Beef Trade Supporting Cattle and Beef Markets

Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist

 

The latest beef trade data shows June exports were up 15.2 percent year over year while beef imports were down 15.3 percent from last year.  Strong exports are helping to offset domestic beef demand struggles while beef imports decreased in the face of increased domestic cow slaughter and lean beef production.

 

In the first half of 2022, beef exports were 7.9 percent above the record 2021 pace.  South Korea is the largest beef export market in the January – June period, up 4.0 percent year over year and with a 23.3 percent share of total beef exports.  Japan is a close second place with year-to-date exports down slightly by 0.2 percent and accounting for 22.8 percent of beef exports. Beef exports to the China/Hong Kong market are up 16.9 percent in the first half of the year making this the third largest beef export market with a 19.4 percent share of total beef exports.  Year to date beef exports to the number four export market in Canada are down slightly by 0.2 percent.  Canada accounts for 7.6 percent of beef exports thus far in 2022.  Mexico has dropped to fifth place with year-to-date beef exports to Mexico down 16.5 percent year over year and a 7.4 percent share of total beef exports.  Taiwan is the sixth largest beef export market with exports up 26.8 percent so far this year and a 6.4 percent share of total U.S. beef exports.

 

Year to date beef imports were up 18.1 percent year over year with June monthly import totals dropping to the lowest level since 2019.  Beef imports were down year over year in June from all five of the top beef import sources. Canada is the largest source of beef imports, accounting for 25.1 percent of total imports so far this year and up 5.2 percent year over year.  Mexico is the second largest source of beef imports with a year-to-date total up 22.8 percent over last year and accounting for 21.2 percent of beef imports.  Brazil is the third largest source of beef imports, representing 18.3 percent of beef imports thus far in 2022.  While beef imports from Brazil are up 145.3 percent for the year to date, the recent surge appears to be slowing with June beef imports from Brazil down 14.9 percent year over year.  Beef imports from New Zealand are down 12.1 percent year over year in the first half of 2022 with June imports down 33.3 percent from one year ago.  New Zealand accounts for 13.2 percent of beef imports so far this year and is the fourth largest beef import source.  Australia is the fifth largest beef import source, accounting for 10.5 percent of beef imports in the first six months of the year.  Beef imports from Australia are up 4.1 percent for the year to date following a 25.5 percent year over year monthly decline in June.

 

Beef trade has been generally supportive thus far this year, but the future is uncertain.  Global and U.S. economic forecasts have been reduced as global economies continue to struggle.  The U.S. dollar continues strong, which will be a headwind for future exports.  U.S. beef production is expected to decline in the last part of the year and beyond reducing available beef supplies.  All of these will likely impact beef trade going forward.  

 

 

Retained Ownership? – Part 1

Mark Z. Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist

 

The impacts of drought are leading some to re-consider marketing alternatives for calves.  Lower beef cow inventories now indicate higher value of calves, yearlings and fed cattle in the future.  If you have traditionally marketed weaned calves or yearlings and are considering retained ownership through finishing in order to be selling at a later endpoint (in a more favorable market), consider the following:

1. Most fed cattle (approximately 75%) are sold with price determined on a carcass value basis.   How does this work?  Your pen of live finished cattle are harvested, carcasses are weighed, USDA Yield and Quality Grades are assigned.  Optimum combinations of Quality and Yield Grades result in more $ value per pound of carcass weights sold.  Price docks occur if carcasses are too light or too heavy.
2. Owning cattle through finishing comes with certain risks: death loss, health issues, market volatility and opportunity cost on the money you have invested until marketing.
3. The cost of gain through finishing will be higher than that of running calves on grass and turning them into yearlings.  The same drought impacts causing cow liquidation are impacting feed grain prices.  Accordingly, feedlot costs of gain are expected to be higher in the foreseeable future.
4. If you have historically sold weaned calves or yearlings, do you have any history on how your calves have fared long-term with respect to health, death loss, cost of gain, dressing percentage, finished weights, carcass Quality and Yield Grades?
5. When you buy bulls, what is your selection criteria?  In general, post-weaning growth traits are moderate in heritability.  Carcass traits are highly heritable.  If you have been putting selection pressure on carcass traits and/or post-weaning growth traits over the past 5 – 10 years and retaining your own females as cows, then retained ownership may be a way to capture additional profit from your genetic investment.  If you haven’t, or you don’t know the answers to question 4, I advise caution with deciding to retain ownership through finishing for the first time just because future market conditions look favorable.

 

 

Nitrate Poisoning in Cattle

Paul Beck, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Nutrition Specialist

 

All plants can contain some nitrate, but buildup of nitrates to toxic levels in forage plants occur when they are under excessive stress. Certain plant species are more likely to accumulate nitrates. Certain weeds (such as pigweed), Johnsongrass, corn, sorghums, and Sudan grasses are the most common causes of nitrate poisoning, but any grass or weed with a high leaf-to-stem ratio can be a problem. Nitrates are usually highest in young plants and nitrates decrease as plant mature, unless growth stress is encountered. Stressors that cause abrupt decrease in plant growth such as lack of sunlight, drought and high temperatures, disease, or herbicide application can contribute to increased nitrates. Nitrate concentrations are usually greatest in the lower third of the plant stem, but can be found in leaves. Very little nitrate is found in flowers or stems.

 

Nitrate is not particularly toxic to cattle, at normal levels. When nitrate containing forages are consumed the nitrate is converted in the rumen into ammonia and used by ruminal microbes as a protein source. An intermediate product in this process is nitrite, when too much nitrite is produced it is absorbed into the blood. The nitrite binds to hemoglobin in the blood, forming methemoglobin – a substance that cannot take up oxygen in the lungs for delivery to body tissues. Lack of oxygen in the tissues can cause abortions of calves and death. Nitrates may cause death within 30 minutes to 4 hours after symptoms appear.

 

Forage testing laboratories report nitrate results in different ways. Guidelines for forage nitrate tests depend on the unit being presented. Results can be based on nitrate (NO3), nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), or potassium nitrate (KNO3). The toxicity levels are broken down in the following table.

 

 

Producers need to be aware of the feedstuffs they are using.  It is important to use caution in your feeding programs when known nitrate accumulators are undergoing stress before harvest or grazing.  If you are unsure, you need to send in a random sampling of your forage or hay to a testing center. Many county Extension offices have quick tests available for testing the presence of nitrates or prussic acid, it is good to test multiple forages and any samples showing presence of nitrates can be sent off to the lab for analysis of the concentration. Preventative measures should be taken to help prevent loss in your herd.

 

Refer to the Oklahoma State University Extension Fact Sheet, PSS-2903 Nitrate Toxicity in Livestock

 

On a recent SunUp TV episode from July 25, 2022, Dr. David Lalman and Rick Clovis, Pawnee and Osage County Extension Educator, offer management and forage testing advise for forage nitrates.