Cow- Calf Corner | January 9, 2023
A New Year for Cattle and Beef Markets
Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist
The cattle and beef market momentum at the end of 2022 has carried over into the first week of the new year. The new year looks to contrast with last year with noticeably tighter cattle numbers, especially at the feedlot level, driven by previous herd liquidation and sharply lower feeder cattle supplies.
The price of 500-pound, M/L, No. 1 steers at Oklahoma auctions averaged $227.50/cwt. the first week of 2023, up 19.3 percent year over year. The price of 800-pound steers averaged $180.97/cwt., up 14.7 percent over the beginning of 2022. The Feeder Cattle futures market anticipates higher prices and tightening supply fundamentals with a $26/cwt. contract price increase from the nearby January contract at about $182/cwt. to the November contract price over $209/cwt. at the current time.
The 5-market fed cattle price averaged $157.83/cwt. the first week of January, up 14 percent from one year ago. The Live Cattle futures price for February is currently just under $157/cwt. while the December contract is priced at $164/cwt. at the current time.
The Choice boxed beef price in early January was $283.62/cwt., up 5.8 percent compared to the beginning of 2022. Beef demand in 2022 remained strong in the face of record beef production. Beef product markets do, however, sharply contrast between middle meats and end meats. The Rib primal leads the way currently, up 33.8 percent year over year, with heavy boneless Ribeye (IMPS 112A) currently priced at $1,194.03/cwt, up 47.0 percent year over year. The Loin primal is up 9.0 percent compared to last year with the tenderloin (IMPS 189A), up 25.1 percent year over year and the boneless Strip Loin (IMPS 180) up 14.2 percent compared to one year ago. Sirloin tri-tip (IMPS185D), however, is currently 17.2 percent below levels in early January 2022. It appears that food service (restaurant) demand is carrying much of the strength in beef markets compared to retail grocery.
End meat markets are doing well to hold steady year over year. The Chuck and Round primals are priced about equal to last year with numerous chuck and round cuts at or below year ago levels. The Brisket primal starts 2023 down 29.7 percent from year earlier levels. Beef demand remains a concern and will bear close monitoring in the coming months. Numerous macroeconomic threats persist and decreasing beef production will keep pressure on to push beef prices higher. While there is scant indication of “trading down” among beef consumers thus far, shifts in beef product demand are more likely in the coming year.
Drought remains the biggest issue for many producers aggravated by persistently high feed costs. The revenue side of cattle production will be less of a concern in 2023, at least as far as cattle prices go. However, managing and maintaining production and managing the rising cost of production will continue to be major challenges for cattle producers this year.
The Importance of Colostrum
Mark Z. Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist
Being ready and prepared before the start of calving season can make life much easier for cow-calf producers and potentially save a calf. By the time calving season starts, you need everything on hand that might be necessary and all equipment and facilities in working order. Operators should have several doses of colostrum or colostrum replacer on inventory before the start of calving season.
Adequate colostrum intake is extremely crucial for newborn calves in order to gain passive immunity. Calves born after a prolonged delivery through the pelvic canal can suffer from severe respiratory acidosis. Such calves are less efficient at absorbing colostral immunoglobulins or antibodies even if artificially fed colostrum. The only disease protection baby calves will receive is from the passive transfer of antibodies from the colostrum they ingest. Colostrum also contains transferrin and lactoferrin, which bind iron and restrict bacterial growth. These factors, together with immunoglobulins, help limit growth of bacteria in the gut.
Colostrum or colostrum replacer will need to be administered by bottle suckling or tube feeding within a few hours of birth for maximal absorption of immunoglobulins. The general rule of thumb is the sooner colostrum is ingested the better and calves will typically stand, walk and nurse within one hour after birth. Bottomline: if there is any question of if a calf has received adequate colostrum, then colostrum should be administered immediately to the newborn. Calves that miss getting timely colostrum ingestion are much more likely to suffer from calf scours, which can have lifelong effects on general hardiness and disease resistance.
Previously obtained colostrum must be kept frozen to protect the integrity of the large protein molecules that make up the various immunoglobulins. Fresh colostrum can be stored in one-quart doses by putting that much in a gallon-size Ziploc bag. Lay the bags flat to freeze in the freezer. When the time comes to thaw the colostrum and feed it to the newborn calf, the “best practice” is to thaw in a warm water bath at 122 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. Avoid thawing at room temperature of in a microwave oven.
The amount of immunoglobulin ingested is a major factor in final blood immunoglobulin concentration and disease protection. A practical rule-of-thumb is to feed 5% to 6% of the calf's body weight within the first six hours and repeat the feeding when the calf is about 12 hours old. For an 80-pound calf, this will equate to about 2 quarts of colostrum per feeding.
Commercial colostrum replacers contain more than 100 grams of immunoglobulin per dose. Always read the label before purchasing. It is important not to confuse supplements and replacers. Supplements are used to boost antibody protection a calf gets from nursing and contain 40 to 60 grams of immunoglobulins, which is not enough to provide protection in a calf that has not nursed.
Cow Efficiency and Forage Intake Research at the OSU Range Cow Research Center
Paul Beck, Oklahoma State University State Extension Beef Nutrition Specialist
Growth rates and carcass weights have been increasing over the last 30 years. However, little research has been conducted to determine how aggressive selection for production traits affects beef cow maintenance requirements. It is thought that cows with greater genetic capacity for growth, milk and mature weight have greater maintenance energy requirements. To measure this Amanda Holder, a graduate student at the OSU Range Cow Research Center examined the effects of diet type on greenhouse gas emissions and dry matter intake estimation. They used 42 Angus cows with a wide range in DMI EPD (-1.36 to 2.29) and were fed either grass hay only or a mixed diet of 35% hay and 65% concentrate feeds. They found that intake of the mixed ration and the long-stem hay were correlated, but cow weight gain while consuming hay was not correlated with cow weight gain while consuming the concentrate-based diet. As intake of both diets increased, both CO2 and methane production increased. Daily greenhouse gas emissions increased with increasing feed intake and were lower when cows consumed hay compared to emissions during the period cows consumed the mixed diet.
A study by OSU graduate student Emma Briggs investigated hay voluntary intake and its relationship to both recovered energy (cow weight gain and milk production) and maintenance energy requirements during the dry period in Angus cows. Twenty-four mature fall-calving Angus cows were individually fed in amounts to ensure minimal weight and body condition change. Recovered energy was calculated as the total of maternal tissue energy change (weight gain or loss) plus milk recovered energy (milk yield plus milk composition). From this information, maintenance energy requirements were calculated for each cow. After calves were weaned, a voluntary feed intake study was conducted to determine the influence of total recovered energy during lactation and lactation maintenance energy requirement on voluntary intake of a low-quality grass hay diet. The energy required for maintenance declined as net energy recovery increased, but there was no relationship between the amount of daily milk energy produced to post-weaning voluntary forage intake. However, increasing weight loss during lactation was associated with greater post-weaning feed intake. In contrast to previous work, these results suggest that cows within a breed that are better able to maintain their body condition and produce more milk energy at the same time have lower maintenance energy requirement.
Around 74% of the maintenance energy required to produce beef is used by the beef cowherd and consequently about 70% of the greenhouse gas emissions generated by beef production are from the cowherd. Cow efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions are important to consumers and government regulators; thus, they are important for our industry.
Dr David Lalman discussed these feed efficiency studies on SunUpTV from November 1, 2021.