Beef Exports Face Continued Headwinds

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

 

For the first half of the year, beef exports decreased 4.5 percent year over year.  This follows a 14.3 percent year over year decrease in 2023, down from record beef exports in 2022. Beef exports continue to follow current market conditions of declining beef production and higher domestic beef prices.  These, combined with a generally strong dollar, have pressured beef exports lower, as expected.

 

Beef exports in the January – June period were down in most major beef export destinations, but by varying degrees.  The top three beef export markets, Japan, South Korea, and China/Hong Kong were down by 1.8 percent, 13.4 percent and 11.0 percent year over year, respectively.  These along with Taiwan, down 8.3 percent from last year, account for 73.9 percent of total beef exports in the first half of 2024.

 

Number four Mexico is an exception with U.S. beef exports to Mexico up 14.7 percent year over year.  This follows a 12.2 percent year over year increase in 2023.  Mexico currently accounts for 11.2 percent of total beef exports.  The growth in beef exports to Mexico follows a significant decline from 2020 through 2022.  In 2019, Mexico was the number three beef export market with a 14.0 percent share of total U.S. beef exports.  Beef exports to Mexico have been helped since 2020 by increasing strength of the Mexican Peso to the U.S. dollar.  However, since the beginning of August, the Peso has weakened against the dollar to the lowest level in more than 18 months, which could temper beef exports to Mexico in the last half of the year.  Canada is the number five market for beef exports, down 2.1 percent year over year for the first six months of 2024, and accounting for 8.7 percent of total beef exports.

 

Canada and Mexico are also major sources of beef imports.  Canada is the largest source, accounting for 22.9 percent of beef imports.  Mexico is the number four beef import source, accounting for 12.8 percent of beef imports in the January – June period.  This bilateral trade highlights the fact that beef trade flows consist of many different products that move into distinct markets in each country.  This is true for all beef exports, with each destination representing demands for specific products.  The beef industry produces a vast array of different beef products of differing qualities.  Both beef exports and imports enhance the value of U.S. beef production by improving the balance of supply and demand for various beef products in U.S. and international markets.

 

Derrell Peel, OSU Extension livestock marketing specialist, explains why beef production is not slowing down as quickly as expected on SunUPTV from August 3, 2024.

 

 

Birdshot in Beef: The Hidden Defect

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

 

Birdshot or shotgun shell pellets have been found and reported in the beef supply since the first National Beef Quality Audit in the early 1990s and the incidence of this foreign material in the beef we produce is not subsiding. In fact, the opposite may be true.

 

According to the 2022 National Beef Quality Audit, birdshot is a problem, with 100% of packing plants reporting Buckshot/Birdshot in beef from market cows and bulls. There are roughly 28 categories of items that are documented each year as foreign material in beef carcasses. Most of those items are found once to 15 times each on an annual basis and consist of large and easily identifiable objects. Birdshot, however, is found around 105 times a year and well over two times the rate of any other foreign object.

 

For context, if a ground beef processor makes 5 million ground beef patties each day, a defect rate of 1% would lead to 50,000 patties of wasted beef. A defect rate of 0.1% is 5,000 patties. A single incidence of birdshot found in the processing lines cost $10,000 in lost product and downtime. Why so much? If a pellet made it through the grinder, one pellet may have been sheared into numerous pieces that are barely detectable. 

 

Bottomline: hunters are not causing this problem, there are some out there handling their cattle with shotguns. This is not only poor animal handling, but also inhumane. Buckshot will not bounce off cattle and somehow go away. No matter how stupid or waspy cows and bulls might act, they should not be shot at whether intentionally or by accident.

 

We need everyone on board to get the message out in producer meetings, educational programming, and word of mouth. If we focus on promoting the Right Way mentality of Beef Quality Assurance, we can make a difference. Ultimately, birdshot, needles, darts, and other foreign objects in beef are a food safety issue. Any abuse of animals is not acceptable and shotguns are not a cattle handling tool. This needs to stop!  

 

References:

A Black Spot in the Cattle Industry that’s Impossible to Chew. Jason Duggin, UGA Beef Extension Specialist. Michaela Clowser, NCBA’s Director of Producer Education. Dr. Patty Scharko, Clemson Extension Veterinarian.

 

Right Way. Right Time. A Guide to Cull Cattle Management. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

 

The Beef Quality Assurance Team and OSU Cooperative Extension Service hosted a hands-on workshop to share the latest knowledge will soon be available through your local county OSU extension office. The story from SunUPTV on August 12, 2024.

 

 

Understanding Forage Quality Analysis

Brian Freking, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service Southeast Regional Livestock Specialist

 

Ruminant animals are naturally meant to consume a diet based on forage or roughage.  Pasture and hay should usually make up most of the diet.  When purchasing hay, many people may utilize visual quality such as greenness, free of weeds, more leaves than stems but we should strive to know the nutrient content.

 

 

Sample Report

This report has been run for a basic analysis which provides protein and moisture, acid detergent fiber (ADF), total digestible nutrients (TDN), Net Energy for maintenance, lactation, and gain.   Once moisture content is determined, we only want to focus on the Dry Basis column for accurate nutrient comparisons.

 

Moisture %

The ideal moisture for hay will range from 10% to 20% with approximately 15% being ideal. Moisture above 20% can lead to risk of mold formation and potential for spontaneous combustion.

 

Crude Protein

(CP) is usually what most people look at when evaluating a feed ingredient.  Total nitrogen is the fraction of the plant including true protein and non-protein nitrogen.  Crude Protein in forages is simply calculated by multiplying total nitrogen by 6.25.

 

Acid Detergent Fiber

(ADF,%) is a sub-fraction of Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF,%) which was not run on this report.  NDF is the whole fibrous fraction (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin) plus small amount of silica and minerals that constitute most of the plant cell wall.  ADF is composed of cellulose, lignin and a minor amount of silica and minerals.  Both ADF and NDF give us an idea of the amount of fiber.  The more mature the plant becomes, the higher the amount of fiber it will contain.  We refer to these values as being negatively correlated.  The higher the ADF value the less digestible the forage will be broken down in the digestive tract.  The higher the NDF value is negatively correlated with forage intake, so the higher the number, intake will be reduced.

 

Total Digestible Nutrients

(TDN,%) is a simple measure of energy consumption expressed as a fraction and is calculated from ADF.  TDN tends to overestimate the energy value of roughages compared to concentrates (grains).  It still is a good measure of performance predictability based on its value.

 

The California Net Energy System provides improved predictability of productive response of animals, depending on whether feed energy is being used for maintenance (NEm), growth (NEg) or lactation (NEl).  Since this system is more complicated most people rely more on the TDN value.

 

In summary, high-quality forage is the end product of good growing conditions, correct harvest timing and proper handling and storage from harvesting to utilization.  Knowing the nutrient contents goes a long way in managing the performance of livestock.  Please, get that hay tested!