Month: April 2019

Kentucky Beef Cattle Market Update

– Dr. Kenny Burdine, Livestock Marketing Specialist, University of Kentucky

Spring is here and pastures are growing, which is exactly what our calf market needed after coming through such a tough winter. As I write this article (April 10, 2019), we are at our typical seasonal highs in the calf market, but I expect this market to hold well through summer. For the first week of April, 550 lb M/L #1-2 steers were selling in the mid-upper $150’s on a state average basis (see figure 1). At the same time, larger groups of calves were moving in the $160’s.

While the calf market has risen by roughly $15 per cwt since its December lows, I’m actually surprised that calf prices aren’t higher. As I write this article, fall CME© feeder cattle futures are trading in the $158-$160 per cwt range. Using this to make a Kentucky price estimate for fall and subtracting estimated costs for a stocker operation between now and then, suggests higher than normal profit levels for a summer grazing program. Greg Halich and I discussed this in our summer stocker outlook last month in the Economic and Policy Update at http://www.uky.edu/Ag/AgEcon/pubs/extbluesheetMar1920.pdf. And, it’s worth pointing out that futures are actually higher now than they were when Continue reading →

Calving: How and when to intervene

– Stan Smith, Fairfield County PA, OSU Extension

With calving season progressing across Ohio, one question that is often asked is when, if and how should one intervene to help with the birthing process?

During a portion of his presentation during the 2019 Ohio Beef School, Dr. Justin Kieffer discussed intervention in the birthing process, and how to properly pull a calf. Find that portion of Dr. Kieffer’s presentation below.

Spring Breeding on Fescue Pastures

– Dr. Roy Burris, Beef Extension Specialist, University of Kentucky

Most Kentucky beef producers have spring-calving cow herds that graze fescue pastures which have high endophyte levels. Getting a high percentage of cows bred in May, June, and July to calve in March, April, and May can be a challenge. I personally prefer fall-calving for that reason, but I also believe that we can have successful breeding performance in the spring.

There are some keys to getting a high percentage of cows pregnant for a spring calving season. The most general problem, in my opinion, is that the winter feeding program isn’t adequate to support required body condition for early rebreeding. Cows should enter the breeding season in good body condition (Body Condition Score 5) which doesn’t always follow our winter feeding programs. It seems that we sometimes try to “rough ‘em” through the winter and hope that spring grass will “straighten them out”. That is a sure formula for delayed breeding or open cows. Spring-calving cows need to conceive early in the breeding season (before late June) for best results. We conducted a trial at the UKREC (Western Kentucky) several years ago in which similar cows were separated into three breeding periods of 45-days each on high-endophyte fescue – see Table 1. Cows which were exposed to bulls from June 19 to August 4 had a pregnancy rate of only Continue reading →

Weed Management Considerations Following a Wet Winter

– Dr. J. D. Green, Extension Weed Scientist, University of Kentucky

Extensive wet weather conditions during the past fall and winter have resulted in pasture fields that have bare soil and thin vegetative cover, particularly in areas that have been used for winter feeding. Fields with thin stands of desirable pasture species are more likely to contain winter annual weeds such as chickweed, henbit, purple deadnettle, and mustard species. As these cool-season weeds die back, warm-season weeds such as common cocklebur and common ragweed will likely emerge this summer and take their place.

The first step in determining weed management options is to do a critical evaluation of pasture fields in the late winter/early spring. Scout fields looking for any developing weed problems. The primary question then becomes – does the existing stand of desirable forages appear to be healthy and potentially competitive against any emerging weed problems? If the forage stand is acceptable and weed pressure is light, then the best course of action may be to Continue reading →

Why do we import so much beef?

– Dr. Andrew Griffith, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Tennessee

One question that I receive on a regular basis is “Why do we import so much beef?”

First, the top four import sources of beef include Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico and the majority of imported beef is used as processing beef which means it is ground and not marketed as a muscle cut. In 2018, the U.S. exported about 150 million more pounds of beef than it imported. It is actually more common for the U.S. to import more beef than it exports.

Back to the question at hand, “Why do we import so much beef?” The answer is rather simple. If a person has a product that can achieve a goal and it is worth $5 per pound and they could purchase a similar product for $3 per pound that would achieve the same goal then the person would sell their product for $5 and purchase the similar product for $3 which would leave them with $2 per pound assuming no transaction costs.

Prospective Plantings and Quarterly Stocks Bearish for Corn Prices

– Josh Maples, Assistant Professor & Extension Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University

The USDA Prospective Plantings and the Quarterly Grain Stocks reports were released at the end of March and showed an increase in expected corn acres above 2018 levels. Corn planted area is estimated at 92.8 million acres which is four percent or about 3.66 million acres above last year. The 92.8 million number was on the high end of expectations going into the report. Combined with larger than expected stocks reported, there was a bearish impact on markets. December Corn futures prices dipped 18 cents in a day in reaction to the reports.

The increase in corn acres comes at the expense of soybean acreage. Soybean planted area for 2019 is estimated at 84.6 million acres which is down five percent from last year. Soybean expected margins are very tight as prices continue to be pressured by large supplies and tariff concerns. March 1 soybean stocks were 29 percent larger than a year ago and a record-high 2.72 billion bushels. It should be noted that the survey for the planning report was administered in the first two weeks of March and might not reflect the impact of the major flooding seen in many areas of the country.

So what are the implications for cattle markets? The cattle markets pay attention to Continue reading →

Time for Some “Defensive Driving”

– John F. Grimes, OSU Extension Beef Coordinator

The term “defensive driving” may seem like an odd choice of words to start an article about beef cattle. Stay with me on this one. When I think about defensive driving, I think about watching out for factors such as the surrounding traffic, weather conditions, time of day, driver fatigue, etc. and how they may affect your ability to travel safely from point A to point B. How does this concept relate to beef cattle production?

As we are in the midst of changing both weather and production seasons, now is the time to be analyzing your animals and the environmental conditions around them to make important management decisions that can impact your operation for the short- and long-term. Most of you are painfully aware that the beef herd has faced many challenges through the winter of 2018-2019. As we move into spring with green grass and warmer temperatures, do not get lulled into a false sense of security that any problems that we have been experiencing are going to magically disappear.

We fully realize the current situation. We have experienced months of cold, wet conditions that have resulted in excessive amounts of mud. Unless you have had a laboratory analysis of the forages fed your herd through the winter, we have to assume that forage quality of hay supplies is sub-par. Excessive moisture in the spring and early summer of 2018 simply did not allow for the timely harvest of forages to generate high quality feed. Based on my observations and conversations I have had with producers, veterinarians, and other industry representatives, the weather and feed quality has resulted in large numbers of Continue reading →

Waiting for Grass

– Dr. Jeff Lehmkuhler, Associate Extension Professor, University of Kentucky

As spring approaches there a few things to keep in mind. Pasture conditions on many farms are going to be less than ideal. Heavy foot traffic combined with excess precipitation has led to a decline in swards. Spring growth could be hampered as a result. In my travels across the state during the first of March I noticed cows already trying to pick on new growth. Cows going to graze when hay supplies are tight is a welcome change to feeding hay in the mud.

However, the pasture forage will benefit this spring from delaying grazing. Much of the early growth will be supported by plant energy stores until sufficient leaf area has developed for photosynthesis. Continually removing this new growth could further weaken stands or slow spring forage growth. Implement rotational grazing management to provide some rest/recovery time for plants this year.

I typically recommend delaying spring turn out on pastures until the Continue reading →

Winter Feeding and Pasture Areas; What to do?

– Stan Smith, PA, OSU Extension, Fairfield County (published originally in The Ohio Farmer on-line)

This is a common sight throughout the Midwest. How we handle areas like these from now on will impact their long term productivity. Photo: Landefeld

Damage from trampling and pugging to pastures and feeding areas over the past several months has been extensive throughout Ohio. For those who depend on pasture and forages for the foundation of their feeding program, the question that’s on many minds this spring is, “Do I need to reseed, and if so, where do I start?” Unfortunately, the response revolves around a lot of “it depends.”

We’ve all had the experience of dealing with pugged areas in pasture fields. Seldom, though, has it been so widespread and extensive. Over the past several months the damage has been caused not only by repeated hoof action, but also rutting made by tractors as hay was delivered to the feeding areas.

Degree of damage will be variable, and may call for different reactions throughout the farm, or even within a field. The course of action to repair these areas will be dependent on time and weather. Adding insult to injury, as I write this we’ve yet to have a window of more than a few days without precipitation, and pugged, trampled or rutted fields must dry before any repair work should begin.

As you consider a course of action, here’s a check list and Continue reading →

Considerations if Starting Over with a New Seeding

– Victor Shelton, NRCS State Agronomist/Grazing Specialist

Forage growth on March 3, 2018 in southern Indiana. Growth has been slower in 2019.

March 20th was officially the first day of spring this year. If you look at growing degree days (GDD) for the last month around the state, we have had about thirty percent less than the average. We’ve talked about GDD’s before. Growing Degree Days are calculated by taking the average between the daily maximum temperature and daily minimum temperature and subtracting the base comparable temperature for each day. Days are then added together to compare periods. It is probably the most common way of assessing where we are in plant growth compared to other years, since weather is different from year to year.

Growing degree days provides a “heat” value for each day. The values added together can provide an estimate of the amount of growth plants have achieved. Some people use GDD’s to predict when plants will reach a certain growth stage. The developmental stage of most organisms has its own total heat requirement. I like to compare different Continue reading →