Cattle Feeder Panels are built and used for the one main purpose of preventing feed waste, maintain fresh feed availability and save money in your feeding program. There is no one size fits all when it comes to cattle feeder panels though so you will need to do a little shopping to be sure you are getting the right one for your needs. There are many equipment manufactures scattered pretty well all over cattle country so it should not present much of a problem to find your kind of Cattle Feeder Panels in close proximity to your ranch.

Versatile Cattle Feeder Panels

Tombstone Inline Cattle Feeder Panels

Cattle Feeder Panels come in many shapes and sizes. You can find them adaptable to most any feeding needs or arrangements. One of the least talked about but one of the most versatile is the Tombstone style Cattle feeder panels. They are built in a manner to allow horned cattle to gain easy access to the feed without interfering with their horns. They are also convenient for taller animals because there are not closed in bars over the top. Due to their design most Tombstone style Cattle Feeder panels are built to much stronger specifications than many of the other styles.

Popular Style of Cattle Feeder Panels

Fence Line Cattle Feeder Panels is one of the more popular and widely used styles. They are generally used as the fence and you put the feed bunk on the outside of the pen for easy feeding and to keep it away from the animals except to eat. This style makes the feed or hay available free choice but is designed to prevent waste because the animals are unable to trample it or bed down in the feeding area.

Fence Line Cattle Feeder Panels are built for easy feeding of square-bale, loose hay, silage or other bulk feed in the fence line or corner. You can also use them inside barns or sheds as barriers between the feed and the cattle. Cattle feeder panels are available in different heights with the 50 inch model being one of the most sought after. Some of the fence line cattle feeder panels are built in a manner to allow you to construct your own hay feeders that will allow your animals access to feed from one, two, three or four sides. Cattle feeder panels that are constructed with S bar openings are better for controlling smaller calves because it makes it much harder for them to crawl through. Cattle Feeder Panels that have a good coated finish that will give them a longer life when used in outside weather conditions are usually best for most cattle farms. The S bar design with a hay saver panel gives even more added protection for preventing calves from getting inside the feed bunks.

Creep Cattle Feeder Panels

Creep Cattle Feeder Panels

Creep Cattle Feeder Panels are designed with an adjustable horizontal bar that will allow just enough room for a calf to get through and hold the adult animals back. Creep Cattle Feeders are good to use between pastures or as a stall or shed entry for calves only. Creep feeding calves may not always be a profitable feeding regime so the Creep Cattle Feeder Panels are less popular than most of the other styles.

Slant Bar Cattle Feeder Panels

Slant Bar Cattle Feeder Panels

Slant Bar Cattle Feeder Panels are generally made in sections 10 or more feet in length and used in a continuous line. They may even be referred to as Continuous Slant Bar Feeder Panels. They are constructed to be assembled as continuous feeder panels and come with connectors to slide or pin together to make a solid feeder panel fence line as long as you need. This type of Feeder Panels needs to be made from strong metal material of 14 gauge or stronger and should have a continuous sheet of metal about 16 inches high on the bottom.  You can also get this same type of Cattle Feeder Panels for bunk line feeding and they will not need the metal along the bottom because the feed bunk will act as the barrier. They are referred to as Continuous Bunk Line Cattle Feeder Panels.

What are Kobe Beef Cattle?

First a word of caution! This is written by memory from many years of hearing, reading and studying about Kobe Beef. The author is a Senior Cowboy from Texas and the content may be BS, Opinion or Actual. You job is to sort out which and use as you see fit.

Kobe Beef has become famous in the last several years because of its extreme taste, marbling and tenderness. It gets its name from the city in Japan where the cattle were first bred many years ago. Also for many years it was not available outside Japan.

Kobe Beef Cattle

What are Kobe Beef Cattle? So far as I can learn there are none. Kobe beef comes from Wagyu cattle. I understand that Wa means Japanese style and gyu means cattle. Sounds reasonable to me that possibly all original Japanese cattle might be Wagyu. What difference does it make if the quality is there?

I believe Wagyu cattle were first imported into the USA in 1976 and like all new imports they were slow to develop very many numbers and then and now most are cross breeds. But again, if the Quality is there What Difference does it make? Some research even says Wagyu was developed from Asian cattle crossed with British and European breeds in the late 1800s. But more recent tales are that the breed has been closed since 1910.

In modern times there are lots of folks who developed their own genetic lines and of course each one has the best in the whole wide world. How can that be? BS or Opinion we won’t get into specific lines in this short article. Wagyu is a horned breed and can be either black or red and stories say they have a taste for beer.

Some of the research material says Wagyu beef has a higher ratio of mono-unsaturated fatty acid to saturated fatty acid. The beef is more tender and tasty. And Wagyu cattle can improve marbling and quality grade in crosses and deliver calving ease at the same time.

Bragging rights tell us that Wagyu bulls are very fertile, have strong libido and are adaptable to all types of weather and terrain.

Research tells us that according to USA standards Wagyu bulls have inferior scrotal measurements and in Japan most are raised inside barns most of their life, massaged and exercised very little.

Historically Wagyu cattle have been much older at slaughter than most cattle in the USA with many going 30 to 36 months by the time they are ready. I have also read that their feed conversion can be as high as 10 to 1. All this sounds like that increase in quality may come with some increased costs. But as one source says, what difference does it make if you can sell beef up to $600.00 per pound.

In the USA if a ribeye has 6 to 8% intramuscular fat or marbling it is considered a prime steak. It is said that Japanese beef has up to 20 to 25% intramuscular fat.

What an opportunity for anyone wanting to upgrade the quality of their beef cattle. From what I have read it seems that a majority of crossbreeding in the USA has been with Black Angus. I believe we can do better by getting all that color blindness behind us. Have you ever heard of British White Cattle? Angus is a polled Black English breed. British Whites are a polled white English breed.

Yes, I raise British Whites. I personally bred and raised a British White bull that sired a couple of heifers that ultra-sounded to have over 9.8% intramuscular fat at 13 months of age. One of my British White cows weaned a bull calf that was 69% of her weight at 7 months of age. An ultrasound has shown British White rib eyes to be as much as 1.6 per hundred pounds of live weight in an industry that is proud of anything over 1.2. A British White bull with my herd name on him was top gaining bull over 62 bulls in a college bull test.

Many years ago an English Author described a British White carcass as having very little interior fat and what was there was interlarded within tissue.

In my opinion a cross between British Whites and Wagyu would have an extremely good chance of producing a great piece of beef that would closely resemble true Kobe Beef and would satisfy today’s USA appetite for gourmet beef.

For the most part Cattle USA needs to be looked at as two separate industries, Beef Cattle and Dairy Cattle. Both Beef Cattle and Dairy Cattle are found in all 50 states and though it is changing somewhat most are still in the hands of family farms.

Cattle USA, because of the abundance of grasslands and rather large grain production have developed their beef industry so that it is for the most part separate from its dairy industry.

Beef Cattle USA

Beef Cattle USA

Beef Cattle USA is the largest grain fed cattle industry in the world and is basically divided into cow-calf operations and beef cattle feeding operations. It is also the largest producer of beef for human consumption. The vast majority of beef produced is of high quality grain fed beef for domestic and export. Beef Cattle USA production has for years been tied to what is called the cattle cycle. The cattle cycle is a series of ups and downs in overall cattle numbers and on average each cycle has spanned about 10 years. Since the majority of the cattle are fed out on grain in feedlot arrangements Beef Cattle USA is also affected by readily available grain, its price and supply.

More on the Beef Cattle USA Cattle Cycle

The Beef Cattle USA cattle cycle is nothing more than increases and decreases in the number of beef cattle available at a given time. Beef cattle production by its nature is a long range program that cannot change directions immediately and that is what causes the cattle cycle.

In broad terms the cattle cycle is caused by the combined effects of cattle prices, the time required to breed a cow, birth the calf and raise it to market age and weight. When prices are predicted to be high the cattle numbers grow with producers hoping to increase their profits. When increased numbers reach the point to cause prices to start going down due to overproduction the overall numbers begin to fall because producers cut down on numbers to eliminate some expense and stay profitable. Beef Cattle USA cattle cycles will general run from 8 to 12 years and average about 10 years. One of the major effects for varying lengths of the cattle cycles can be caused by extreme drought conditions. Extreme drought can adversely affect both pastures and harvested hay or forage supplies that will lead to a shorter cycle.  An extended cattle cycle can be caused by the slower build up in herd numbers.

Beef Cattle USA Cow-Calf Operations

Cattle USA cow-calf operations are typically used for utilization of land not suited or needed for crop production. A successful cow calf operation is dependent on adequate range and pasture for forage. Production of adequate forage is dependent on variations in the average level of rainfall and temperature on the range. Beef cows harvest forage from grasslands to maintain themselves and raise a calf with very little, if any, grain input. The cow is maintained on pasture year round and so is her calf until it is weaned.

When the calf is weaned and if extra forage is available some calves may be kept as stockers for additional grazing and growth until the following spring when they are sold. Beef Cattle USA on average is made up of cow herds of less than 40 head. However a little over half of all the cows are in herds of over 100 head and this group accounts for around 10 percent or a little less of all the cow calf operations. It is probably safe to say that all of the 40 head size herd operations are dependent on additional income from another source to remain sustainable.

Beef Cattle USA Feedlots

Beef Cattle USA feedlots are fairly concentrated in the Great Plains. However they are also found in parts of the Corn Belt, the Southwest and Pacific Northwest. Beef Cattle feedlots are known for producing high quality beef that grades select or better. This is accomplished by feeding a nutritious ration made up of grain and other concentrates for about 140 days. The time frame an animal spends in the feedlot is usually determined by its weight at placement, the feeding or weather conditions and desired finish. Most of the feeding periods will run from 90 to as long as 300 days. The Beef Cattle USA industry expects the animals to gain 2.5 to 4 pounds per day and consume about 6 pounds of dry weight feed for each pound of gain. Before being placed in a feedlot a calf is reared mostly on grass and forage. The feedlot diet is most always a balanced ration made up of 70 to 90 percent grain and protein concentrates.

The majority of the Beef Cattle USA feedlots have a capacity of 1,000 head or less but historically they have fed and marketed a small percentage of USA fed cattle. On the other hand the feedlots with more than 1,000 head capacity account for less than 5 percent of the total feedlots and market up to about 90 percent of USA fed cattle. The Beef Cattle USA industry is continuously going towards a smaller number of larger and more specialized feedlots. These specialized feedlots are becoming more vertically integrated with the processing plants and the cow-calf operations in an ongoing effort to produce higher quality fed beef.

Dairy Cattle USA

Dairy Cattle USA produces milk that has a farm production value second to beef among livestock industries in the USA and is about equal to corn production value.  Dairy cattle USA is by far mostly owned and managed by family farm operations regardless of how big or how small. Most of them are also members of producer cooperatives for marketing purposes. Dairy Cattle USA produces products that include fluid milks, ice cream, butter, cheese and yogurt. For use as ingredients for processed foods they also produce dry or condensed milk and whey products. In today’s market fluid milk products and cheeses claim most of the production.

Dairy Cattle USA has seen a slow but steady increase in milk production per cow as the overall number of cows has steadily decreased. There has also been a steady decrease in the number of dairy operations and an increase of cows per operation. The result of these trends has pretty well kept pace with the demand for dairy products.

For the record Dairy Cattle USA milk production has increased by almost half since 1970 in spite of the fact that dairy cow numbers have decreased by about 25% or from about 12 million to about 9 million in the early 2000s.  The actual milk production on a per cow basis has nearly doubled to where the average production per cow is around 19,000 pounds per year. In 1970 it was estimated that Dairy Cattle USA operations were around 650,000 and in the early 2000s this number was about 90,000.  During this same time frame the Dairy Cattle USA herd size increased from about 20 to about 100cows.

Dairy Cattle USA is found in all 50 States with an estimated production of about 170 billion pounds of milk. The majority of this production is concentrated in 10 states. Those top 10 dairy cattle states are; California, Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania. Minnesota, Idaho, Texas, Michigan, Washington and New Mexico.

The majority Dairy Cattle USA operations are scattered throughout the North and Western States. The current trend seems to be moving towards the western states and some of the other regions have declined. This trend seems to be due to the Western areas trending towards a lower cost of production believed to be due to climatic conditions.

The most prominent breed of dairy cow in Dairy Cattle USA is the Holstein because the breed is known for producing so much more milk per cow than other breeds. On average the butterfat content of Holstein milk is lower than the other breeds but it is more than made up for in the increased milk production.

It is important to note that Dairy Cattle USA pretty well remains in the hands of family farms and most of them are members of producer owned cooperatives. It is easier and more economical for the coops to assemble the member’s production and market it in larger quantities to the processors and manufacturers. In recent times a few of the coops have turned to doing their own processing and manufacturing. Initially cooperatives were all local but today Dairy Cattle USA enjoys National Cooperatives with members in all parts of the country.

A Good Steak

A Good Steak should have good flavor, very tender, juicy and have a small amount of fat. All beef is a good tasting and nutritious food item but a good steak is most people’s favorite cut of beef. The lean part of a good steak should be cherry red in color. The white part of beef steak is usually considered waste and is called fat. Most people will cut the fat off and throw it away. This tells us that a good steak should not have a lot of fat on the outside or in between the muscles. We need to remember though that there is a special kind of fat that makes cooked steak juicy and full of flavor. This fat will be visible as small specks of white and scattered throughout a good steak, it is referred to as marbling. Some folks will call this the taste fat. A good speckling of marbling and a bright cherry red color to the lean will most always be a good steak.

Color of a Good Steak

Good Color Too Much Outside Fat

Bad Color Too Much Fat

The freshness of a good steak can be identified by the color. When a good steak is displayed in the air for a short period of time if it is fresh the lean beef will have a bright cherry-red color and the fat should be a bright white. When it has been on display for longer periods of time and begins to age. It will start to ruin and the bright cherry red color of the lean becomes brown and the color is dull. The white fat may get an undesirable appearance and can also turn a little off color towards brown. Your best choice for a good steak and the fresher ones will be the ones with the bright white fat and bright cherry red lean.

Marbling in a Good Steak

Good Steak Marbling

Not Enough Marbling

A Good Steak and most all beef has a certain amount of small specks of fat in the lean or muscles and this is referred to as marbling. Marbling is fat that gives a good steak the flavor that is good to your taste. The cooking of a good steak causes the marbling to melt at high temperatures and this is what makes the steak juicy. When beef is dry after cooking it is because there was very little marbling before starting to cook. Dryness especially applies to a steak that has been cooked for a long time. Because the marbling makes a steak juicy and gives it a unique flavor a good steak will have lots of marbling.

Fat Thickness and a Good Steak

Good Steak Not Too Much Outside Fat

A good steak will not have a lot of fat along the outside edges because most folks do not like to eat very much fat. Thus it is a waste of your money to buy an otherwise good steak and then have to cut off lots of fat before cooking and eating your steak. Be careful and do not take this to extreme because a little fat is good and will protect the outside of the meat and keep it from drying out as it is cooked. A good steak will have a thin rind of fat surrounding the outside of the steak.

Seam Fat and a Good Steak

Too Much Seam Fat

A Good Steak will not have a lot of seam fat. It is natural for cattle to have fat between their muscles as a normal part of their growth. This is referred to as seam fat. When a good steak has more than one muscle you can see the line or seam of fat that separates them. You will want to avoid steaks that have a large glob of fat instead of a small line. Not only is seam fat undesirable but more of a problem than outside fat because it is almost impossible to cut it off or out of the steak. Seam fat is also waste fat and should be avoided when selecting a good steak.

Seam Fat

Seam Fat

This picture is a better definition of what seam fat is and where it is located within the muscles. Also associated with seam fat there may be some toughness and it is also undesirable. It is recommended that you pay close attention to seam fat and definitely stay away from it when selecting a good steak.

Now that you are fully armed with all this information we hope you select, cook and enjoy a Good Steak every chance you get.

Are you like me and not sure you really ever understood the cow stomach while in school or maybe I just plain forgot? About all I remember is that she has four. So I am undertaking a little project to do some research just to see if I can learn a little more about a Cow Stomach or all four.

My first discovery in cow stomach research indicates that a cow is considered a ruminant and ruminants have four stomachs. A ruminant is defined as an herbivorous animal that has multiple chambered stomachs designed to process and digest coarse plant matter. Ruminants regurgitate half digested food and rechew it before swallowing it again and this is known as chewing their cud.

Diagram of Cow Stomach

Further research into this Cow Stomach project reveals the Merriam Webster Dictionary definitions as shown below. Now this really clears it up.

1. Definition of RUMEN: the large first compartment of the stomach of a ruminant in which cellulose is broken down by the action of symbiotic microorganisms.
2. Definition of RETICULUM: the second compartment of the stomach of a ruminant in which folds of the mucous membrane form hexagonal cells.
3. Definition of OMASUM: the third chamber of the ruminant stomach that is situated between the reticulum and the abomasum.
4. Definition of ABOMASUM: the fourth compartment of the ruminant stomach that follows the omasum and has a true digestive function.

Below I detail my definitions of the four parts of a Cow Stomach  as I understand them. Of course it might also be termed what I think they are.

1. 

   Rumen of Cow Stomach

   Rumen: The rumen is a fermentation vat that catches and holds the roughage (grass, hay, shrubs, etc) in an anaerobic environment for good mixing and processing for further digestion and absorption downstream.

2. Reticulum: This is the second stomach and it almost goes without saying that as the fermentation breaks down the coarser feedstuff it flows into the reticulum. Cows are well known for “cud chewing”. For what it is worth the text book says that rumination is regurgitation of ingesta from the reticulum, followed by remastication and reswallowing.
3. Omasum: Textbook says the function of the omasum is rather poorly understood. My take is that as the third reservoir it allows the liquids to pass through quickly and holds back the still bulky material for further processing into a more liquid state.
4. Abomasum: This is the real stomach and once food or feedstuff gets to this point it is pretty well processed in the same way we humans digest our food.

Now if this Cow Stomach project has your attention well enough that you would like to review a six page technical definition in PDF format Click Here.

A Beef Farm might be considered or thought of as a beef cattle enterprise that raises cattle and finishes them through to harvest and the sells the beef direct to a consumer. This is kind of an over simplified description of how a beef farm might operate. It is our hope that it will give you a glimpse into the basics of how a small beef farm might operate.

Beef Farm Enterprise

Three Phases of a Beef Farm

• Phase 1: Beef Calf Production. The Beef Farm Cow is expected to produce a calf each 12 months beginning at the age of two years. To remain a sustainable entity each cow must remain in continuous production and not allowed to skip a calf. When the calf is weaned the cow must be checked to see if she is with calf and if not she should be sold and replace with one that is productive. This phase on the beef farm may also be referred to as the cow-calf operation. Some beef cattle farmers may prefer to maintain just a beef-cow operation and market all their calves at weaning time.
• On a Beef Farm most of the food for the cow and her calf will consist of pasture and hay raised on the farm. Very little if any grain is ever fed to the cows. The cows will live outside year round and actually prefer trees as shelter when any is needed. You can give the cows a choice of trees or a barn as their shelter and they will choose trees most every time. When raise in a cold climate the cows will grow a heavy coat of hair that will protect them from the winter cold.
• On a beef farm the calves will nurse their mothers from birth to about 6 to 8 months of age and then they are weaned. Separating a calf from its mother and eliminating mother’s milk from its diet is considered weaning. At this time the calves are expected to weigh about 400 to 600 pounds.
• Phase 2: Growing the weaned calf as a stocker or backgrounding. On a Beef Farm when the weaned calves are grown out as stockers they will usually remain in some of the same pastures where they have lived. They will have good grass pasture to eat and allowed to grow and develop for a few more months or until they reach about 700 to 900 pounds.
• If the beef farm operator elects to grow the calves out in a backgrounding operation they will be confined to a smaller paddock or pen and their feed will be brought to them. Most or all of this feed will come from what is produced on the farm because it is cheaper than outside purchases. This backgrounding feed will consist of or be combined with grains for faster growing of the calves. Additional profits should come to the producer who uses feeds produced on his farm to grow the cattle. When calves are backgrounded this way they are usually expected to gain from 1 to 2 pounds each day. Just like with the stocker operation backgrounded calves are ready for the next phase when they reach 700 to 900 pounds. On average they should be about 12 to 14 months and because they are around 1 year old they are now referred to as yearlings.
• Phase 3: Feedlot or Finishing of Cattle. A Feedlot is a facility where cattle are placed in pens or lots and all of their feed is brought to them and fed in bunks. When the cattle are finished on the beef farm these are referred to as on farm feedlots. The feed that is fed in a feedlot is high in grain content and it allows the cattle gain weight very quickly. Most of the cattle will gain over 4 pounds per day in the feedlot. Preferred areas for this type operation is where large amounts of corn and other grains are grown. The beef farm cattle usually remain in the feedlot for 100 to 150 days and will have grown to about 1100 to 1300 pounds. The cattle are generally considered ready for harvest when they have reached about 1100 pounds in weight. This is the point where steaks, roasts, and ground beef are obtained from the animals. Also there are many more byproducts produced and harvested from them but we will cover those in another section.

This has been a brief but fairly complete start to finish description of the activities on a beef cattle farm. Most cattle persons will tell you that this is the type of operation where you reap the most value of the animals produced. Reason being is that each of the phases could also be described as a profit center and not necessarily confined to the same owner or operator. There may be a little more work involved but a beef farm is first choice for those wanting the most return for their labor.

Typical Group of Cattle on a Beef Farm

A Beef Farm successful operator is first and foremost a good steward of the land or learns to be one right off, stewards take care of things. Stewards of the land use it to grow things and keep it sustainable for future generations. This includes being careful to prevent erosion and keeping it fertile so it grows plants well now and into the future. A good Beef Farm steward is always concerned about water quality and wildlife.

A Beef Farm must have enough pasture land to sustain the planned size of beef cattle herd. A pasture is visualized as a field full of grass that cattle eat on their own.

For sustainability it is preferable for a beef farm to have ample crop land that is fertile and fairly level. It will be used to grow crops that are harvested and fed to the beef cattle.

Forage on a Beef Farm

Forage on a beef farm is any plant that cattle can consume as feed or food. Most often it will simply be pasture or hay. Hay is forage or grass that has been cut, dried and packaged for storage and easy handling. This packaging is in the form of bundles that are called small square bales, large square bales or rolls. These bundles of hay will be stored on the beef farm for feeding later.

The beef farm factory is the herd of cattle. A herd is usually thought of as a cow-calf group of cattle that are kept in a pasture on the beef farm or ranch. Below is a brief explanation of the animals that may make up the herd of cattle.

• A bull is a male of the cattle species that has not been castrated. He is also referred to as a sire or male parent, the father. A beef farm will usually maintain about one bull to each 25 cows.
• A cow is a female bovine that has had a calf. The bulk of the beef farm cattle herd will be made up of cows that are old enough to produce a calf each 12 months. A beef cow usually has her first calf at about 2 years of age and a calf each 12 months thereafter. The cow is also referred to as a dam and is the female parent of the calves.
• A calf is the new born bovine and continues to be called a calf as long as it is nursing or drinking milk from its mother. This is usually from the time of birth up until about 6 to 10 months of age when the beef calf is weaned.
• A stocker is a weaned calf managed as a growing animal after weaning. On average a stocker is kept on pasture with good forage and allowed to grow for several more months. From stockers the next step is on to what is called either Grass Fed or Grain Fed.
• A weaned calf may also go into a backgrounding program. In backgrounding the weaned calf at about 6 to 10 months old is put in a lot and harvested feed is brought in. The calf is allowed to grow for several months before being sent to the feedlot for grain finishing.

Most all Grass Fed animals are kept on grass pasture with ample lush forage that allows them to gain about two pounds per day until harvest time. To provide a good product they should be harvested while still gaining at least two pounds per day. Grass fed beef is claimed to be healthier than grain fed and is more expensive.

Grain Fed animals are kept in a smaller more confined area called a feedlot. Feedlots are facilities where all the feed the animals eat is brought in and placed in easily accessible feed bunks. Their diet is feed that is high in grain content that allows them to gain weight very quickly. Due to adequate amounts of a well balanced ration many will gain over four pounds per day in the feedlot.

Whether Grass Fed or Grain Fed the optimum time for harvesting beef farm animals is considered to be when they reach about 1100 to 1200 pounds.

British White Cow and Calf

The above picture was taken late afternoon 10/20/10. This is this cow’s first calf, a bull and he was born 3/8/10 so he is about 7 months old in the picture. I estimate the calf’s weight to be about 600 pounds. Picture quality is not good but it shows what kind of calf a good cow can raise. The cow is the same heifer pictured  here.

Developing a Beef Cattle Marketing Plan

Very few beef cattle producers are trained in the study of economics but 100% make economic decisions and need a Beef Cattle Marketing Plan. Every time we earn or spend money it involves economic decision making. Earning and spending or buying and selling will always influence the way our economy functions. It is this economic influence that makes the cattle market move each day by establishing prices for cattle.

Economics is also thought to be a mathematical science by many people since economists are constantly working with numbers trying to predict the outcome of some economic event. Actually, economics is the study of human behavior and not hard to fit into your beef cattle marketing plan. Economists try to relate how people will react to changes in supply and demand, to higher or lower interest rates or to increases in the cost of production.

Cattle prices are determined by how much beef people choose to buy and sell in the market place. If people want to buy more beef than is available in the marketing channel, then the price of beef is bid up rationing the beef among buyers. If producers need to sell more beef than people are willing to buy, then the price of beef will be forced downward to move the excess supply.  Understanding cattle pricing will help in developing your beef cattle marketing plan.

Beef Cattle Marketing Plan More Than Price

Beef Cattle producers often say that to make money in this industry you must buy low and sell high, but the beef industry is more than just buying and selling cattle. Beef producers add value to their products at each stage in the marketing channel thus the need for a beef cattle marketing plan.

5 Parts of a Beef Cattle Marketing Plan

1. Beef Cattle cow-calf producers sell a product called a calf. What they are really selling is not the calf but output from the cow and bull plus the grass, grain, labor, management and capital used to produce the calf.
2. Stocker operators buy 300 to 500 pound calves from the cow calf segment of the industry and put an additional 300 to 400 pounds on them, hence, increasing their value to the market place.
3. Feedlots buy the stocker cattle, feed grain to fatten and then sell them at about 1100 to 1300 pounds to the packer.
4. The packer slaughters the animal and breaks the carcass into wholesale cuts for the retailer who in turn sells the beef cuts to the final consumer.
5. Each level within the marketing channel takes the product from the preceding level, modifies it, hence, adding value to the product at each subsequent stage.

A good beef cattle marketing plan enhances the cattle producers’ chance of obtaining maximum dollars for the value he adds to the product. After combining the resources he has available to produce the calf, he receives value for the animal by selling it. Failure to successfully market the animal is a waste of his time and the money that he invested in the production phase. Marketing, in essence, becomes the icing on the cake. It can improve the situation or it can ruin it.

Cattlemen are noted for being good production people and most do not care for the hassle associated with marketing and may be prone to get lax about developing a good beef cattle marking plan. Marketing is usually second in dislikes, right behind keeping records. However the most successful producers understand that both record keeping and marketing lead to an improved profit. It is often the difficult things in business that make the most money. In beef cattle production, survival depends on a producer being above average in production, marketing, and financial management, they all are parts of a beef cattle marketing plan

It takes a lot of time and continuous effort to learn and stay abreast of the beef cattle marketing system. You will need to know and understand cash prices, futures prices, price outlook, and the supply/demand situation. To remain profitable a producer must know what marketing alternatives are available to him. Know how to use each alternative, and how to interpret market signals.

All Beef Cattle Production starts with the farmer or rancher that produces the calf, usually termed Cow Calf producer. The cow calf producer is the one who invests in land, animals, feed and other inputs required to raise the calf. Typically, the cow-calf producer will wean the calf at a weight near 400 pounds or higher.

Some cow-calf producers retain ownership of the calves from birth through the stocker phase of the production process and even some maintain ownership through the feedlot. These producers evaluate the profit potential at each production level before deciding to keep their cattle through the next production phase. When their profit objective is reached they sell the cattle. Retained ownership allows the producer the flexibility to reject the market price today in hope of obtaining a better price at a later date. This market alternative can be successful if the cattleman can minimize the costs of growing the animals during the extended ownership period. Also implied in this retained ownership decision is the cattleman’s hope that the market does not turn against him.  These are the things that help to make it hard to develop that first beef cattle marketing plan.

Learn How The Beef Cattle Market Determines Cattle Prices

The driving force behind this price discovery process is profit. Every stage of the production marketing channel wants to provide the consumer with a safe, quality product that adds value to the consumer’s decision to buy beef. Each segment of the channel adds value to the calf produced to satisfy this consumer need, but each segment also must make a profit.

It is this dichotomy within the industry needing to work together but also each separate segment forced to being profitable that muddies the signals. The poultry industry solved this problem with vertical integration.

Is the market offering a reasonable price? When should cattleman price their cattle? Knowing how prices are determined may help producers, feeders and packers answer these questions and take advantage of the highest possible price.

Most people get frustrated when economists say that “the forces of supply and demand” determine prices, and as you might suspect, these economists are only partially correct. If supply and demand were known, prices would be easily determined. The fact is that supply and demand are not known.

In reality, expected supply and demand determines price. Economists refer to beef demand as the amount of beef that will be bought at various prices during a certain time period. As the price of beef increases, the amount bought normally declines. When the price of beef declines, consumers are willing to buy more. Thus demand is made up of various components, including quantity and time. Other factors that may affect price are consumer income levels, number of consumers in the market, and prices of related products such as poultry and pork.

Supply also has the two components of quantity and time. Supply is the quantity supplied at various prices during a certain time period. As price increases, producers are willing to produce more and sell more beef. As the price declines, producers are reluctant to sell more beef and over time, will produce less.

So how are prices really determined? Prices are determined by negotiation. These negotiations take place simultaneously at every level of the marketing channel. Consumers have money to spend and they want to purchase beef. But, consumers only have a limited amount of money to spend and they like other goods and services as well as beef. They decide what amount of beef they buy based upon the amount of money they have to spend, the price of beef and their desire to eat beef compared to other food items available.

The retailer at any point in time has a certain amount of meat to sell. The retailer puts a price on the meat. The higher the price, the less meat he sells. The lower the price, the more meat he will sell. A price is basically established over time between the consumer and retailer when the amount of meat bought equals the amount the retailer puts in the meat case.

But, the retailers must also anticipate the amount of meat the consumer wants and attempt to purchase that amount from the packer. The packer who has meat in his cooler must sell it. If the packer sells the meat to the retailer, he must also replace it with meat from the feedlot operator in order to keep his cooler full. The packer and the retailer negotiate a price that they are both willing to pay considering the amount of meat available from the feedlot and expected consumer demand.

How do feedlots price feeder cattle? Feedlots price by first estimating demand at the packer level of the marketing channel. Based on the feedlot’s view of expected demand for slaughter cattle, the expected supply of slaughter cattle and the resulting packer quoted price, they determine what profit they can make on fat cattle. The expected fat cattle price is then adjusted for anticipated production costs and a profit margin to determine what price the feedlot can offer the stocker operator.

Stocker producers have a limited production period of 120 to about 210 days. Thus, they also have to anticipate the demand for their feeder cattle at the end of this production period. Based on the expected demand for and supply of feeder cattle, the stocker operator estimates a price for his cattle. After accounting for production costs and a profit margin the stocker operator determines how much to bid for stocker cattle.

The beginning of the production cycle is at the cow-calf level. This is also the ending point of the price discovery process. The cow-calf producer’s decision is to take or not to take the offered price. He is frequently referred to as the last rung in the marketing channel or the “price taker”. Based on current market prices and future price expectations, the only decisions left to the cow-calf producer are to sell his cattle today or wait until a future date.

I realize all this sounds elusive and a bit complicated but the produces that can acquire a basic understanding of all the markets and develop an adequate Beef Cattle Marketing Plan will be the survivors.

Helpful Information Towards a Beef Cattle Marketing Plan

Successful marketing requires the acquisition of much information. Marketing cattle requires the producer to search out information not only about market alternatives and price, but, also estimates of the supply and demand for beef. It is critical that cattlemen obtain an understanding of this market information in order to make useful decisions. Periodically, the USDA releases supply and demand reports for beef, and other livestock and grain commodities that affect beef prices. The most important beef reports are the Cattle on Feed Report and Cattle Inventory Report.

Cattle On Feed Report

The USDA cattle on feed monthly report estimates the number of cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market for feedlots with 1,000 or more one time capacity. Items estimated on the full report include the number of cattle on feed, cattle placed on feed, fed cattle marketed, and other disappearance each month. Cattle on feed are then separated into “kinds” (steer, heifers and cow) on feed and then by sex and weight. The report normally provides cattle on feed numbers for the last three years. It also reports the percentage change in cattle numbers from the previous two years to the present year. First of the month estimates of number of animals on feed are given, then animals placed, marketed and other disappearances.

Cattle Inventory Report

The USDA cattle inventory report contains USDA’s semi-annual estimate of all cattle and calves, cows and heifers that have calved; beef and milk cows, heifers 500 pounds and over; for beef or milk cow replacement and other, steers 500 pounds and over, bulls 500 pounds and over, calves less than 500 pounds and the current year calf crop. The current year’s inventory estimated as a percentage of the previous year’s estimate is also presented.

USDA’s cattle inventory report helps cattlemen determine beef supply trends. The total cattle and heifer retention numbers indicate the potential level of beef in the market channel over the next few years. They indicate cattlemen’s expectations about profitability. Increasing heifer retention signals herd expansion due to producer expectations of increasing beef profits.

Seasonality of Market Price

Understanding the affect that seasonality has on beef prices also helps the cattle producer develop his beef cattle marketing plan. Most marketing strategies are dependent upon the producer’s calving season. This automatically makes the marketing decision time oriented. Spring calves are sold in the fall and fall calves are sold in the spring. Consequently, the producer’s calving practice affects the prices that he is able to achieve each year.

The highest monthly average price typically occurs in late winter and early spring. The lowest average monthly price occurs in the fall. This implies that cow-calf producers that calve in the spring and sell their calves in the fall sell during the lowest prices of the year. Fall calving operations have the opportunity to sell during the highest seasonal prices, but fall calves face the low gains, extra feed cost, and potentially high death loss during the winter months.

The Beef Cycle

The size of the U.S. beef herd does not remain constant over time, rather it increases and decreases depending upon the level of profit achieved by cattle producers. If the industry is profitable cattle producers retain heifers, breed them and in time expand the size of the herd. When the supply of beef exceeds demand, prices fall and the cattle producer diminishes the size of his herd by culling cows and by selling heifers. This process continues through time as the industry tries to adjust the size of the herd to reflect the signals it receives from the forces of supply and demand at work in the market. The term used to explain this process is referred to as “The Cattle Cycle”. The cycle is frequently defined as the time between the lowest points in cattle numbers to the next time that cattle numbers reach a low point.

The significance of the “Cattle Cycle”” to the beef industry is that it reflects profit potential to the individual cattle producer. When inventory levels are expanding profits are being made, but at some point in time profit levels will be squeezed out of the market. Prices will fall and adjustments in herd size must be made if the producer is to be ready for the next upswing in the “Cattle Cycle”. This is the nature of the beef industry. It will happen again, and producers need to be aware of the cycle and its affect on their profitability.

Cow Slaughter Levels and Calf Prices

Another relationship may also help us understand why prices react as they do to market forces. This is the relationship between cow slaughter numbers and calf prices. As cow slaughter levels increase, calf prices decline. That’s right. Low levels of slaughter indicate a healthy cow-calf segment within the beef industry. Cattle producers are making a profit; consequently, they will retain cows and heifers in an attempt to build the herd and have more animals to sell.

A Beef Cattle Marketing Plan Enhances Alternatives

A cattleman’s beef cattle marketing plan starts with the production of the animal. A solid production program is the basis of the cattle producer’s marketing plan. The cattleman must use his knowledge of animal production to produce a product that is acceptable to the market. He must also produce this animal in a timely manner in order to minimize production costs. The cattleman’s knowledge, timing and effort are essential in the production of the animal. Knowledge, timing and effort do not guarantee a profit, but they improve the odds. Knowledge, timing and effort are also essential for a good beef cattle  marketing plan.

Marketing, therefore, is a systematic approach toward achieving a reasonable return for the producer’s money, labor, management ability and other resources he has invested in the production of his animals. Marketing requires detailed planning and the estimation of costs and prices. Simply put, marketing involves knowing the alternatives, what the alternatives offer, how the alternatives meet the goals of the operation and how best to use each marketing alternative.

What marketing alternatives are available to the cattle producer depends upon the stage of production. Some alternatives are used more often at one production level than another. There are profitable alternatives available at every production level. The cattleman’s job is to find each alternative and evaluate its ability to make his operation produce a profit.

Some Cow Calf Marketing Considerations

Producers may choose to market their weanling calves through a local or regional sale, sell to an off the farm buyer, or forward contract with a buyer for future delivery. It is also possible to use the futures markets to market weanling or stocker calves. The objective is to market grass pasture, labor, capital and management by selling calves, cull cows and cull bulls. Most producers attempt to satisfy this objective through their local auction barn. They do so for various reasons including closeness to the farm, small number of animals to market, time it takes to evaluate other markets and the fact that the local auction is a form of entertainment.

The local auction is also the most cussed form of marketing in the cattle industry. Many producers’ say they have taken their animal to the local auction barn only to get ripped off. The fact is that the producer frequently does not know the market and is not willing to gain an understanding of the market. With a little knowledge the producer would start to see what he can do to improve his situation. By evaluating market alternatives, including the profitable use of a local auction, he can improve the profit from his beef operation.  All this needs to be included in any beef cattle marketing plan.

Another cash market option available to producers is retained ownership. It can be used for his annual calf crop or stocker operation. It can also be used for the “best” of his heifer and bull calves destined for sale to other producers as replacement animals. The market price target is useful in evaluating whether or not the producer should participate in retained ownership.

Retained ownership decisions compare the sale of the calf today with a future sale at a heavier weight. Several factors come into play in this decision. The producer must know the prices for the light weight calf and the expected price for the heavier calf. In addition he must know the cost of producing the weanling calf and the cost of carrying it the additional days.

A good producer marketing strategy is to establish a reputation for producing above average stockers or breeding stock. Development of a sound production program requires a long-term commitment on the part of the producer. Good breeding stock or the development of a quality stocker program does not occur overnight. A good producer should take advantage of his “good name”. Surveys of cattle buyers indicate that an important criterion in price determination is the producer’s reputation. A good reputation normally brings buyers to the farm eliminating the need to sell at auction.

Having buyers come to the farm to purchase cattle provides a marketing opportunity for both buyer and seller. The seller can reduce shrink and avoid commission costs. The buyer obtains an animal that has a known parentage and production philosophy, and minimal stress. On farm sales are a good opportunity for cow-calf producers to market their animals and build a reputation with buyers.

The producer can also use the futures market to lock in a price or shift the chance of an adverse price change. However, futures contracts are not readily adapted to lightweight calves. The difference between the futures price and the local price for these lightweight calves can be quite large. This wide difference makes if difficult to accurately fix a price.

Choosing the right market to meet your objective can be difficult. This is where the development of a good beef cattle marketing plan becomes important. The producer has some bench mark to evaluate local market prices against what it costs him to produce the calf. Two things have been accomplished: first, the producer is capable of evaluating the price the local market is paying for calves similar to his and, secondly he is able to really understand if this marketing alternative can successfully play a role in his overall beef objectives.

We have considered many factors that are integral components in developing a successful beef cattle marketing plan for cattle producers. It is now time to put these factors into a plan of action and show how a beef cattle marketing plan is actually developed. The marketing plan does not need to be complex but it does need to be well thought out and adapted to meet the needs of your cattle operation. Clearly, the plan should suggest what you want out of your involvement in the beef cattle business and how you intend to get there. There are many ways to classify a market plan but, here is a useful and simple approach.

Six Steps to Develop a Beef Cattle Marketing Plan

1. Know what you have to market,
2. Develop your cost of production and market target price,
3. Analyze the market environment,
4. Review available market alternatives,
5. Compare market alternatives against your operation’s goals,
6. Make your decision and market your cattle

You should never try to second guess your decision, if you do well keep the same type of plan for next year. If it did not pan out then scratch this alternative and go on. You learn from your mistakes and every year is different in the cattle business. Marketing is a planned event that is reviewed every year, changed if necessary, but constantly improved.

In the end we all know that the most successful will understand cattle marketing and put a goo beef cattle marketing plan in place.

Red Angus Beef Cattle

 Starting New Beef Cattle Farm

1. Beef Cattle Production and Marketing

Your beef cattle selection and herd development will be better adapted when selected based on your geographical region’s production conditions and your planned marketing program.

A few things related to possible production conditions:
• Climate. Conditions will vary from hot to cold and humid to arid. Beef Cattle types vary in their ability to adapt to different climates. Climate affects forage types produced in different areas. Forage production influence levels of cattle production.

• Forage conditions. Most beef cattle are maintained on forage, which can vary from abundant to sparse and nourishing to deficient. Beef Cattle also differ in applicability to diverse forage conditions.

• Available labor and management skill. This can range from limited to plentiful and uninformed to knowledgeable. Some strategies require more time and expertise than others.

When marketing beef cattle try to remember it is best to plan market timing, methods and specifications. If calves are sold at weaning the producer is paid for weight in price per pound. Price may also be influenced by the buyer’s estimate of value beyond weaning. On the other end of the production chain, returns of those retaining ownership through finishing are directly influenced by post-weaning performance and carcass quality.

Fed or finished beef is used primarily for three purposes or markets.
Restaurant quality beef
Lean Beef
Commodity Beef for the Retail Market.

Restaurant Quality requires high carcass marbling;
Lean Beef emphasizes leanness;
Commodity Beef balances marbling and leanness.

Different markets call for starting with different types of beef cattle bred for those markets.

You will find that in Beef Cattle Farming it is most always more efficient and economical to adapt the operation to your production conditions.

2. What Type of Beef Cattle

The next step is to determine what type of beef cattle best fit the production conditions and markets you will pursue. When cattle are not matched to production conditions and markets, performance is reduced, and income drops.

For hot, humid climates, beef cattle types that originated in such conditions are best adapted. Beef cattle native to more temperate regions fit better in cooler climates.

Here are a few tips to help match cattle to different forage situations:

• Sparse: Beef Cattle of small to moderate body size fit best.

• Abundant: Larger cows can be maintained, or smaller cows can be maintained at higher stocking rates.

• Low quality: Lower milking cattle are best suited. Beef Cows of high milking ability may lose body condition, and reproduction rates will drop.

• High quality: Beef cattle can be of higher milking ability; otherwise, forage potential may not be fully realized.

• Inconsistent: Easy fleshing types of beef cattle with low to moderate milk are best adapted.

Although forage deficiencies can be offset with supplemental feed, cost must be weighed against return.

When selling at weaning, the paramount factors in choice of types are production efficiency and calf value at that point. For retained ownership, efficiency and returns are directly influenced by post-weaning performance and carcass merit.

3. Selecting a Beef Cattle Breeding System

The next step is to plan a beef cattle breeding system before considering what breed to select for your breeding stock. The two most basic breeding systems are called continuous and terminal. The difference in these systems is the source of replacement females.

In continuous systems, heifers are retained to return to the breeding herd. So, in addition to traits important in market progeny, you should also consider the potential replacement heifers’ environmental adaptability and maternal qualities.

Because no replacement heifers are retained in a terminal system, terminal sires can be selected regardless of how their heifer progeny would perform as brood cows. Since replacement females in terminal systems must be either purchased or produced in another herd, environmental adaptability and maternal characteristics are not all that important in designing a terminal system.

While straight breeding can be done for commercial production, it lacks the advantages of well-planned crossbreeding in hybrid vigor, production, efficiency, and, in some cases, marketability. There are practical crossbreeding plans for herds maintained in one or several breeding groups and for one bull herds or thousand cow operations.

4. Beef Cattle Breed Selection

The fourth step is to choose a beef cattle breed. There are more than 80 breeds of beef cattle in the United States. Some (originally from Europe) perform best in temperate zones. Others (such as the American Brahman, which was created from humped Bos Indicus cattle native to India) are better adapted to tropical environments; and still others are intermediate in adaptability.

Beef Cattle Breeds can be logically grouped according to their adaptability and key physical characteristics. These groups include British Beef Cattle, Continental Beef Cattle, Continental Dual Purpose Cattle, Dairy Cattle, Bos Indicus Cattle and American Cattle. Specialty breeds cannot be placed logically in one of these groups because of their unusual genetic features.

Breeds in the American group were formed from a crossbred base of established breeds of two types: tropical adapted (usually Brahman, at levels of 3/8 to 1/2) and temperate adapted (mostly British Beef). In addition to the American group, other combination breeds and composites are being formed. The applicability of combination breeds and composites rests largely on the characteristics of the constituent breeds.

Although beef cattle breeds should be chosen primarily on the basis of their adaptability to climatic and other production conditions, producers should also consider performance and marketability. When pursuing production and marketing for the high quality beef market use higher percentages of British beef cattle. When pursuing production and marketing for the lean beef market use less British.

5. Individual Beef Cattle Animal Selection

The final step to a sound Beef Cattle Farming Operation is to select individual breeding stock. Selection of females certainly affects the genetics of a herd. However, even in a terminal cross, a sire has much more genetic influence than any female. This is because a sire usually is the parent of at least 20 to 25 calves a year, or possibly the sire of many more calves due to artificial insemination. Also, in a continuous system, the genetic composition of a beef cow herd is determined largely by the sires used over the last three generations. Regardless of the breeding system, sires are the most crucial element in genetic selection.

Sires must be structurally sound, fertile, and active and capable breeders. Ease of calving also is important, especially to breed heifers for their first calves. For sires and dams, limit selection to traits that are economically important and reasonably heritable. Depending on breeding system and market, these traits may include environmental adaptability, soundness, temperament, reproduction, livability, longevity, maternal qualities, body size, rate and efficiency of gain, and carcass quality.

Several methods can be used to select individuals. Some characteristics must be evaluated visually, such as anatomical soundness and visible physical traits affecting market price. However, many traits can be measured objectively, including reproductive features, weight, and body composition or carcass characteristics. Objective methods include performance tests, breeding soundness evaluation, actual carcass measurement or ultrasound estimate, linear measurement and breed-association performance programs. Get your initial selection correct and your new beef cattle farm will be well on the way to success.