2022 Spring Directions by NCBA

NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

The trusted leader and definitive voice of U.S. cattle and beef industry

2022 SPRING DIRECTIONS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF NCBA NCBA.org

CATTLEMEN

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF NCBA 2022 NCBA Leadership: President President-Elect Vice President Treasurer Federation Division Chair Federation Division Vice-Chair Policy Division Chair Policy Division Vice-Chair Immediate Past President Chief Executive Officer Senior Editors

Don Schiefelbein Todd Wilkinson Mark Eisele Joe Guild Brad Hastings Clark Price Buck Wehrbein Gene Copenhaver Jerry Bohn Colin Woodall John Robinson Jill Johnson

Editor

Sarah Drown

Contributing Writers

Wendy White

Creative Director Graphic Designer

Ashley Willits Hunter Ihrman

Don Waite Dancinee Jennings

For ad sales, contact Shannon Wilson 303-850-3345, Summer Johnson 303-850-3346, or Griffin Smith 303-850-3377. Contact NCBA: 9110 E. Nichols Ave., Suite 300, Centennial, CO 80112 (303-694-0305); Washington D.C.: 1275 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Suite 801, Washington, D.C. 20004 (202-347-0228). National Cattlemen’s Beef Association reserves the right to refuse advertising in any of its publications. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association does not accept political advertising in any of its publications. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association does not accept any advertising promoting third-party lawsuits that have not been endorsed by the board of directors. ©2022 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. All rights reserved. The contents of this magazine may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or part, without the prior written consent of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

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TA B L E O F

N A T I O N A L

CONTENTS 4.............................LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT 6......................................................LETTER FROM THE CEO 9.....................................COMMUNICATING IMPROVEMENT 12......................................................BIOSECURITY PLANNING 15.........................................FEEDLOT PERSPECTIVE 18..............................................NUTRITION AND CONDITION 25.....................................................SUCCESSION PLANNING 28...........................................................................SOIL HEALTH 34......................................................WEATHER AND CLIMATE 38............................................................CATTLE ECONOMICS

Don Schiefelbein NCBA President Minnesota

Buck Wehrbein NCBA Policy Chair Nebraska

Todd Wilkinson NCBA President-Elect South Dakota

Gene Copenhaver NCBA Policy Vice-Chair Virginia

Brad Hastings NCBA Federation Chair Texas

Mark Eisele NCBA Vice President Wyoming

Clark Price NCBA Federation Vice-Chair North Dakota

DENVER OFFICE

9110 E. Nichols Ave. Suite 300 Centennial, CO 80112 303-694-0305 membership@beef.org

WASHINGTON D.C. OFFICE Joe Guild NCBA Treasurer Nevada

Jerry Bohn Immediate Past President Kansas

Colin Woodall NCBA CEO Colorado

1275 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. Suite 801 Washington, D.C. 20004-1701 202-347-0228

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Learning From Each Other

LETTER FROM THE

PRESIDENT

Don Schiefelbein, NCBA President

Cattle producers are the original conservationists, preserving natural resources and caring for livestock with a goal of leaving the land better for future generations. We’ve always committed to being good stewards but this, as you know all too well, has been thrust into the spotlight. We can’t let up. We must continue to push for a seat at the table and demonstrate that our science-based management practices lead to continuous improvement. We all have a part to play, and it starts with our daily decisions on the farm or ranch. As we put together this issue of Directions focused on innovative management practices, I couldn’t help but think of my own family’s story. It was my father’s foresight and focus on finding a better way to do things that has allowed me and my seven brothers to all have a role with our family’s operation today. We manage a seedstock operation, so we’re really in the genetics business. The way we see it, it doesn’t do much good to invest in genetics if they don’t work for producers down the line to raise quality cattle and aid in operational efficiency. We wanted to understand how the decisions we were making affected our customers, and that’s why we decided to start our buy-back program. We not only raise the genetics and sell them to commercial cattlemen, we also buy those calves back from our customers, feed them out and market them on a value-based grid that rewards us for the genetic decisions we made in the first place. This management decision was a good move for not only our financial viability but also our customers. As cattlemen and cattlewomen, we don’t always think of ourselves as part of the global food system, but I’ve been lucky enough to travel outside of our great country and realize just how impactful our commitment to genetics is. It takes other parts of the world three to four years to accomplish what we can in 13 months with U.S. beef production. Advancements in genetics and feed efficiency have helped create an efficient system for raising cattle and producing food for a growing global population, all while reducing our carbon footprint. My dad also understood how to make his environment work for him. We converted some of our farmland back into pasture because we knew it was better adapted for grass, clovers and grazing cattle. As a diversified farm, we feed the grain to cattle that convert it into highquality protein and then use the manure as a natural fertilizer. From our standpoint, this is the most efficient way to produce crops and cattle. I don’t think we can tell this part of our story enough — beef cattle operations are truly impressive, especially from a grazing and environmental standpoint; they actually use the ground the best way it was intended. My family’s system isn’t going to work for every producer in every part of the country, but the concept can translate. We all find the best use of the land that fits our environment and meets the needs of our animals. What we really learned from committing to getting the most out of the genetics of our cow herd was that we actually improved our economic stability and environmental impact. We also learned that we couldn’t have done it solely on our own — relationships with other producers and expanding our knowledge base was key. The issues we face in our industry are almost always bigger than just one person and a focus on unifying and figuring out how we can help each other is critical. If we can start by thinking about our own management practices and learn how each other is taking a step toward innovation, we can work together to chart a more stable path forward for our industry.

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SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

LETTER FROM THE

CEO

Colin Woodall, NCBA CEO

Resilience It is hard to believe that it has been two years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is even harder to believe that we are still dealing with it today, and that we probably have more to come. I often wonder when we will get back to normal, but I am not sure we can define what normal is or should be. Inflation is on the rise, and the flock of black swans continue to fall on us in the form of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, higher fertilizer prices, higher fuel bills, expanding drought, and a market that just cannot catch the fire we expected. Take all of this, tack on a mid-term election later this year, and you have created about the most uncertain time we have dealt with in ages. We can all hope for some sense of normalcy to return to our lives, and there is no doubt that hope can carry you through many a bad or trying situation. I believe, however, it is more important that we focus on our resilience.

You, America’s cattle producers, are some of the most resilient people on this planet, and our story of producing beef for this country, and the world, is built on that very resilience and perseverance.

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You, America’s cattle producers, are some of the most resilient people on this planet, and our story of producing beef for this country, and the world,

is built on that very resilience and perseverance. Our resilience comes from a sense of duty and commitment to our families, our cattle and our land. It comes from the pride in knowing we produce the best-tasting protein around. It also comes from knowing that, if we don’t fight for our way of life, it will quickly go away. We know it is worth the fight, and our consumers are supporting us. If there was a silver lining to the pandemic, it was realizing that the consumer still loves beef. CattleFax tells us we are seeing a 33-year high in beef demand, and contrary to the prognostications of the “fake meat” crowd, they are not taking us off the center of the plate. Even with increasing prices, I find that I need to get to my local grocery store early if I want the biggest selection of beef. This demand provides just the nudge we need to keep fighting. In times of uncertainty, people crave comfort. Beef provides that comfort. As your association, NCBA works daily to build resilience. As a proud contractor to the Beef Checkoff, we work diligently to build even more demand for beef. One way we do that is by ensuring the consumer has the facts they need about beef production to feel good about their steaks, hamburgers and more. We build resilience through Checkoff-funded research that adds to our bank of knowledge to defend beef from ill-informed attacks. We fight daily to keep the government out of your business. Resilience is easily lost once the government gets in and props us up, rather than us relying on the solid base of things like consumer demand. We could fill this edition of Directions with examples of what NCBA is doing to protect you, but one of the important ways we help bolster your resilience is by providing you with the latest in best management practices and tools for your operation. Continual improvement by all of us is an investment in resilience. So, in the pages that follow, take time to find one or two new ideas, thoughts or methods you can implement on your operation to improve your resilience. In the meantime, we will keep fighting for you. We will persevere, and we will never, ever quit. SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

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7/10/20 5:42 PM NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY

These are companies that have teamed with NCBA as corporate members, demonstrating their commitment to the beef industry. Their involvement strengthens our future. NCBA members are urged to support these partners in turn by purchasing their products and services. Those who would like to become corporate members with NCBA (securing premium booth placement at the annual convention and trade show as well as other membership benefits), please call the Corporate Relations team at 303-694-0305.

Animal Health International

Merck Animal Health

www.animalhealthinternational.com

www.merck-animal-health-usa.com

Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Inc.

Micro Technologies

www.bi-vetmedica.com/species/cattle.html

www.microtechnologies.com

Caterpillar

Moly Manufacturing

Central Life Sciences

New Holland Agriculture

Corteva Agriscience™

Purina Animal Nutrition LLC

www.cat.com

www.molymfg.com

www.centrallifesciences.com

www.newholland.com

www.corteva.com

www.purinamills.com/cattle

Elanco Animal Health www.elanco.com

(Minimum $100,000 Investment)

John Deere

www.deere.com

Masey Ferguson

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Roto-Mix

Zoetis Animal Health www.zoetis.com

Nationwide Norbrook, Inc Rabo Agrifinance RAM

Bayer Environmental Sciences CHR HANSEN Farm Credit Council Huvepharma, Inc. Lallemand Animal Nutrition

American Foods Group Cargill Meat Solutions Certified Angus Beef Culver’s Darden Restaurants empirical Fareway Stores, Inc.

www.ritchiefount.com www.rotomix.com

www.agcocorp.com/brands/massey-ferguson

44 Farms ADM Animal Nutrition, Inc Agri-Pro Enterprises of Iowa, Inc AgriWebb Alltech, Inc American National Insurance Arrowquip AT Ferrel Bank of America Barenbrug USA Bass Pro Shops/Cabela's Behlen Manufacturing Bimeda BioZyme Bush Hog Inc. Cargill Animal Nutrition Case IH CEAT Tire CME Group DATAMARS Livestock Dell Technologies Diamond V ENDOVAC Animal Health Farmers Business Network/AgriPrime Insurance Agency Fera Diagnostics and Biologicals Corp Food Safety Net Services Furst - McNess Company Gallagher Gravely, an Ariens Company

Ritchie Industries Inc.

Greeley Hat Works Grov Technologies Hayden Outdoors Real Estate Hyundai Construction Equipment IMI Global, Inc International Stock Food International Genetic Solutions Jorgensen Land and Cattle Kent Nutrition Krone Kubota Tractor Corporation Kunafin "The Insectary" Laird Manufacturing Meat & Livestock Australia, Ltd. Micronutrients National Corn Growers Association Neogen Newport Laboratories, A Vaxxinova Company New Generation Supplements Noble Research Institute

Novus International Parker McCrory PBS Animal Health Phibro Animal Health Pneu-Dart Priefert Ranch Equipment QualiTech, Inc Quality Liquid Feeds Red Angus Association of America R&R Machine Works RFD - TV Roper/Stetson/Tin Haul Apparel & Footwear South Dakota State University Stone Manufacturing Superior Livestock Supreme International Syngenta Tarter Farm and Ranch Equipment The Hartford Livestock Insurance The Vit-E-Men Co. Inc/Life Products Trans Ova Genetics U.S. Premium Beef Vermeer Vitalix Vytelle Westway Feed WildRiver Y-Tex Zinpro Performance Minerals Five Guys McDonald’s Corporation National Beef Packing Omaha Steaks Performance Food Group Preferred Beef Group Tyson Fresh Meats

SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

Communicating Improvement

Can We Talk? Where Livestock and Environment are Concerned, We Must By Joe Proudman, Associate Director of Communications CLEAR Center, UC Davis If you’re the least bit knowledgeable about the livestock industry, reading a relevant story in the mainstream media is likely a frustrating experience. Headlines shout burgers and cattle are ruining the planet, and that the world is just a few more plantbased burgers away from salvation. There seems to be a never-ending flow of these articles. But why? It’s because people click on those stories. Those stories are not being published for no reason; they drive traffic to news sites time and time again. Consumers want to know how their food — in particular, their meat — impacts themselves, their families and the environment. That’s a good thing in the long run. If you ask people where their steak comes from, many will say the grocery store. It’s a half-joke, of course, but what’s not funny is the lack of information about food production. The animal agriculture sector has shied away from communicating about their craft, which has opened the door for others to fill the space with information that is sometimes good and sometimes too general, misleading or flat out wrong. It’s a textbook example of why you need to tell your own story. If you don’t, someone else will do it for you. The shame of it is, the livestock sector has a good story to tell. For example, the United States produces 20% of the world’s beef with just 6% of the global beef herd. That kind of efficiency is the envy of the world and a direct result of generations of hard work. Research and technological advances have positioned the U.S. cattle sector to reach climate neutrality — the point in which they are no longer contributing warming to our atmosphere — in the coming decades. By reducing methane emissions by 18% to 32%1, the beef and dairy industries can stop having a negative impact on the climate. If they keep going and reduce emissions further, they can reduce climate warming by pulling carbon out of the atmosphere. Business as usual won’t cut it, and it will take hard work to get there, but if this sector is good at anything, it’s hunkering down and finding solutions. Sadly, that story is largely untold in the mainstream media. We’re trying to change that at the CLEAR Center2 at the University of California, Davis, where I lead science communication and outreach. The CLEAR Center is led by professor Frank Mitloehner, who has been working at the intersection of livestock and the environment for 20 years. Under his guidance, we have two symbiotic cores — research and outreach. Without one core, the other struggles to find the kind of impact necessary to help improve our world and the lives of people in it. SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

The United States produces 20% of the world’s beef with just 6% of the global beef herd. That kind of efficiency is the envy of the world. NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

Our work focuses on many different aspects of sustainability. The five areas that guide us, in no particular order, are:

informed. Once they have the information, what they choose to do with it is really up to them.

•

Climate and the environment

•

Worker recruitment, retention and safety

•

Animal health and welfare

We believe it’s essential to have many seats at the table. You, too, can help us fill the gaps of knowledge around livestock. In fact, the CLEAR Center has had several successful collaborations with producers. One that comes to mind is a recent Instagram live event with Nebraska rancher Natalie Kovarik.5

•

Food safety

•

Financial sustainability

There is exciting and promising research taking place at the Center. For example, our director and our graduate students are studying feed additives, biomethane, greenhouse gas quantifications and the warming impact of California cattle sectors. At the same time, our outreach team is responsible for helping to share that research with a variety of audiences, including policymakers, journalists, producers and consumers. Our website has information about research and explainers3 that go in-depth on various subjects, such as dairy digesters and carbon sequestration. Blogs4 authored by Mitloehner discuss developments in animal agriculture. Incidentally, if you’re not following him on Twitter (@GHGGuru), you’re missing out on a flow of information and a lot of context around animal agriculture and the environment. We make an effort to be a source of quality and factual sciencebased information. We’re not trying to sell anything to anyone; there are no incentives to spin the story a certain way. Instead, we want to ensure that people who visit our site leave better

Instagram lives are live video sessions that happen on a user's profile. Other Instagram users can watch and post comments. Natalie has a large following — around 100,000 people — and has built a community with content that peels back the curtain on ranching in various ways. Not only does her Instagram feed feature information about raising animals and working a ranch, it also highlights the fact that real and genuine people put a lot of effort into doing so. You may scoff at that point — and understandably so. You know as well as anyone reading this article how true that statement is. But remember that half-joke — food comes from the grocery store, not from people who get up with the sun seven days a week to break open frozen water troughs and tackle all the other tasks necessary to feed a rapidly growing world population. Mitloehner joined Natalie on her page to talk about climate and beef, which now has more than 17,000 views. And yet, it isn’t only the view count that is impressive; the engagement is perhaps more important. Viewers asked a lot of good questions, indicating this is a topic people want to know about. Furthermore, they’re not just looking for answers in news reports and academic journals. Social feeds from people they follow and admire have a place in the telling of the story.

Communicating Improvement

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SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

If you’re interested in sharing your experiences in the cattle sectors, there are a few things you can consider. Find an outlet through which you want to share your story. It could be a website or a TikTok page. It could simply involve chatting with people who are interested in the subject you’d like to discuss. The key is to be where the people are and where they like to get solid information, and to make sure you’re reaching them with content that meets their expectations. For example, if you’re using Instagram, you’re going to want to be producing video content. If you’re on Twitter, you need to engage users frequently. Second, make sure you’re talking in terms everyone can understand. In journalism, we’re taught to write on a fifth-grade level so everyone can understand. That advice applies to various settings. At the CLEAR Center, we try to be mindful of not using jargon and explaining concepts that may not be familiar to non-agriculturalists. The topic of climate change and livestock is full of nuances that need in-depth explanations at times. We must ensure we’re comprehensive in our explanations and that they’re accessible to a wide variety of audiences. Lastly, make sure you’re not talking at people, but with them. This should be a

conversation, one that is void of who’s right and who’s wrong. There’s already more than enough of that going on. It’s important to remember you’re not going to change everyone’s mind about livestock and the environment, but at the very least, maybe you’ll be able to find common ground and offer a bit of education at the same time. I’m proud to be working in such a pivotal space. The livestock industry feeds and nourishes people, and it can play a positive role in helping our climate and environment. That’s worth talking about. After all, people deserve to know what goes into raising their food and how those who do are just as concerned with the health of our planet. And that’s no joke. Joe Proudman is associate director for communications for the UC Davis CLEAR Center. You can reach him at jproudman@ucdavis.edu. 1.

White-paper-climate-neutrality-beefdairy.pdf (ucdavis.edu)

http://clear.ucdavis.edu

https://clear.ucdavis.edu/explainers

https://clear.ucdavis.edu/blog

https://nataliekovarik.com/

Social Media

Weather Resources

Interval Reports

RangeCalc ™

LRP Daily Rates

AgRisk Portal

www.AgRiskAdvisors.com | (833)393-1086 SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

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Biosecurity Planning

Secure Beef Supply & Biosecurity Planning: The Ticket for Navigating the Storm By Julia Herman, DVM, MS Beef Cattle Specialist Veterinarian, NCBA, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff Justin Smith, DVM Kansas Animal Health Commissioner/State Veterinarian The U.S. cattle industry has been fortunate to be protected from recent foreign animal disease (FAD) outbreaks that devastate animal welfare, agricultural communities and local or international economies. Currently, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is one such disease that the North American poultry industry is trying to contain. With a wild bird reservoir, HPAI is challenging to track and has costly implications for infected flocks. Millions of birds have been depopulated already in North America, and the disease continues to cause damage. HPAI has an added concern from being zoonotic, meaning it can spread from animals to humans. Biosecurity remains the top protection against this disease and many others. Biosecurity involves taking necessary steps to prevent the transmission of pathogens to animals, humans and the environment. This applies to an individual, farm or any level of the food supply chain and relies on accountability at each of these levels. Implementing these practices protects animals and people from developing disease, improves animal welfare, reduces production loss and provides a safe product to support a safe food supply. Transdisciplinary approaches are most effective when addressing biosecurity across livestock industries. Within the U.S. cattle industry, cattle producers work alongside professionals from all aspects of the industry to implement best management practices based in science and aligning with government guidelines. Foot and Mouth Disease A critical concern to livestock industries is the potential for a Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak in the U.S. or North America, which would have major adverse consequences on U.S. cattle and livestock industries, both economically and operationally. FMD is the most contagious viral disease affecting cloven-hooved animals (i.e., cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, wildlife). FMD causes blisters in the mouth and on the feet, and can be shed in saliva, via aerosols or other body fluids of infected animals. Thankfully, FMD does NOT affect public health or food safety, so meat and milk from affected animals are safe to eat and drink. Regardless, the effects on our economy, trade and way of life would be tremendous if this disease were to enter the U.S. or North America. The cost of an FMD introduction in North America is estimated at $16-$140 billion, according to a Kansas State University risk assessment (2015). These losses include response expenses such as personnel deployment, laboratory services, depopulation, 12

NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

advanced cleaning and disinfection, and lost opportunities including lost farm income, stopping agricultural exports and trade, and consumer concerns. To minimize these losses, collaboration and cooperation are key across sectors in the supply chain. Livestock producers, veterinarians, supply chain counterparts, law enforcement and local/state/federal government officials all need to understand their role if the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announces an FMD outbreak. It is important for producers and veterinarians to know that all normal activities would be halted, and limited animal movement would be implemented at the start of the outbreak. This allows for regulatory officials to identify where infected animals are and plan for safe animal movement. Dynamics of the outbreak will change frequently, and each state will rely on their state animal health officials to establish quarantines, enact stop movement orders, and advise on euthanasia and disposal. Secure Beef Supply For livestock producers, having biosecurity and contingency plans (i.e., communication, managing movements, financial risk management) before such an event are tools that will help maintain their business if they are unable to market their animals during an FMD outbreak. Producers have a responsibility to protect their animals and facilities from becoming infected, which includes having an enhanced biosecurity plan, educating their family and employees, and having a contingency plan to manage through movement restrictions. For operations not directly infected by FMD or another FAD, maintaining continuity of business through an outbreak will be essential to mitigate economic impacts. The Secure Food Supply (SFS) Plans were developed in collaboration between the livestock industries, state and federal government officials, and two universities: Iowa State University and Kansas State University. These plans provide guidance for livestock producers to voluntarily prepare before a FAD outbreak to limit exposure of their animals. For beef operations, the USDA-funded Secure Beef Supply (SBS) plan is a voluntary, operational specific enhanced biosecurity plan that will help protect animals from disease exposure, maintain business continuity along the supply chain, and may help qualify for permitted movement. Veterinarians play an essential role in everyday health of animals and especially during an FAD outbreak. Community veterinarians can assist state animal health officials and state veterinary offices by training producers in biosecurity planning and acting as the validator for SBS plans during an outbreak. Sample collection, overseeing FMD vaccination and verifying biosecurity practices will be instrumental in preventing spread of the disease and protecting the livelihoods of producers. Daily Biosecurity Planning While preparing for a potential FAD outbreak may seem daunting, many biosecurity steps are already being taken daily on cattle SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

operations. Biosecurity and herd health complement each other, and your herd veterinarian is an ideal team member to help prepare. Each operation should have a resource group of professionals and experts to aid in decision making for the cattle operation and build a foundation for protective biosecurity practices. Biosecurity is the cheapest, most effective means of disease control and is an area that the cattle producer has the most control over. Good biosecurity programs will protect cattle herds from diseases where there is not a good vaccine. Trichomoniasis or anaplasmosis are examples where biosecurity to prevent the disease is easier and cheaper than investigating and treating the disease. Annual biosecurity training for employees and visitors can reduce the risk of disease spread between animals and humans and prioritizes public health among employees and visitors. Identifying routes of transmission of various pathogens can help protect against new or emerging infectious diseases. An animal must be exposed to these pathogens to develop disease, so understanding transmission routes simplifies gaining control of the spread. To fully assess the herd risk and individual animal risk, it is important to know what pathogens are leaving, entering and spreading throughout the operation. Disease agents can spread from animal to animal (within or between species) or animal to human (zoonotic), or vice versa. When assessing biological risk management, the main routes of transmission to consider are aerosol, direct contact, fomite, oral and vector-borne. Zoonotic diseases (which spread through any of the previous routes) are important for human, animal and public health. From a management standpoint, it may be easier to identify risk areas (such as fomites) and then design protocols to minimize exposure. Cattle producers and veterinarians should collaborate to develop a biosecurity plan that suits the individual operation, like the Beef Checkoff-funded Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program’s daily biosecurity plan template. Understanding current risks and preventing future risks is essential to protecting the herd, and it helps to have an outside set of eyes evaluating the operation. BQA collaborated with the SBS Plan to ensure similar language and completeness. This is particularly helpful when an operation moves to an enhanced biosecurity plan, which will be necessary during an FAD outbreak, because the producer already has biosecurity steps in place from the daily template.

Producers have a responsibility to protect their animals and facilities from becoming infected, which includes having an enhanced biosecurity plan. SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

Methods of Disease Prevention These practices can protect the operation from lawsuits and financial loss. The following are key principles of biosecurity to remember when you are evaluating your operation: •

Exclusion: Complete removal of disease risks with no introduction of animals, equipment or other risk — most effective but most difficult to implement.

•

Separation: Preventing exposure to disease by using physical means (e.g., walls, gates, distance), time (e.g., quarantine period, time between visits), or procedures (e.g., changing footwear or clothing, dedicating employees to one area of the operation) to minimize disease spread.

•

Cleaning: Removing organic matter from equipment or clothing to enhance effectiveness of disinfectants.

•

Disinfection: Proper product selection for the pathogen of concern is critical along with applying at the correct concentration and contact time — read the label of each product used.

Implementing BQA biosecurity principles and planning can help producers avoid costly production mistakes. Veterinarians serve as key assets for producers with advising on many aspects of the operation such as animal health and welfare, nutrition, biosecurity and best management practices. When producers and veterinarians work through this stepwise plan, it provides a unique opportunity to evaluate each operation thoroughly and discuss potential improvements. Moving Forward With the cattle industry continuously looking to improve everyday biosecurity practices on the farm or ranch, it is important producers and veterinarians have practical tools and resources. All producers will start their biosecurity plans at different levels, so emphasizing foundational biosecurity principles will be advantageous during plan development. Cattle producers in all sectors should strive for continuous improvement in biosecurity planning including record keeping and annual reassessment of their practices. For more information and downloadable preparation documents, visit the BQA website at www.bqa.org or the Secure Beef Supply Plan website at www.securebeef.org. The greatest contribution to disease preparedness will include preparation through biosecurity planning in the beef industry, and collaboration among all levels of the supply chain will be vital as we continue to protect the integrity of our cattle and livestock industries.

Biosecurity

Planning

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SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

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Feedlot

Perspective From the Feedyard’s Perspective: How to Top the Sale? By Twig Marston, PhD, Field Beef Nutritionist Hubbard Feeds - a Division of Alltech Inc. Topping the feeder calf market is complex but achievable. At the 2022 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Cattlemen’s College, presenters Randall Raymond, DVM, from Simplot; David Townbridge, Gregory Feedlots; and I explored the topic "From the Feedyard's Perspective: How to Top the Sale." While topping the feeder calf market is complex, it can be achieved with these animal husbandry and management practices. Buyers Reward Feeders Raised to Build Value as They Advance Many factors determine feeder calf value. Feeder calf producers seeking to top the market found that buyers are becoming more demanding and desire cattle that are more than just uniform in weight, color and/or quality. Cattle buyers are rewarding producers who raise and manage to build value as they advance through every production

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phase. Feeders who understand the importance of best management practices from conception to harvest — when the number one goal is to provide the highest quality, most wholesome protein possible to consumers. Feed efficiency, performance, health, carcass quality and body composition ultimately set the steer’s value when harvested. Our production systems have done a tremendous job in using modern-day genetics, breeding selection, nutritional management and providing exceptional environments to maximize the value of beef. Reviewing recent data taken over the past two decades shows a positive advancement in the percentage of carcasses grading Choice or greater and the production of beef per acre, per animal and pound of feed. This data is extremely impressive. But several areas continue to nag at the beef industry and need immediate attention to improve the value of feeder cattle. The beef industry has quickly moved toward improving management decisions that are both good for the feeder calf and promote positive results for the finishing phase, post-harvest fabrication and when beef is served on a plate. Often, management decisions are complex because SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

many factors have influenced which management regime will maximize the value of the cattle. It is no longer a one-size-fitsall management system. The attributes of each pen of cattle will dictate how that pen will be managed. From the 50,000foot level view of the beef industry, animal health is one of the most glaring problems faced in beef production. Quality Feeders Start with Genetics, Dam Nutrition and Environment Today’s cattle are a true reflection of their genetics, maternal environment, pre/post-weaning intervention, weather exposure, stress experiences and vaccination programs. After decades of research and practical experience, cattlemen and women have learned the value of crossbreeding. The strength of heterosis reaches past growth, maternal characteristics and carcass traits, extending to the immune system and the ability to fight off diseases. Nutritional management decisions that allow cows to consume diets adequate in protein, energy and trace minerals during pregnancy are shown to improve the fertility of future generations, optimize growth and improve their carcass quality. Additionally, the quality and quantity of colostrum are directly affected by the nutritional status during the third trimester and stimulate a calf’s immune system. Applying the right management at the right time maximizes the positive responses that make feeder cattle worth more than their mismanaged contemporaries. Sanitation and Nutritional Programs are Key to Calf Health Cattle managers can make healthier feeder cattle by increasing their resistance to pathogens and by decreasing disease challenges. Implementing low-stress cattle handling techniques, using effective vaccination programs and providing nutritional programs that promote diets balanced in nutrient composition and fortified with additives are basics to promoting health. The foundation to a preventative health program is to begin with clean, abundant water followed by feeding quality ingredients that balance the diet for protein, energy, minerals, trace minerals and vitamins.

The effectiveness of nutritionally based preventive health programs is increased with feed additives that assist gut health by improving rumen fermentation, protecting the cells lining the gastrointestinal tract, promoting a diverse population of microbes inhabiting the gut and/or challenging the damaging populations of pathogens. Reducing pathogen loads often starts with sanitation and expands to management practices that are directed specifically at vaccines, internal and external parasites, and feed contaminants. Reduce Stress and Precondition for Long-Lasting Effects Young cattle negatively react to stress. Stress will compromise their immune system, reduce their performance and lower carcass value. Every effort to reduce the intensity and duration of stress a feeder calf experiences can have a positive effect. Stress indicators can be poor feed intake, non-response to vaccination protocols, poor feed conversion and lost premiums when finished cattle are sold via a grid marketing system. It is important for operators to not only address the symptoms but also minimize the cause.

Preconditioning has become a standard management practice for developing weaned calves. However, preconditioning is not a “silver bullet” for past or future mistakes. Vaccination protocols are only as good as the administrative procedures and timing. The benefits of low-stress handling methodology, proper socialization and acclimation to new environments are still being discovered. Many producers have found that low stress is the most potent agent for the immunocompromised. Both cow-calf and feeder cattle operations have found that stress for a limited time is much easier on calves than prolonged stress when gathering, branding, sorting, weaning, processing and trucking cattle. Implementing new techniques can have far-reaching consequences, both good and bad. Interestingly, the earlier a management decision improves, cattle seem to continue to respond more favorably throughout the rest of their lives. An example of this is proper comingling. Systems that provide all-in and all-out sets of calves have been shown to develop healthier, more problem-free feeders than systems that continually add and subtract cattle from community pens. Today,

Feedlot

Perspective

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cattle producers have the best selection of animal health products available to protect their herds. Judicious use of these products can have long-lasting positive effects. Sharing Information on Management Throughout Stages of Production Some integrated information-sharing programs have been developed, allowing different segments of the beef industry to openly communicate how cattle perform at different stages of production. This allows implementation and documentation of management decisions as the cattle move through the production system. The reduction of risk is valuable to each member of the production system. It builds trust between buyers and sellers. It also signals high-risk situations that can be better handled to reduce future financial losses. Information sharing aids successful health programs and can be used to implement nutritional and marketing programs that capture the most net dollars throughout the beef production chain. Simply put, teamwork and information sharing produce a synergy that makes cattle worth more money. There are no easy answers to improving animal health, performance, carcass traits or feeder value, but by implementing strategic practices like those outlined here, you can be on your way to healthier, more profitable cattle.

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Nutrition

and Condition

Things You Should Know About Nutrition but are too Afraid to Ask By Dusty Abney, PhD Cargill Animal Health What Are We Scared of? The biggest and most common mistake I see those in the cattle business making is they won’t admit their lack of knowledge around a certain subject until a problem is nearing biblical proportions. The fear of being seen as incompetent is real for all of us, no matter which segment of the cattle business we contribute to. In fact, there is a term for it: Impostor Syndrome. It means we are irrationally afraid of being discovered as a fraud because we don’t know everything about everything. Just about everyone suffers from Impostor Syndrome, and it holds us back in a multitude of ways. It is far easier to silently remain in our comfort zones instead of seeking out discomfort by admitting we don’t have all the answers. Growth almost always requires a little pain. As an industry, we must learn to push through that pain to get better. It’s not necessary to be an expert in everything affecting your profitability. In fact, that would be almost impossible to do. Instead, seek out an understanding of key concepts that have real-world effects on your bottom line. Cattle producers spend more money on nutrition than almost any other area of their operation, so it’s essential to grasp these concepts to optimize your profitability. Why Should I Care About Dry Matter? Anyone who has ever taken a course on nutrition has been 20

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exposed to the concept of dry matter. Why? Because it’s one of the basic tenets of intake, ration formulation and the real cost of feeding cattle. Dry matter is a deceptively simple concept: it describes how much water a given ingredient or ration contains. When we say a nutrient is on a “dry matter basis” (DMB) it means we are looking at it with the moisture excluded. When we refer to it on an “as-fed basis,” we’re describing it with the moisture included. Nutritionists generally consider rations on a DMB to estimate cost and performance more accurately. Remember, water has no calories, protein or other nutrients; therefore, it doesn’t bring anything to the table for our animals. You can’t accurately compare something like corn silage to hay without understanding how the moisture content of each affects its cost, intake and nutritive make-up. A feedstuff that is too wet might create issues with how much your animals consume, how far you can afford to haul it, and how long you can store it. You also can’t evaluate different forages if you don’t know to compare their dry matter nutrient contents on their analyses (you DID send samples off for testing, RIGHT?!). What Causes Animals to Gain or Lose Weight? First, remember that people are animals too, so the same factors related to weight gain or loss will apply to us that apply to our animals. The simple answer to this question is energy, which we measure in units associated with calories. You have probably seen this expressed as TDN, NEm, or NEg for cattle or just plain “calories” for the food we eat ourselves. The more calories an ingredient or feed has for a given weight (on a DMB, of course), the more weight gain can result from consuming that product. The number of calories for a given weight can also be called caloric density. For instance, mashed

Continued on page 22 SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

d n o B e h T between humans and cattle is ancient and deep.

It’s a centuries-old promise to provide for them as they provide for you. It’s our duty to help protect that sacred bond. We provide solutions for every stage of production that help make the bond stronger, healthier and more robust. This is what defines us. We are born of the bond.

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BornOfTheBond.com

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What is the Best Cost Metric?

Continued from page 20

The old cliché is all too true — you can’t manage what you don’t measure. Between inflation and supply chain challenges this year, prices have increased significantly. With that in mind, it’s paramount to understand how to make the most appropriate comparisons between ingredients, feeds and nutrition programs. Choosing the correct cost metric can mean the difference between making or losing money.

potatoes have a higher caloric density than lettuce.

•

Cost per ton »

Compare identical ingredients or products

Compare on a delivered, dry matter basis

Cost of gain »

•

You are developing, growing or finishing your own cattle with no yardage

Cost per head per day »

Used for cows and, most of the time, bulls ·

•

Use cost of gain or cost per head over the feeding period for developing bulls

Cost per head over feeding period »

Developing, growing or finishing cattle with yardage, usually at someone else’s facility

That is not to say that other nutrients aren’t required for gain as well, such as protein, vitamins and minerals. However, the bulk of the heavy lifting in this instance is done by energy. To really understand weight gain or loss, we also must understand the caloric requirements of the animal. Every organism has a certain amount of energy it needs to maintain its metabolic function. The number of calories required to neither gain nor lose weight and still allow the body to function as it should is referred to as the maintenance requirement. Now that we’ve got all that settled, there is just a little simple math to contend with. If our animals consume more calories than their maintenance requirement, they will gain weight. If they consume fewer calories than the number required for maintenance, they will lose weight. This concept is generally known as “Calories In vs Calories Out” or CI/CO. Fun fact, the same math applies to humans as well. Of course, there are other factors that can increase or decrease the maintenance requirement for an animal. If an animal is still growing, it will require more calories to sustain that growth. The same goes for gestating and for lactation. For instance, a cow in her third trimester will have a higher maintenance requirement than one in her second trimester. Once she calves and begins to lactate, her caloric requirements will increase yet again and by the highest percentage when her whole year is taken into consideration. Energy surpluses in mammals due to caloric intakes higher than their maintenance requirements are usually stored as fat. The major determinant of the body condition of a cow is how many calories she eats. Protein and other factors are going to influence that as well, but none as important as energy intake. A cow is thin because she didn’t get enough energy. Conversely, a steer ready for harvest has fat cover and marbling because he consumed an abundance of calories. I’ll leave you to make your own comparison to yourselves and your friends at your own peril. Are Ionophores Even a Thing? How ionophores work is a relatively technical subject, but whether to use them is simple. Ionophores are animal drugs that make fermentation in the rumen more efficient. A more efficient rumen results in an animal with a higher feed efficiency and better gains. Some Ionophores are also effective at preventing Coccidiosis when fed at the proper dosage. The two most common ionophores are Monensin and Lasalocid. Ionophores may not be able to be used if calves are designated to be sold to an operation with a "Natural" program, but they’re an effective tool if you are able to use them.

Continued on page 24

Nutrition and Condition 22

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Continued from page 22 Should You Balance Your Own Rations?

What Really Happens if I Don’t Feed Mineral?

Depending on what kind of animals you’re feeding and what your ingredient supply looks like, ration formulation can be a straightforward exercise. For instance, if you need to know how many pounds of range cubes to feed with the hay you had analyzed, a simple calculation on the back of an envelope can get you the right answer without much of a problem. If you don’t know what a Pearson Square is or you have more than two ingredients in a dynamic feeding environment, I highly recommend that you seek support. A good nutritional advisor can help you navigate the nuances of a best-cost ration that fits your operation and animals while making sure that the medications you might be using are legal and the feed itself is safe and effective.

Because we’re at the mercy of Mother Nature, we often must do things with or to our animals that we’d rather not. The drought gripping the western half of the U.S. right now means that a lot of cattle probably aren’t getting optimal nutrition. Whether it’s lower quality forages, less supplemental protein and energy, or a lack of mineral and vitamin supplementation, we do what we must to survive. However, far too many cattle producers turn what they had to do in the short term into their status quo long term. Cattle are resilient animals, but just because they tolerate this kind of treatment doesn’t mean we should use that as an excuse to skimp on the things we know they need when things get back to normal.

How Much Will They Eat? At some point in the past, someone planted the seed in peoples’ minds that cattle eat 3% of their bodyweight on a DMB. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about calves, cows or bulls, it’s hardly ever true. The important factor to remember is the lower the quality of forage, the less cattle will consume of it. Some of that decrease in intake can be overcome by protein supplementation, but the fact remains that most producers far overestimate the amount of forage their animals will eat. If we consider low quality bermudagrass or fescue hay, adult cows will generally consume less than 2% of their bodyweight a day. That might seem inconsequential as a percentage, but for a 1,200 lb. cow, that’s 12 lbs. of feed. If your hay or forage tested 7% crude protein and 50% TDN, then your cows will consume 0.84 lbs. less protein and 6 lbs. less TDN daily than you might have otherwise assumed. Please carefully consider the implications of that over the course of a year.

What happens if you don’t meet the mineral and vitamin needs of your cattle? In the short term, probably nothing because cattle do have reserves of most of those nutrients they can use for a little while. Once you overdraw those nutritional accounts, the consequences for your animals and your bottom line can be dire. Whether it’s reproductive efficiency in your cows and bulls, immune function, weaning weights or fetal programming that suffers, the negative financial effects far outweigh the cost of a good mineral. Who Will Answer Your Other Questions? All of us will be better off when we admit when we don’t know the answer. Pretending we know or being comfortable in our lack of knowledge can have negative effects in every aspect of our lives. Most of us would never do our taxes without the help of a solid accountant or step foot in a courtroom without a great lawyer. When it comes to their nutrition, our cattle deserve the same consideration. Add a nutrition expert to your circle of trusted advisors for those times when you need the right answers. You’ll be glad you did and sorry if you don’t.

Nutrition and Condition

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Succession Planning

Keys to Preserving Families and Perpetuating Farms and Ranches

By Dave Specht, Director Drucker School of Global Family Business Institute Once upon a time there lived a family in a small town with dreams of having kids and growing a cattle operation. As the parents aged, they wondered who would take over the operation. Who should own it? Should all the kids own it together? They wanted to be fair to all their children but struggled to know what was best for the family and for the cattle operation. Sound familiar? If so, you are not alone. Agricultural families around the world face similar questions. The most current USDA data from 2020 indicates that family farms account for 99% of U.S. farms and 87% of production1. Furthermore, the principal operators and their relatives (by blood or marriage) own more than half of the business assets. In short, a family owns and operates the farm1. It goes without saying that the majority of agribusinesses have a generational impact on the family, since most of the family’s assets and wealth are tied to the business. Agribusinesses may also provide employment stability in more rural areas, thus affecting the community in which they are located. As with other types of businesses, there eventually comes a time when agribusiness founders and owners are ready to step back and hand over the reins. Yet, with so much dependent on the success of the business, too many operations find themselves woefully unprepared for generational succession. This leads to several business and personal risks for the owners. Tarnished Family Name Family-owned agribusiness operations typically carry the family name, and those that have been in existence for a long time have preserved a legacy that translates to a perception within the industry and the community. Therefore, mismanagement of ownership transition can not only hurt the operation but also tarnish the family name. Damaged Family Relationships Misinterpretations, inequities and poor communication can fracture family interpersonal relationships and stifle an agribusiness operation, either by setting the business back or keeping it from evolving and innovating.

Risk Management Tools The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has partnered with the Extension for Risk Management Education funded by USDA NIFA to create risk management content and promote current risk management tools and resources for cattle producers. The program’s goal is to educate cattle producers on the full range of risk management strategies. There are resources available on: •

Employee Safety Training

•

Improving Efficiencies

•

Putting the Focus on Profitability

•

Risk Management Tools

•

Software Application Resources for the Feedyard

•

Succession Planning

Diminished Family Wealth Unplanned or uncommunicated transitions can quickly erode accumulated family wealth. Whether through paying unnecessary taxes, having to buy out non-operating shareholders, or selling important assets in order to pay an estate tax bill, the cost and consequences of this oversight may prove too much for the business to weather.

For additional resources visit NCBA.org/ producers/risk-management

Strategic Planning for Business Continuity Given the family ownership of most agribusinesses, it is understandable that agribusiness owners view their tenure as a temporary stewardship and hope to pass the business and its legacy on to their children and grandchildren. Thus, one of the most important goals of agricultural producers is farm/ business continuity to ensure this vision is realized. There are never any guarantees regarding long-term agribusiness success due to inherent industry variables like weather, disease, technology, legislation, regulation and international trade, but there are ways of ensuring business continuity and minimizing risks tied to business transition. Let’s examine the four C’s of business continuity. 1.

•

A management contingency plan looks at the people in the operation and identifies the duties and decisions made solely by one individual. When single individuals make purchasing, marketing, and other decisions by themselves, risk is created and continuity is jeopardized if they become incapacitated, die or leave the business. Therefore, each agribusiness operation should identify these risks and train back-up personnel on how to minimize them.

•

An ownership contingency plan provides and establishes clarity regarding the flow of assets should any owner pass away, become disabled or retire. Although it sounds like a simple and logical expectation, few operations have a clearly documented and communicated plan in place.

Compensation

Cash Flow

Cash flow clarity is key. It is crucial that every agribusiness operator has a clear understanding of the business cash flow. Furthermore, it is important to “stress test” the operation to see what types of shocks specific to input costs or prices it can withstand. Besides the cash flow of the business, the operation needs to consider the cash flow needs and sources for the retiring generation. If retiring owners do not have assets accumulated outside the operation, then their retirement would logically be funded through the successful operation of the enterprise. 2.

communicated, and frequently re-visited contingency plan for both management and ownership.

Contingency Plans for Management and Ownership

Every agribusiness operation needs to have a documented,

Often overlooked, but always present is the question of how people are compensated. As an agriculture enterprise invites a member of the rising generation back, it is crucial that there is clarity around how they will be compensated. Connected with that compensation conversation is the clear need for expectation creation around a path to ownership. Questions of how and when ownership will be a possibility are often the unanswered questions that lead to conflict and disharmony.

Succession Planning 26

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Communication

Successful enterprises create structures and expectations for how shareholders and the families that control the operation communicate; however, this is where many agribusinesses fall short. It is crucial that a regular pattern for communication be established to keep shareholders informed, provide a venue for questions, and establish an environment of transparency and trust. Conclusion Ultimately, success in succession planning is accomplished when family relationships are preserved, and business continuity is accomplished across generations. Risk assessment planning is not easy but is well worth the effort when the time for transition comes. Dave Specht is the Director of the Drucker School Global Family Business Institute. He is the author of The Farm Whisperer and speaks on topics relating to farm succession, leadership development, shared ownership and family business governance. He is the father of six children and lives in Basin City, Washington. 1. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-foodstatistics-charting-the-essentials/farming-and-farm-income/

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Soil

Health

Grazing and Sustainability By Hugh Aljoe Noble Research Institute

As cattlemen and women, we steward one of the most valuable resources in the nation with potential to positively impact issues of climate variability and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. That resource is our grazing lands. According to Bloomberg, there are approximately 654 million acres of pasture and rangeland. Another 127.4 million acres are used for livestock feed crops. In total, 41% of the contiguous U.S. is used for feeding livestock, making it the single largest land use in the continental states. Nothing else can contribute toward increasing land resiliency to climate variability and sequestering carbon from GHG emissions like pastures and rangeland can. Our grazing lands can become a solution to our national issues instead of being a target. Joining Together to Improve Sustainability The cattle industry, as represented by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, has had a strong relationship with land stewardship and beef sustainability. The association supported the creation of the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) which formed within the last decade to advance beef sustainability. USRSB’s mission is to advance, support

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and communicate continuous improvement of sustainability across the U.S. beef supply chain. USRSB created sustainability frameworks for each sector of the industry. For the cow-calf and stocker/backgrounder sectors, six high priority indicators have been identified: air and GHG emissions, animal health and well-being, efficiency and yield, employee safety and well-being, land resources and water resources. In addition, metrics and sustainability assessment guides, or SAGs, were developed for each indicator.* The key metric for three of the six indicators is a grazing management plan. Ranch sustainability begins with good grazing management which improves soil health. A Noble Quest for Better Land In addition to being an independent, nonprofit agricultural research organization, Noble Research Institute is a beef cattle producer with about 14,000 acres grazed. Like other ranchers interested in continual improvement, Noble is interested in improving the land, cattle and profitability on the ranch. Noble has a singular focus: regenerative land stewardship in grazing animal production with lasting producer profitability. To meet the challenges associated with this focus, management practices are applied to improve the four ecosystem processes while being guided by the six principles of soil health.

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The four ecosystem processes are the water cycle, energy cycle, nutrient cycle and community dynamics. As producers, we want all four ecosystem processes to be highly functional. •

We want the water to infiltrate and be stored in the soil.

•

We want our plants to efficiently convert solar energy, capturing as much photosynthesis as possible to transition carbon in the air into plants that can cover the soil surface that cattle and other animals can graze.

•

We want nutrients that are cycled efficiently through our cattle and other organisms, incorporated into the soil, and made available for plants to grow and become food again for grazing animals.

•

We also want a dynamic community of plants and animals whereby the entire ecosystem can function robustly to complement and enhance the other three ecosystem processes.

Six Keys to Healthy Soil We can improve the four ecosystem processes on our ranches by adherence to the six soil health principles: know your context, cover the soil, minimize soil disturbance, maintain continuous living plants, increase diversity and integrate animals. SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

Know your context means manage in full knowledge of climate and weather patterns, landscape and water specifics and limitations, soil and forage types, management history, employee abilities and skills, and a good understanding of the pre-settlement conditions of your property. Cover the soil means maintain good plant and residue cover to protect the soil surface and allow precipitation to soak in and be stored. Minimize soil disturbance could also be stated as minimize unnatural disturbances. This implies managing so there is seldom or no tillage occurring, fertilizer and chemical applications are limited, and the natural tools such as fire and grazing are judiciously used to have a minimal adverse impact on the ecosystem. Maintain continuous living roots means manage our grazing lands predominantly with perennial forages as their roots remain physiologically active even in the dormant season. And in a crop land use, we want plants actively growing in both the warm and cool seasons. Increasing diversity starts with managing grazing lands in polycultures and moving away from monocultures. We want to see all four plant types — grasses, forbs, legumes and woodies — within the landscape if present historically. Diversity includes managing for both warm and cool season forages within a pasture. NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

Integrate livestock means manage agricultural lands with grazing livestock and animals that will cycle nutrients back into the ecosystem rather than removing through crop harvesting. Most producers tend to manage with the first four of those principles in mind; however, increase diversity and integrate livestock are the two principles we as beef producers need to improve most in our management.

ranch can carry a sheep and/or goat per cow without having a substitution effect on stocking rate. The keys with sheep and goats are learning the nuances of managing them. The other aspect of integrating livestock that cattle managers need to focus more upon to create a positive impact on soil health is grazing management.

Plant diversity facilitates diversity in other organisms including grazing animals, wildlife, birds, insects, earthworms and soil microorganisms. Increased plant diversity is an indicator of improving soil health. Native range is naturally diverse. However, our introduced pastures and annual grazing crops were developed to be managed as monocultures.

Adaptive grazing is grazing management that improves soil health. As soil health becomes an objective, we are striving to regenerate the soil. At Noble, we call this type of management regenerative ranching where the determining factor in soil health is continuous improvement. Regenerative ranching restores degraded grazing lands using practices based on ecological principles. Adaptive grazing is the primary management tool or practice in regenerative ranching.

A single species of plant facilitates a narrow spectrum of animal life which limits ecosystem function of all processes. By integrating multiple species of annual grazing forages into perennial introduced pastures, eliminating weed spraying and reducing fertilizer applications, we can improve plant diversity and subsequently ecosystem function and soil health over time. Cattle producers have an advantage over crop producers in applying the principle of integrating livestock. For cattlemen and women, our focus is cattle. However, on most landscapes, there are plants available for livestock consumption that cattle do not favor, but sheep and goats do. Sheep prefer forbs or weedy plants, and goats prefer browse species. Using complementary grazing animals, ranchers can add another enterprise — often with some additional infrastructure expense. The economics of sheep and goat production make an attractive enterprise due to multiple births by the females meaning greater than 100% offspring crop. Typically, with the appropriate plant species present, a cattle

A Willingness to Adapt

Regenerative grazing management involves intentionally managed adaptive grazing. There are four variables to manage in grazing: timing, frequency, intensity and duration. These four variables, when managed adaptively with the tool of stock density, can play a significant role in regenerative ranching and improving ecosystem function and soil health. This type of adaptive grazing management is also called adaptive multipaddock, or AMP, grazing, but we will refer to it as simply adaptive grazing. In this type of management system, there are four keys to success as we manage the four grazing variables. The first key to adaptive grazing is to manage for long recovery periods. Ideally, we want the grasses to attain peak forage production or “full-flush” before initiating grazing. Recovery periods are adapted to growing conditions — longer recovery with slow growing conditions and shorter recovery with rapid regrowing conditions. For perennial grasses, this implies recovery

Continued on page 32

Soil

Health

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Continued from page 30 periods of 60 to 120 days or more after each grazing event. The variable of long recovery periods is the most important variable to manage regardless of grazing approach. The second key is to manage for short grazing periods. Grazed grass plants will start to regrow in about three to four days after being grazed; therefore, we would like to graze in a pasture no longer than three to four days. Shorter grazing periods allow more time for the pastures to recover between grazing events. We suggest you not become regimented in your length of grazing period. For best management, have the capability to move cattle daily, but be flexible. Extending grazing periods by a day or two as plant regrowth slows with reduced moisture conditions is acceptable. The key here is to rotate cattle out of a pasture before they begin to re-graze a grazed plant. The third key to adaptive grazing is manage the grazing intensity, or the amount of forage grazed or defoliated versus the amount left untouched in a pasture. Typically, the rule of thumb in grazing management is “take half, leave half” which means graze the top half of the plant leaf material. If more than half of the leaf material of a plant is removed, plant roots stop growing as there is not enough photosynthesis occurring for the plants to support the root system in pre-grazed condition. It takes three weeks or more for the leaves to regrow and develop enough reserve nutrients to resume root regrowth again. Therefore, it is always best to graze the upper portion of the plants in a pasture and then rotate to a fresh pasture. Early in the growing season, we want to “graze the grass up” — graze the upper one-third of the leaf area only and rotate to accelerate plant regrowth during the first half of the growing season. This way most, if not all, pastures have the opportunity to reach full-flush condition during the growing season. The fourth key to adaptive grazing is intentionally apply high stock densities to grazing pastures. Managing for long recovery periods,

Soil

short graze periods, and limited defoliation intensities usually requires using high stock density grazing. When using high stock densities, a manager needs to vary the stock densities, adapting to growing conditions and amount of biomass accumulated prior to grazing. We do not want to become prescriptive or routinely use the same stock density for a paddock or pasture with every grazing event. How to Benefit from Herd Impact Occasionally, one might want to use ultra-high stock density grazing in a pasture for short periods of time. When ultra-high stock densities are used, these need to be intentionally planned for a desired herd effect. Some ideal situations for this are at peak forage production in the spring or early summer, during the transitions between cool season and warm season forage production (and vice versa) with introduced pastures and foraged cropland, and when there is an abundance of mature unpalatable (often dormant) plant material in a pasture. Strategic applications of high stock density can also occur for very short time periods by placing mineral feeders, hay and supplement at targeted sites such as into woody thickets or briar patches. The high stock density removes much of the undesired plant structure, and it feeds the soil biology through the trampling action. One word of caution when applying ultra-high stock densities: apply a “safe to learn” approach when learning how to apply it successfully. Begin with a situation where small setbacks during the learning process will not adversely affect you or your operation. The safe to learn approach includes elements of how, where and when. The how is use existing resources with a few electric fence supplies and apply your best grazing management while adhering to the soil health principles. The where is a location that is easy to manage well and where you can take the time to thoroughly observe all grazing activities and soil and plant responses — near the headquarters for example.

Health

NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

The when is whenever you have lots of forage and a plan to guide your actions. It is always better to have a plan to guide your grazing process as you try higher stock densities. That plan includes estimates of forage production and the livestock daily grazing demand, duration of time the targeted area will last, the stock densities you want to try, and a contingency if things don’t go as well as intended. Early successes can be built into future grazing plans, but it is the observations of the results later in the growing season that will guide you in your next applications of ultrahigh stock densities. Keeping Tabs It is important to monitor your grazing management activities throughout your regenerative ranching journey. •

Benchmark your soil health with soil tests on your primary pastures. Use grazing charts to plan and monitor grazing activities.

•

Utilize a diversity list to capture all the species of plants and animals you can locate on your ranch and continually add to the list as the diversity grows.

•

Take photos of key management areas, and track changes over time.

•

Use grazing enclosures to measure ungrazed forage production at end of the growing seasons.

•

Every few years, have additional soil tests analyze for improving soil health metrics.

Soil health, grazing and sustainability can be integrally related. If continual improvement is the objective of a rancher — and it is for most — then understanding how to manage for improvements in soil health using adaptive grazing can lead to the longterm improvements in land stewardship, forage production, the ecosystem and ranch economics. It is the culmination of these improvements which lead to true operational sustainability for generations to come. Hugh Aljoe is the director of producer relations for Noble Research Institute. *Note: This information is assimilated in a Self-Assessment Tool (https://nobleapps.noble. org/usrsbassessment) a cow-calf producer can use to determine their relative level of sustainability by answering a few simple questions. Results are summarized after completion of the questionnaire for viewing; however, the answers remain confidential and are not saved in a permanent file by USRSB. To retain a summary, producer must save or print a copy of the results for their own records.

Weather

and Climate

Weather and Climate Preparations from Spring Through Summer (Hope for the Best, Prep for the Worst) By Matt Makens, Atmospheric Scientist As we prepare for the rest of spring through summer, I may sound somewhat random in this article, but I want to hit a variety of topics that will potentially impact your area. Topics I think are important to cover include the progression of the current La Niña, temperature and precipitation outlooks, drought, soil moisture, snowpack and surface water. Together, these issues are related but individually will impact our operations in different ways, so let’s get started. La Niña1 For the most part, we have been in a La Niña pattern the past two years. During that time, we have seen substantial drought growth. There is considerable interest in the progression of La Niña and the outlook for next year as many producers would benefit from El Niño. I’m not trying to imply that an El Niño pattern is the best solution for everyone, but it would certainly help a lot of the drought across the western and southern U.S. We have previously recorded La Niña three years in a row (late 1998 through early 2001); although that is quite rare, it 34

NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

does remain possible for 2022 to 2023. In the March National Cattlemen’s article, I wrote about the Spring Predictability Barrier regarding La Niña and El Niño forecasts, and we are climbing out of that barrier now. Take this with consideration of what I discussed in that article — the modeling in March indicated a much higher chance of either neutral to La Niña conditions late this year into 2023. The probability of El Niño has been dropping in model data since January. With this in mind, we are not likely to see a significant shift in the climate pattern that has led to our current drought situation. Unrelated to La Niña, the Atlantic Ocean’s temperatures factor into drought frequency across the country over very long periods of time, too. The Atlantic shifted toward its current pattern some 20 to 25 years ago and is unlikely to make any significant changes during the next year at least. So, it too will remain a factor in our ongoing drought situation. Temperature and Precipitation Outlooks Let’s look at the most likely scenario for this spring and summer based on ocean and atmosphere behavior to date; we’ll investigate similar past patterns and how those compare to computer model projections. The basis of an analog forecast is to look for similar years in SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

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options. Of note for how the following winter panned out, four of those years were in neutral patterns (2018 was neutral but hinted at El Niño occasionally) and three remained in La Niña. In comparing those historically based outlooks to computer modeling, there is strong agreement that drought conditions will prevail for much of the country. The differences between modeling and the history-based perspective are the amount of monsoonal moisture for the Southwest, and history has shown a cooler forecast for the southeastern U.S. versus the heat that models project.

which the ocean and atmosphere acted most similarly to recent weeks. During the past several months, best-fit years have shifted between several, but the outcome is nearly the same in all cases. Out of a list of roughly a dozen years which statistically are most like our current situation, I’ve shortened the list to the best fits for the spring: 1989, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020 and 2021. This summer will see 2008, 2019, 2018, 2020 and 2021 emerge as the best-fit years out of about a dozen statistically similar 35

NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

Model biases considered, there’s strong enough agreement to realize we don’t have a lot of water coming to the western and central U.S. this summer. If that is to change, it will be due to the strength of this year’s monsoon for the Southwest. I’ll have more on the monsoon and its impact on the U.S. in a future National Cattlemen article. Drought2 There has been quite a drought expansion in the past two years. By the numbers, March 2020 had around 25% of the U.S. recording abnormally dry to drought conditions, whereas March 2022 had more than 75% of the U.S. in those conditions. SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

With the outlook mentioned above, you won’t be surprised to read that the drought numbers are not likely to change anytime soon, especially if La Niña finds a way to hang on for an unusual third year in a row. Drought will persist through spring and this summer barring an unforeseen change to the monsoon outlook. Soil Moisture3 Timely and appropriate irrigation will undoubtedly be needed this spring and summer. Soil moisture is relatively poor across the West, especially California and throughout most of the Central and Southern Plains. Near-average soil moisture through early April was across the Northern Plains and the Upper Midwest. Soils are saturated in most cases from Ohio to the Tennessee Valleys. As we go through spring and into summer, the saturated zones will dry back to normal and below. Below-average soil moisture is likely across most plains and the West, the same regions that will see the higher drought classifications. The Corn Belt, especially western, likely faces drought in terms of long-term precipitation and soil moisture.

the western U.S. are far below average, particularly those in the Southwest. The major streamflow and rivers forecast is below average for the Northern Plains, Southern Plains, Southwest and the West. Best streamflow will be stretching between far western Montana and Washington, parts of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. As observed in weekly updates of the U.S. Drought Monitor5, stock water supplies contribute to the drought classification. Since more than half of the U.S. is in a drought classification, stock water is currently short in most cases, and most will not recover this spring or early summer. Bottom Line Each section above is meant to be brief on conditions and outlooks. Some of these topics will be revisited often and in greater detail in your monthly National Cattlemen newspaper as conditions warrant. I know that each one will impact your operation differently, so consider the following links as additional information to improve your monitoring of current climate conditions.

Snowpack4

“February had record low total precipitation at over 200 SNOTEL sites (snow reporting locations). In California, the driest January and February in state history has led to a March 1 statewide snowpack of less than 70% of average, down from 160% at the start of the new year,” reported by NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS).

2. Explaining the North American Monsoon: https://www.dri. edu/project/north-american-monsoon/

Snowfall patterns throughout March didn’t change the situation for the West. Those in the best shape are in the far Northwest and some locations along the Colorado River Basin. Snowpack across the West usually peaks in early April — barring something unusual — we now watch the speed of the snow melt. Surface Water4 Through March, the reservoir storage levels across

Weather

How La Niña and El Niño impact the country from season to season: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/ precip/CWlink/ENSO/composites/EC_LNP_index.shtml

3. Soil moisture monitoring: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/ products/Soilmst_Monitoring/US/Soilmst/Soilmst.shtml 4. Weekly climate summaries: https://www.nrcs.usda. gov/wps/portal/wcc/home/aboutUs/publications/ waterClimateUpdate/ 5. U.S. Drought Monitor, a partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of NebraskaLincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

and Climate

NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

CATTLE INDUSTRY CONVENTION

& NCBA TRADE SHOW

FEBRUARY 1-3, 2023

#CattleCon23

CONVENTION.NCBA.ORG

TEXT BEEF TO 25827

Cattle

Economics

Cattle Around the Globe By Travis Hickey Founder of Cattlenomics

It was an honor to present at the Cattlemen’s College held at the 2022 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Houston, Texas, along with Bill Lickley. Our panel discussion included practical methods for managing risk as cattle producers, and we also presented data emphasizing a few key issues that have the potential to impact markets this year. One of the key points in the presentation was the potential for increased beef imports from Brazil, and as the last several weeks have confirmed, that was an accurate assesment at the time of this writing. The weekly import data, through the March 11 report, has shown imports of beef from Brazil have averaged nearly 4,600 metric tons per week. Brazil shares a quota allotment with other countries, and the pace of imports thus far suggests the annual quota will be met by the second quarter. Once the quota allotment is met, the tariff rates increase substantially which will likely price beef from that country out of the domestic market. Beef demand has remained strong so far this year, as the comprehensive cutout prices have averaged nearly 24% higher than the same period in 2021 (using reports through March 7), even with large imported beef volumes. Beef exports have also contributed positively to the demand for beef, with South Korea and Japan standing out as the largest buyers of U.S. beef through early March. Those two countries have purchased more than 96,000 metric tons from U.S. sources, which is slightly below last year’s pace. China has increased purchases of U.S. beef in the last couple weeks, bringing their purchase volume to more than 23,000 metric tons, making them the third largest buyer so far this year. It is important to note that for much of the fourth quarter of 2021, China imported far less beef from Brazil. Based on their recent import volumes from Brazil, Canada, Australia and the U.S., it appears Chinese demand for beef remains robust. U.S. beef has better market access to China than some of the key competitor nations, helping packers and cattle producers access that export market. For example, there are not the same age requirements for U.S. cattle as Brazilian producers deal with, the domestic USDA inspection processes meet China’s requirements, and there are not restrictions on implant usage. See the adjacent table for the latest weekly beef export data from FAS sources.

the demand for U.S. sourced grains. Higher costs of feed, and therefore finishing costs in feedyards, is contributing to increased front-end supplies of fed cattle and forcing cattle prices lower. Extreme volatility is also being felt in equity markets and retail gasoline prices, causing concern for beef demand as consumers deal with shrinking retirement accounts and higher energy costs. One of the key messages given at convention was the domestic cattle market can be severely influenced from global trade disruptions. The latest developments in Ukraine are a brutal reminder of how interconnected agricultural markets are globally and the need for price risk protection and risk management practices. Earlier this year, packers had a difficult time harvesting and processing cattle as the latest variant of COVID-19 spread through their workforce. Slaughter volumes during the first five weeks lagged behind 2021, with total harvest averaging 3.3% less per week. Since early to mid-February, packers have been able to increase with back-to-back weeks harvesting more than 670,000 head through federally inspected facilities. The ablity of packers to increase slaughter volumes is a real positive to the beef industry and cattle prices, since that sector has been the “bottleneck” in recent years. Further expansion of the packing sector can potentially increase the demand for fed cattle in the coming years, if the industry can maintain the herd size long enough. The drought of 2021, and continuing dry conditions through much of the country, has increased beef cow slaughter volumes. On the next chart, cow slaughter volumes (excluding dairy cows) is illustrated. Through the week ending February 12, the weekly average slaughter volume of non-dairy cows has been slightly above 75,300 head, which compares to an average of 66,983 head during the same period last year or the equivalent of 13% more. Beef cow slaughter has been elevated through most of

As the Russian/Ukranian conflict has escalated in March, many commodity markets have surged higher, furthering inflationary pressures. Unfortunately, the feeder and live cattle futures markets have been negatively impacted from the flow of money thus far, with the most active live cattle contracts losing more than $10 per cwt since mid-February. The Black Sea region is a key source of global wheat and corn exports, so lack of exports from there is creating the potential for shortages in other countries and increasing 38

NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

SPRING DIRECTIONS 2022

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the country with the South and southeastern areas having particulary high quantities in recent weeks. For example, the region which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas have seen weekly non-dairy cow slaughter volumes average 19,700 per week compared to 15,214 last year (excluding the winter storm week impact in 2021). The key take-away of this information is that the domestic beef cow herd is in decline, and the industry will be forced to manage with less animals in the coming years. Primary producers are caught in a difficult situation, and without an improvement in the drought conditions, the ability of the entire beef industry to thrive will be extremely challenging.

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2022 Spring Directions

Articles inside

FEEDLOT PERSPECTIVE

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT