BeefWatch Articles from January 2022

BeefWatch Articles from January 2022

Winter Supplementation of Beef Calves – When Supplementation Doesn’t Pay

Spring born calves are often weaned in the fall, supplemented through the winter at a low rate of gain, and then graze summer grass, taking advantage of compensatory gain until feedlot entry. Many producers assume providing minimal protein supplementation to target approximately 1.0 pound/day gain during the winter is the most economical system. However, research data would suggest this assumption is not the most economical management system.

Three-State Beef Conference: Long-term Planning for the Cow Herd

Area beef producers should make plans to attend the annual Three-State Beef Conference that is scheduled for January 11, 12 and 13, 2022 with locations in Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska. The Three-State Beef Conference is designed to give beef cattle producers and others in the beef industry in Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska a regular update on current sire, cow-calf, and economic topics. All sessions will be held during the evening to help accommodate producers who work off the farm during the day.

Know Your Numbers, Know Your Options

The next session of “Know Your Numbers, Know Your Options,” Nebraska Extension’s four-part record-keeping course, will be held virtually from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. central time on January 18, 20, 25, and 27.

Participants should plan on attending each of the four workshop dates. The course requires participants to have an internet connection. 

Differences Between High-, Medium-, and Low-Profit Cow-Calf Producers: An Analysis of 2016-2020 Kansas Farm Management Association Cow-Calf Enterprise – A Review

This study by Dustin L. Pendell Ph.D. and Kevin L. Herbel can be found at the Kansas State University AgManager.info website. Review and summary by Aaron Berger, Nebraska Extension Educator.

Cow Herd Appraisal Performance Software (CHAPS) Benchmark Data – A Review

The 2021 North Dakota Livestock Research Report includes an article on the North Dakota State University CHAPS data recording software program that works with cow-calf producers to enter and store cow herd production information and then provides a framework to analyze and compare data to other herds in the program. The CHAPS program began in 1985 with the intent to help producers set goals and then manage herds to achieve these goals.

How to Develop a Custom Calving Agreement

Calving someone else’s cows or heifers can be a great enterprise for a beginning rancher, a method to reduce the overhead cost of facilities and equipment, and a strategy for marketing feed. Or, having someone else calve some or all of your cowherd can reduce labor and stress and allow for an operation to remain sustainable or expand if skilled seasonal labor is limited.

Having a simple and straightforward agreement in writing can be the difference between disagreement and disappointment and a satisfying experience for both parties involved.

Cow-Calf College to be held January 25th

Cow-Calf College is gearing up to be hosted January 25th at the Clay County Fairgrounds from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm in the Activities Building. Registration starts at 9:00 a.m. This year’s program will be offered in a hybrid format through zoom and attendance in person. The focus of the 2022 Cow-Calf College will start with an in-depth look at eastern redcedar control in the morning, an update by beef cow-calf specialist, Kacie McCarthy and a special presentation by Tom Field focusing on ways to engage youth in the beef industry.   

LRP Insurance for Fed Cattle and Put Options: Farmer-Feeder Considerations

This article was first published in the November 2021 edition of RightRisk News

The Impact of Price and Management on Culling Decisions

The following is a summary of the webinar “The Impact of Price and Management on Culling Decisions” given on November 4, 2021, as part of the Center for Agriculture Profitability weekly webinar series housed in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. This webinar can be viewed here, with an accompanying podcast above.

Current Drivers and Atypical Seasonal Patterns in the Cull Cow Cutout

This article was first published by In the Cattle Markets on Dec. 7, 2021

Updated Nebraska Cow Herd System Budgets Available Now

Practices, conditions, and prices change. Therefore, enterprise budgets must be updated at least annually. Several of the geographically representative Nebraska cow herd budgets produced by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln were updated over the past several months. Primarily, feed and cattle prices were updated, with three additional budgets completed.