving, I had a long grocery list and had just parked in an overflowing Sam’s Club parking lot, steeling myself to fight the crowd, when my cell phone rang. It was my good friend, Dr. Randall Spare. He said, “I think you need an educational experience.” To which I replied, “I think I’m listening.” He went on to tell me that he believed it would be helpful for me to better understand cattle feeding if I had “skin in the game.” He told me I could own a portion of a pen of cattle he owned that had just gone on feed. So, my next question to Randall was, worsecase scenario, how much did I stand to lose? If a blizzard hit in the next 120 days and half the pen died, what would the financial wreckage be? I’m almost always up for a learning experience and often don’t overthink. Some will argue I often don’t think at all! Needing to get on with my shopping, I agreed to participate. Lesson number one became to fully understand the meaning of risk tolerance.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably thinking about how the story ends! Randall was indeed correct. I learned a lot. Unless you understand a little about the cattle feeding business, you By Deb Norton
Farmers & Ranchers Upcoming Sales and Events
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Cow Sales..................................................................March 17, April 21, May 5 Hog Sales........................................................2nd & 4th Monday every month Don Johnson Angus Bull Sale...................................................6 p.m., March 9 New Frontier Bucking Bull Sale...........................................12 Noon, March 21
Continued on page 15 _______________________________________ probably aren’t prepared for the monthly arrival of five-digit feed bills. Of course, five-digits turn to six-digits depending on the size of the group on feed or how significant cattle feeding is in your overall operation. Death loss is just one of the costs of doing business in cattle feeding. If the entire pen on feed made it to the harvest facility, consider yourself real lucky. Then, factor in the weather. Rest assured, I’ve never paid closer attention to the forecast in southwestern Kansas than I did for the next several months.
In a way, it almost felt like cheating because the steers Randall offered to share his profits on were genetically some of the best in the country and highly predictable. The health on the cattle was impeccable and the genetics were generationally stacked to excel on a value-based grid. The cattle feeder was one of the most respected in the business and every major packer was at the yards weekly cherry picking from the show lists. All the components that could be controlled were. The next lesson I learned was accepting all those components that were out of our control, namely the weather and the market. One doesn’t have to be a mathematician to realize how the bottom line is affected if the market moves ten cents.
Once the cattle were harvested, the next lesson I learned was how to interpret the grid summary that documented, in great detail, individual performance. A grid summary is often referred to as an animal’s report card and it truly is. Each grid summary tells you how well the pen performed against the plant averages for the week. Further detail includes the individual performance on every head. I’m always shocked at the difference within each pen, from the most to least valuable carcass even in the best of pens.
Today we have so many data points to rely on to make educated decisions relative to purchasing and marketing beef cattle, regardless of production sector. Since my initial learning experience, and as a professional marketer working with value-based seedstock and commercial operations, it has become personally important to communicate the benefits of producing cattle with inherent value throughout all production sectors. Not all management schemes are the same and most are impacted by geographic limitations, forage quality and availability, debt, shrinking assets and economic realities. Reality dictates individual decisions but producers are rewarded for documented quality and value.
The good news is my original “toe dip” into cattle feeding wasn’t a loss nor was it profitable enough to buy one share of Berkshire Hathaway. However, the lessons I began to learn (and continue to learn today) give me a unique perspective to
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for marbling hinders herd reproduction continues to linger, although research over time suggests little, if any genetic antagonism. At least that’s true of the Angus breed.
Up front, the research that follows was conducted for Certified Angus Beef, LLC (CAB), which has an obvious vested interest. Of course, plenty of commercial producers do, too. According to a recent commercial cow-calf survey conducted by BEEF magazine, 73% of respondents described the predominant breed composition of their herds as Angus; it was Red Angus for another 15%. Iowa State University Case Study
Most recently, Dan Loy, Iowa State University (ISU) animal science professor and director of the Iowa Beef Center, along with other ISU researchers, conducted a literature review and case study of its commercial Angus herd. The 400-cow ISU herd at McNay Farms in south central Iowa was established in 1996. It began as two herds: one where yield selection was emphasized through the use of ultrasound; one where marbling selection was emphasized, using ultrasound. The former was discontinued in 2002. For the remaining herd—about 300 spring-calving cows and 100 fall-calving ones—the primary breeding objective continues to be carcass quality, specifically marbling, while other traits such as growth, temperament, calving ease and structural soundness are considered.
For perspective, between 2014 and 2018, the percentage of carcasses from cattle produced in the herd grading Prime and Premium Choice (upper two-thirds of Choice), increased from 73.3% to 93.0%. For Prime alone, the increase was from 26% to 57%.
“Over the last five years, average marbling score (MS) has improved from average Choice to high Choice, ribeye Area (REA) has increased from 12.3 to 12.9 square inches, back fat thickness (FT) has increased from 0.50 to 0.60 inches, hot carcass weight has increased from 700.0 to 792.5 lbs.,
and yield grade (YG) has increased from 2.8 to 3.3.,” according to the project summary, “The Relationship between Carcass Merit and Maternal Traits in Beef Cattle: A Case Study and Literature Review.”
The project utilized four separate datasets from the ISU herd: • In August of 2019, the American Angus Association provided EPDs for all animals born in the ISU project herd from 2001 to 2018. • Lifetime calving interval and reproductive success of cows born in the herd from 2001 to 2016 were evaluated. • Ultrasound phenotypes adjusted to yearling age on all cattle born from 2001 to 2011 were analyzed. • Breeding soundness exams and slaughter data were analyzed from two bull calf crops.
Continued on page 6 ________________________________________ Positive Link Between Marbling and Heifer Pregnancy
“One interesting and notable result that has not been observed previously is a positive relationship between heifer pregnancy and marbling EPDs,” according to the ISU study. “This is consistent with the relationship of body composition and heifer growth, as well as the use of intramuscular fat serving as a depot to contribute to the energy demands of pregnancy. Selection for marbling in this herd has also not resulted in a detrimental effect on bull fertility. Overall, we could find minimal data to support the assertion that selection for marbling in Angus cattle would have a negative impact on fertility, reproductive or maternal
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Monday, March 9 Don Johnson Angus Bull Sale 6 PM Saturday, March 21 New Frontier Bucking Bull Sale 12 Noon
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traits. To the contrary, many of the relationships between carcass quality and cow function, although weak, were positive.”
More specifically, results of the analyses were mostly consistent with research reviewed in the literature. • A small, positive relationship between milk and marbling EPDs in the herd. • A significant positive relationship (r = 0.206) between marbling and heifer pregnancy EPDs in the herd. • Positive correlations between marbling EPD and the EPDs for scrotal circumference, heifer pregnancy and maternal calving ease. • Marbling EPD of the cows in the herd had a weak , negative relationship to total number of calves, a weak positive relationship to number of calves born in ISU’s spring-calving cows—under the management scheme of the herd— and a weak negative relationship with calving interval. • Relationships between ultrasound intramuscular fat phenotypes of the progeny were not significantly related to reproductive EPDs: calving ease direct (CED), calving ease maternal (CEM), heifer pregnancy (HP), scrotal circumference (SC) and milk.
• A tendency for a positive correlation between yearling bull scrotal circumference and marbling scores indicate that selection for increased marbling in this herd may have indirectly impacted SC with marbling having no measurable impact on sperm motility or morphology. “Part of the breeders’ perception of a negative relationship between maternal and terminal selection may stem from popular value indexes that focus on maternal traits such as maternal calf weaned value ($M) versus indexes that focus on terminal traits such as beef value ($B),” according to the ISU study. “Breeders may naturally then classify cattle as good ‘maternal’ or ‘terminal cattle’… While one may be labeled a maternal index and the other
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terminal index, the true antagonism is likely related to selection for growth (and milk production) rather than marbling or beef quality.” Research is Consistent Over Time
As mentioned, conclusions from the ISU project mirror previous studies and literature reviews.
For instance, ISU researchers noted a 2011 Red Angus study that identified a small but positive genetic correlation (0.13 ± 0.09) between heifer pregnancy and intramuscular fat.
Moreover, ISU researchers say a 2018 extensive evaluation of Red Angus records found a moderate but positive genetic relationship be tween ultrasound intramuscular fat (UIMF) and stayability, defined as
18 th ANNUAL Spring Production Sale
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the ability of a female to produce five consecutive calves.
“While there appears to be little genetic relationship, there still appears to be an influence of intramuscular fat on heifer fertility,” ISU researchers explain. “In a different study by Evans and coauthors (2004), non-cycling heifers were observed to have lower UIMF (2.93% vs. 3.07%) than cycling heifers at 14 days post-synchronization. Additionally, heifers that failed to conceive after expressing estrus had less backfat than those that successfully conceived… These relationships highlight the important role of body composition and energy status on fertility and reproductive function and should be considered when comparing an animal’s genetics for those traits.” In 2013, Scott Greiner, Extension beef cattle specialist at Virginia Tech and Jason Smith, now Extension beef cattle specialist at Texas A&M University conducted a literature view for CAB, “Selection for Marbling and the Impact on Maternal Traits.”
Bottom line, they explained selection for improvements in marbling should not negatively impact scrotal circumference, age at puberty, heifer pregnancy, calving interval or mature weight. They added there appears to be favorable relationships between marbling and birth weight, calving ease and the $W index.
“The potential impact of the phenotypic relationships observed in the U.S. Angus sire population, however, will remain dependent upon manage ment scenario and feed resources,” explained Greiner and Smith. “As such, breeders are encouraged to re main cognizant of these relationships when making selection decisions, and as always, practice multiple trait selection while divergently selecting for these traits in such a way that matches progeny to a respective management strategy.”
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Saturday, March 28, 2020 • 1 PM At the farm near Haviland, KS Selling 225 Head 115 Polled Hereford Bulls 20 Proven Hereford Pairs 70 Open Commercial Hereford and Baldy Heifers Sandhill Farms HEREFORD PRODUCTION SALE
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High $Profit, Leachman Stabilizer bulls have made our ranch more sustainable!
~ Trace Walker, Rolling Hills Ranch Brookville, KS
About our calves: Our 2019 born steers were below average, but now we rank near the top in all categories. They gain, convert, reach heavy carcass weights, and marble far above average. Our last set of 2018 calves finished at 61% Prime with 87% CAB and higher – and no selects. They earned a premium of $168 per head.
All Rolling Hills steers and cull heifers are finished so that carcass data can be collected and results can be benchmarked.
About our bulls: Every female on the ranch is bred to a Leachman Stabilizer bull. We use AI and natural service. We invest a lot in the bulls, because they drive the future profitability and sustainability of our herd.
Gary Backus, ranch manager on Rolling Hills Ranch, combines long-term grazing practices, top genetics, and marketing strategies to minimize risk, optimize profit, and make the ranch pleasurable to operate. About our cows: In 2010, our steers fed out at Decatur County Feed Yard finished below average. We had to make a change. By 2015, every cow in the herd was sired by Leachman bulls. Now, we are into the 2nd & 3rd generation. We want to make the ranch sustainable, so the cows have to utilize our grasslands and reproduce at a high rate. We were very pleased that our young cows bred up 96% and our mature cows bred up 95% in just a 60 day breeding season.
