Digital Commons Network^™

Land/Enterprise And Ownership Transfer, Lucy C. Meyring

Range Beef Cow Symposium

YOUR ESTATE PLAN MAY BETHE DEATH OF YOU YETI!!!

*****The average age of America's farmers and ranchers is SS

*****There are twice as many farmers over the age of 6S as under the age of 35

*** **Half of agricultural land is owned by folks older than 75

*****69% want to pass their farms or ranches on to their children

*****Only 3-5% of farm and ranch families in Colorado have a complete estate plan

*****The Family Farm Institute reports that only a third of all family businesses succeed in the second generation and a mere 15% survive to the third …

Calculating Unit Costs Of Production And Using The Information For Enterprise Analysis And Decision Making On The Ranch, Aaron L. Berger

Range Beef Cow Symposium

INTRODUCTION

Unit Cost of Production (UCOP) and Enterprise Analysis are tools that ranch managers have been encouraged to utilize in making decisions to improve profit. Managers who have adopted these tools have found them to be valuable in identifying opportunities and problem areas in enterprises on the ranch.

HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF UNIT COSTS OF PRODUCTION FOR USE IN RANCH MANAGEMENT DECISIONS

The late 1970s and 1980s were challenging times financially for farm and ranch businesses, forcing many to exit the industry. In the early 1990s, the National Cattlemen’s Association Integrated Resource Management (IRM) subcommittee developed Standardized Performance Analysis …

The Changing Structure Of Beef Production: Stockers, Calf Feds And Yearlings, Tom Brink

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Beef production is always in a state of flux. Nothing in this business stays the same for very long. The current situation is truly unique compared to anything we have experienced in the past. Demand is growing. Supply is shrinking. Cattle prices are rising and show no sign of stopping, despite reaching record highs this year. Production costs are also increasing. There are some very real opportunities in the cow-calf business and other producer segments. But financial risks exist as well. My belief is that the good outweighs the bad. Cow-calf producers could see some of the best profits during …

Importance Of Steak Origin To Restaurant Customers, Kimberly A. Varnold, Chris R. Calkins, B. Lynn Gordon, Wendy J. Umberger

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Introduction

Today, consumers are more informed about the origin of their food due to the desire to have confidence in the safety of their food. This need for information has lead to an increase in demand for even higher levels of safety and quality (Unnevehr, 2003). Currently, traceability and source-verification are considered indicators of beef quality and safety by consumers. Mennecke et al. (2007) found that consumers place a high precedence on any information that can relate to the origin and production of their food. Research also indicates there could be preference for U.S. beef, especially beef from the Midwest …

Cow Side Of Producing A 1,000 Lb. Feeder, Cow Size And Expenses, Ken Olson, Justin Waggoner, John Jaeger

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Introduction

Do relationships exist between cow size, nutrient requirements, and production capability? We can assume that a bigger cow will require more nutrients. What are the characteristics of that relationship? Is it a direct response wherein a cow that is 10% bigger than another will require 10% more nutrients, or is there economy of scale, so to speak? Can we assume that a bigger cow will be more productive? Is it automatic that bigger size means faster growth so we can expect the calves of bigger cows to grow faster? We will explore these relationships.

Cow Size

It is commonly …

Genomics For The Rancher: How Does It Work And What Does It Mean?, Jack C. Whittier

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Introduction

I am continually amazed at the tools we have in today’s world to assist in making better and better decisions. This is true in most aspects of our lives – from communications to computers; from entertainment to eating; from politics to travel; and many, many more components of what we do and how we live. The digital age has created an information explosion, and livestock production has not been left out of this progress.

Another amazing aspect of today’s world is the vast knowledge being uncovered and refined in the world of biology and science. Gregor Mendel, an Austrian …

Range Beef Cow Symposium Xxii, Ted Schroeder, Jim Robb, Aaron Berger

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Presented by Cooperative Extension Services and the Animal Science Departments of The University of Wyoming, Colorado State University, South Dakota State University, University of Nebraska.

Contents NOTE: All links below are to PDF files. (Links to UNL Beef site active as of May 2012; files are also permanently archived in the UNL DigitalCommons site)

Industry Issues

Policy Affecting the Cattle Industry

Senator Mike Johanns, Nebraska

Public Issues (PDF 78KB)

Trent Loos, LoosTales

Positioning the Range Beef Herd for the Next 25 Years

Implications of the Ethanol Industry for Cow-Calf Producers (PDF 317KB)

Ted Schroeder, Agricultural Economics, KSU

Current Inventory - …

Implementation Of Marker Assisted Epds, Matt Spangler

Range Beef Cow Symposium

INTRODUCTION

Genomic information, in the form of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, has always held the promise to increase the accuracy of Expected Progeny Differences (EPD). This promise has finally been realized for those breeds that incorporate this information into their EPD calculations. For those breeds that have not, genomic information for complex traits (those controlled by many genes) is available to producers in a disjoined context and is published separately from EPD. Depending on the accuracy of the genomic test (as measured by the proportion of genetic variation explained) Marker-Assisted (or genomic enhanced) EPD can increase the accuracy of animals and …

Implications Of The Ethanol Industry For Cow-Calf Producers, Ted C. Schroeder

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Introduction

The ethanol industry in the United States has expanded very rapidly and is a major user of feed grain, especially corn. In 2011, some 40% of US corn production is expected to be used for ethanol production. At the same time as the ethanol industry was expanding, other market events were also occurring that collectively resulted in corn prices more than doubling from 2006 to 2010. Corn price increases, all else constant, directly reduce calf and yearling prices as these animals become more expensive for feedlots to feed. The result, cow-calf producers realize lower returns on their cow enterprise. …

Vaccination: What The Heck Am I Doing?, G. L. Stokka

Range Beef Cow Symposium

The use of vaccines and vaccination in general can be a very confusing topic. There are literally hundreds of different vaccines available for use by beef producers, with multiple antigens and differing levels of effectiveness and safety. Veterinarians serve a critical function in making proper recommendations based on individual herd objectives and assessment of risk of exposure and economic loss. However, there is a lack of objective peer reviewed literature to assist the practitioner and beef producer in this area. The purpose of this paper is to bring some sense of philosophy, science and logic to this topic. Management keys …

Making Safe, Affordable And Abundant Food A Global Reality, Jeff Simmons

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Introduction

A growing wave of food insecurity threatens more than 1 billion people around the world.1 Global food costs are growing to dangerous levels, reaching record highs in January 2011. And these prices are expected to persist, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

We are at a crossroads. In the past two years, the global economic recession has decreased consumer buying power and increased food insecurity. In the next two years, tight supplies and rising food prices may stretch an already extended system to the breaking point. No longer is the number of hungry people steadily …

Planning Ahead To Save Aums And The Cow Herd In Times Of Forage Shortage, Jerry D. Volesky, Don C. Adams

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Introduction

Drought is a recurring phenomenon with potential to significantly impact the livestock industry. During the past 14 years, the majority of livestock producers in the Great Plains and western states have experienced some level of drought ranging from moderate to extreme or even exceptional. Many grazing experts recommend developing a ranch drought plan to reduce their drought risk (Nagler et al. 2007). Most of these plans are specifically customized to an individual operation and include both short-term and long-term strategies and objectives. Producers with a drought plan actively monitor resources; build ecological, financial, and social resilience into their operations; …

Feed Efficiency - How Should It Be Used For The Cow Herd?, Andrew J. Roberts, Rick Funston, Travis Mulliniks, Mark Petersen, Mike Macneil

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Improving cow herd efficiency is critical because approximately 70% of the feed inputs required to produce a slaughter animal are used for maintenance, the majority of which is utilized by the dam (Williams and Jenkins, 2006). To date, much of the efforts to improve efficiency in cattle have focused on different measures of feed efficiency (variations in amount of feed consumed and rate of weight gain) determined during the growing phase. While this approach provides pertinent information concerning efficiency during the growing phase, the relationship to cow efficiency remains to be determined. When considering the usefulness of feed efficiency as …

Feed Additives And “Subtherapeutics” In Cattle, Mike Apley

Range Beef Cow Symposium

First, what is a “subtherapeutic”?

The Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine (FDA/CVM) has a variety of approval classifications for antimicrobials in food animals. These include…

1. Improvement in rate of gain

2. Improvement in feed efficiency

3. Control of disease

4. Prevention of disease

5. Treatment of disease

The first 2 would fall into the “subtherapeutic” category by all of the definitions I am aware of. This is regardless of whether these applications have an effect on disease or not. Control and prevention of disease are considered therapeutic uses by the FDA/CVM and the American Veterinary Medical …

Global Beef Marketing Opportunities, Paul Clayton

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Introduction

Over the last several years US beef production has experienced significant growth in globalization. This globalization is sometimes hard to define but in general the US has seen US beef companies open businesses in foreign markets as well as foreign companies establish business in the US. The type of global beef businesses range from suppliers of beef genetics via semen and embryos to processors and distributors of finished high quality beef products. Likewise raw materials, feed and production technologies may be sourced all over the world. This paper will discuss several of the factors that describe this globalization. Fundamentally …

Multi Generational Transitions, Ed Blair

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Introduction

Blair Brothers are a family livestock and grazing operation, we have one full time employee. The rest of the labor and decision making is made by family members.

We market private treaty over 300 commercial angus bulls a year and are looking to expand that to 500 in the next two years. Blair Brothers is a total AI operation, what I mean by that is any cow that doesn’t stick AI in two cycles are sold. We have eighty six percent of our mature cows bred AI in 26 days. Twenty percent of our cow herd is turned over …

The Importance Of Maintaining Structure To Ring-Necked Pheasant And Waterfowl Production In The Upper Great Plains, Benjamin Geaumont, Kevin Sedivec, Christopher Schauer

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Introduction

Privately owned lands serve a crucial role in maintaining wildlife populations. Perhaps that is because approximately 60 percent of the land in the United States is privately owned (Lubowski et al. 2006). While many private landowners are aware that how they use their lands will impact wildlife, some private landowners are looking for ways to maintain wildlife populations at increased levels for both aesthetic and economical purposes. In recent years, expenditures associated with hunting have boosted many local economies as well as benefiting private landowners (Benson, 1989; Das and Rainey, 2009). As such, landowners who are concerned with both …

Weaned Calf Growing Options: How Do We Economically Produce A 1,000 Lb Steer For Feedlot Entry, Terry Klopfenstein

Range Beef Cow Symposium

The cattle industry thrived for 50 years on cheap corn. However, cheap corn appears to be “a thing of the past”. Because of the unique ability of the ruminant to use forages and fibrous byproducts, the cattle industry has an opportunity to adjust nutrition programs away from “cheap corn” to forages. I believe there are two important myths that need to be discussed. Myth 1 is that forage gains are cheaper than feedlot gains, therefore we should put as much weight as possible on cattle using forage. We produced 1020 lb steers off grass on September 15 at a backgrounding …

Factors Influencing Generational Transfers Of Farm/Ranch Assets, Dave Goeller

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Introduction

The University of Nebraska began educating farmers and ranchers in the area of farm business succession planning over 25 years ago. During that period over 1,000 Nebraska farming businesses have received assistance transferring their farm business from one generation to the next. Early efforts focused on the farm financial aspects of the transition process, however, because of farmer evaluations, educational efforts have shifted focus to communication skills and the importance of the business succession planning process.

Trends in United States agriculture over the past 25 years indicate the importance of farm business succession planning and the urgency created by …

Marketing Something Old, Not New

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Every single time I have Dr. Nathan Bryan on the radio he inspires me to write about the work he is doing. Bryan is one of only a couple dozen dietary nitrate researchers in the world and yet the work they do may be the most important in relation to understanding aging and improved human health. The really frustrating part regarding this information is that a few squeaky wheels attempt to create a negative image about nitrates in some meat products when, globally, consumers are actually nitrate deficient.

Dr. Nathan Bryan is a biochemist and researcher in Houston at the …

50 Years Of Applying Reproductive Technology To Breeding Cattle, George E. Seidel, Jr.

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Prior to the mid 20th century, reproductive management of both beef and dairy cattle consisted primarily of purchasing a bull every 2 years from a neighbor thought to have a herd with above average genetics. That description is still embarrassingly close to the truth for the majority of beef cattle herds in North America. The one striking difference is that bulls being purchased currently are, in fact, usually above average genetically. One result is that the amount and quality of beef produced per cow or per unit input of feed, labor, etc. have increased dramatically, at least partly due to …

Do Livestock And Ecosystem Services Compete? A State-And-Transition Approach, John Ritten, Maria Fernandez-Gimenez, Emily Kachergis, Willow Hibbs, James Pritchett

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Rangeland managers are charged with managing complex social-ecological systems. While they must be concerned with economic sustainability, they are often under pressure to provide public benefits as well. As the public becomes aware of the additional services these diverse ecosystems provide, land managers are becoming pressured to provide ecosystem services in addition to livestock production. However, there are few tools that provide the type of information rangeland managers need to understand the trade-offs of managing for different ecosystem services in order to make these complex decisions.

In 2010, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), US Forest Service (FS), and …