– published by William Halfman, WI Beef Information Center, written by: University of Wisconsin Extension Livestock Program Educators, University of Wisconsin Department of Animal Science Faculty, and Iowa State University Extension Beef Specialists
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt cattle markets. Cash sales for the week of April 13-17 were depressed as packing plants operated at reduced capacity or shuttered their doors due to labor issues spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic. Having a market that will take finished cattle at a suitable date has become a concern. In addition, the current live market prices, and limited sale opportunities for fat steers have left many cattle feeders searching for solutions to reduce their economic loss.
In times of depressed markets many cattle feeders lean towards the “hold and hope” method of selling fed cattle, where they retain their cattle longer than is ideal with the hope of waiting out the down turn in the market.
The strategy to hold cattle longer will depend on the goals of the operation and the stage of feeding of the cattle. The good news is that cattle are adaptable to a variety of feeding systems and programs, and their growth can be programmed in a very predictable way through changing the net energy of the ration or using “programmed feeding”.
For cattle ready or near ready for market it may be best to . . .
Continue reading Considerations for slowing feedlot cattle growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic