Feedlots Turning the Corner?

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

 

The latest USDA Cattle on Feed report pegged the October 1 cattle on feed inventory at 11.449 million head, down 0.9 percent year over year.  This is the first year over year decrease in the monthly on-feed inventory since December 2021.  Among the largest feedlot states, on-feed totals in Texas and Nebraska remain higher year over year, up 3.3 and 3.8 percent respectively while feedlot totals are down in Kansas, 6.7 percent lower year over year and Colorado, down 5.3 percent from last year.

 

The quarterly breakdown of steers and heifers for October 1 showed that the number of steers on feed was down 2.3 percent from last year while the number of heifers was up 1.4 percent year over year.  The number of heifers on feed indicates continued liquidation in the cattle herd with heifers on feed representing 39.7 percent of total feedlot inventories, the highest heifer on feed percentage in 21 years since October 2001.  The number of heifers on feed in Texas on October 1 was up 13.1 percent year over year, giving Texas an unusually large share of total heifers on feed and the highest Texas total for heifers on feed since 2001.  This is consistent with the severe drought conditions in the southern plains this year.

 

September feedlot placements were 96.2 percent of last year and the 3.8 percent year over year decrease was the largest monthly placement decrease since July 2021.  Placements of cattle from 600 – 900 pounds were down 7.6 percent year over year with placements under 600 pounds up 2.3 percent year over year and placements over 900 pounds up 2.7 percent year over year.  September feedlot placements were lower in Texas (down 8.9 percent year over year), Kansas, down 11.9 percent and Colorado, down 4.5 percent from last year.  However, placements in Nebraska were up 8.3 percent year over year in September.  

 

Feedlot marketings in September were up 4.0 percent year over year with increased marketings in Nebraska, up 10.3 percent, and Kansas, up 4.6 percent and Colorado unchanged from last year. Marketings from Texas feedlots were down 1.2 percent year over year in September.  Total feedlot marketings in the past six months have averaged 1.4 percent higher year over year. 

 

Fed cattle slaughter in 2022 has averaged 0.9 percent higher year over year, with steer slaughter down 1.6 percent and heifer slaughter up 5.0 percent compared to last year.  Labor issues in the beef packing industry appear to have improved as average daily (Monday-Friday) fed slaughter totals have increased 3.5 percent year over year.  Daily fed slaughter reached 100,212 head on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, topping 100,000 head for the first time since December 2013.  Daily fed slaughter has exceeded 100,000 head twelve times this year.  Average Saturday fed slaughter is down 24.8 percent year over year in 2022. This another indication that labor issues have improved as packers have relied less on Saturday slaughter despite increased total slaughter.   

  

Drought has forced more cattle into feedlots in 2022, keeping placements higher and maintaining larger feedlot inventories than otherwise would have been the case.  The 12-month moving average of feedlot inventories decreased this month for the first time since October 2021.  The latest cattle on feed report suggests that these temporary impacts may have run their course which will lead to decreasing feedlot totals and reduced marketings going forward.

 

 

Should I Cull My Bulls? (Is It Time to Seize Financial and Genetic Opportunity?) 

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

 

Bulls are like professional athletes.  Once properly developed they reach full servicing capacity and have a prime of several breeding seasons (between the ages of 2 to 5) and after the age of 6, they are on borrowed time.  For each Tom Brady, winning Super Bowl Championships past the age of 40, there are hundreds of the likes of Joe Namath, who peaked early winning a Super Bowl at 26 before knee injuries cut his career short and left him ineffective before the age of 30.  Bottomline: the life of a herd bull is full of perils.  Mounting and breeding cows in all sorts of terrain, working on mud, sand, rocks, snow, potentially fighting with other herd bulls and the natural service of each female could lead to injury of feet, legs and sex organs.  Over time, even the soundest and most athletic are going get injured, become more cantankerous and unsafe to have around, or potentially fail a Breeding Soundness Exam (BSE).  

 

Consider:

• If you have a spring calving cow herd, your bull or bulls are currently “off-duty” for the next 6-8 months.  If your bull weighs 2,000 pounds and will eat 2% of his body weight in forage dry matter hay each day that is a daily intake of 40 pounds.  Over the next 200 days while your bull is “off duty” he will consume about 4 ton, or 8000 pounds of forage dry matter.  If his nutritional requirements will be met with hay valued at $200/ton that is $800 in feed cost between now and turn-out next spring.
• Salvage value of the bull.  The USDA Market Report this week indicates a salvage value of approximately $1.00 per pound or roughly $2,000 for a 2,000 pound bull.
• As a result of successful selection programs in the purebred sector, younger bulls purchased as yearlings next spring will have the genetic advantage.  The table of Genetic Trend below shows the average EPDs by year of birth for Angus cattle.  The improvement in genetic potential for calving ease, growth, milk, marbling and muscle is evident over time and indicative of the genetic trend in all beef breeds.  

 

 

Assess the ages of your herd bulls and current feed costs.  Culling older herd bulls now and re-populating with young bulls next spring can add long-term genetic advantages beyond just the savings in winter feed bills.  The salvage value plus the savings in feed cost should cover a sizable portion of investing in younger, genetically superior bulls next spring.        

 

References: 

Angus Sire Summary. Fall 2022

 

USDA Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction Summary AMS Livestock, Poultry & Grain Market News, Oklahoma Dept. of Ag Mrkt News. Friday, October 14, 2022 

 

 

Long-Term Cost of Respiratory Disease during Weaning and Backgrounding

Paul Beck, Oklahoma State University State Extension Beef Nutrition Specialist

 

Health of incoming cattle to backgrounders and feedlots continues to be a major issue. Today we have better vaccines, better antibiotics, and better genetics than ever before, but the health outcomes, sick pull rates and mortality, have not improved over the last 30 years. Many times, disease infections can occur in one segment of the industry but not present clinically until the cattle are stressed during transfer to a subsequent beef production segment in the supply chain.

 

An analysis of the performance and carcass quality costs of bovine respiratory disease during finishing conducted at Oklahoma State University showed that days on feed increased while slaughter weight, carcass weights, and carcass quality decreased when steers required BRD treatment once, twice, or three or more times during receiving. Hot carcass weights of cattle three or more times were 42 pounds lighter than carcasses from calves that did not require treatment. The percentage choice decreased from 70% for untreated calves to 36% for calves treated 3 or more times. Total cost of BRD (including labor, cost of antibiotic, reduced production and carcass quality, and increased days of feed) was $37/head, $166/head, and $230/head for cattle treated once, twice, and three or more times.

 

Costs in the stocker industry can be just as big. An analysis was conducted including 12 stocker receiving trials from Oklahoma, Arkansas and Mississippi where over 1,300 steers and bulls were received and followed through grazing on cool-season pastures. The average BRD morbidity was 57% with 25% requiring a second treatment and 9.5% pulled and treated three or more times. During receiving, untreated calves gained 2.3 pounds per day, daily gains decreased to 2.1, 1.6, and 1.5 pounds/day for calves treated once, twice, or three or more times. Daily gains on pasture were not affected for calves treated only once (2.2 lbs/day), yet pasture gains of calves treated 2 or more times decreased to 2.0 lbs/day. During the entire ownership period (Receiving + Grazing) daily gains were 2.3 pounds for untreated, 2.1 for those treated once, 1.8 for those treated twice, and 1.7 for those treated three or more times. These calves appeared healthy when placed on grass, chronics (any calves that appeared to be chronically morbid to BRD) were not included in this analysis. Even yet, calves that were treated for BRD two or more times were affected significantly during grazing and over the ownership period.

 

Calves in this analysis that grazed wheat pastures at the OSU Marshall Wheat Pasture Research Unit for 86 days were finished at the OSU Willard Sparks Beef Research Center, this shows the long-term impacts of cattle health from the stocker receiving period on performance during finishing. Bull and steer calves weighing 498 pounds went through a 35 day receiving period with 66% BRD morbidity and 31% being treated twice for BRD. When cattle were tracked from receiving, through a stocker grazing period, and into the finishing hot carcass weight, rib eye area and marbling were reduced with increasing BRD treatments. 

 

Performance reductions due to health issues do not generally result in compensatory gain during the stocker grazing period and result in lifetime reductions in performance and beef production. Early intervention and treatment for respiratory disease is essential for first treatment success. Long-term costs to performance and carcass quality is low if early treatments are successful. Health will continue to be a problem for calves sold after simply removing calves from dams with no weaning or preconditioning process. Preconditioning programs where calves are weaned for at least 45-days, dewormed and given clostridial and BRD vaccinations has been proven to decrease BRD morbidity by 90% or more, providing significant benefit to the buyer.