Livestock
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AP 130-2-08
2024 Beef Cattle Outlook
1. The beef cattle outlook is positive in 2024. Tight supplies and stable consumer demand are expected to push cattle prices higher in the year ahead.
2. Risks come from the demand side if U.S. consumers are uninterested or unable to pay for higher-priced beef. Additionally, input cost uncertainty may squeeze margins.
3. Overall, beef cattle prices are expected to move higher year-over-year throughout 2024.|
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Beef cattle evaluation is important for all segments of the cattle industry. Visual evaluation allows you to compare animals not only for various economically viable traits, such as growth performance and potential carcass merit, but also for traits that are indicators of functionality in each production environment, such as skeletal structure. These traits are often difficult to quantify and are commonly considered convenience traits as they do not have a direct impact on income. Still, traits such as these can have a significant management and economic impact across multiple generations of offspring.
This publication is intended to help the reader develop visual evaluation skills for cattle with particular emphasis on breeding cattle. Visual evaluation combined with industry best management practices is key to overall success in selecting quality replacements.
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AP 130-1-07
2023 Beef Cattle Outlook
1. Severe drought elevated cow slaughter in 2022. With fewer cows to slaughter in 2023, cattle prices are expected to increase. 2. China could become the largest export destination for U.S. beef in 2023. 3. As per capita beef consumption grows, there also will be a growing interest in plant-based alternatives.
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AP 130-1-08
2023 Pork Outlook
1. 2022 U.S. pork prices continue to increase because of the limited number of slaughter-ready pigs. 2. Good outlook for 2023 as feed prices likely decrease and export demand increases.
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C 859
Selecting a Beef Breed
New cattle producers frequently ask, “Which breed should I choose?” This question brings cold chills to many knowledgeable cattle producers and excitement to just as many enthusiastic breeders. The diversity of resources and management capabilities of any operation makes this question difficult to answer.
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Cattle producers commonly evaluate reproductive performance by determining how many cows became pregnant during the breeding season. Although pregnancy rates are important, when the females become pregnant within the breeding season is a major component of cow-calf profitability. Cows that become pregnant early in the breeding season calve earlier in the calving season. Consequently, they have more time to recover before the next breeding season, which increases their chances of becoming pregnant and staying longer in the herd. Estrus synchronization programs have the ability of inducing estrus and can be combined with natural service to increase the percentage of cows and heifers that become pregnant early in the season. This publication describe different synchronization protocols that can be incorporated by cow-calf producers utilizing only natural service.
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Clean water for cattle is important for animal health and production and water delivery systems require routine maintenance and monitoring.
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Cotton byproducts offer a variety of feed ingredients that can lower the cost of beef cattle production. Cottonseed meal and whole cottonseed can be used in rations for any class of cattle. Gin trash and cottonseed hulls are low-energy feedstuffs that are used as a roughage source in high energy diets or as a partial energy replacement in mature cow diets. Cotton stalk residue can maintain a dry pregnant cow and will provide enough grazing for approximately 1 month if left standing or for three weeks if mowed prior to grazing. A reduction in fertility should not be a concern when recommended feeding rates are followed.
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Pregnancy diagnosis is an important part of reproductive management in productive beef cow-calf operations. Open cows decrease profitability as they utilize similar resources as pregnant cows without producing a marketable calf to justify these costs. With the move toward more efficient operations and inclusion of artificial insemination (AI) and other reproductive technologies in cattle production, abstaining from pregnancy diagnosis may no longer be economically viable or practical. Establishing a pregnancy diagnosis program allows for the detection of cows that are not pregnant and allows producers to make management decisions to increase reproductive efficiency, such as culling of infertile females or resynchronizing females that are open. Although the economic benefits of incorporating pregnancy diagnosis are clear, the rate of adoption by beef cow-calf operations is considerably low in the United States. This article provides an overview of the different methods available (rectal palpation, transrectal ultrasound, and blood tests) for pregnancy diagnosis and provides a practical description of how to implement these methods.
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