Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of Herd Size Management Strategies, Colson A. Tester

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is comprised of two studies examining the effects of price signal based herd size management strategies on profitability of cow-calf operations. Herd size management strategies were evaluated across the previous two cattle cycles, 1990-2014, using a fixed land resource and included a variety of production scenarios. These scenarios varied in terms of stocking rates, fertilizer applications rates, and calving season. Each scenario was also analyzed both with and without weather effects on forage production. Weather effects were simulated using a production index derived from satellite imagery across the observed 25-year period. Three herd size management strategies: i) constant …