On this Memorial Day, take a few minutes to honor and mourn the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. 

 

Feedlot Inventories Below Last Year

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

 

The latest USDA Cattle on Feed report pegged May 1 feedlot inventories at 11.554 million head, down 0.9 percent from one year ago. This is the first year over year decrease in feedlot inventories in eight months (Figure 1). Feedlots typically see a consistent seasonal pattern in inventories with peaks in the November to February period and summer lows in July-September. The average seasonal decrease from peak to trough has averaged just under 900,000 head in the past five years. The May 1 inventory is down 462,000 head from the recent December 2023 peak. Feedlot inventories are expected to decrease seasonally for another three months or so, but the more important question may be the extent to which feedlot inventories will increase for the next seasonal peak. 

 

The top four cattle feeding states all have May 1 inventories lower year over year. Texas has the largest inventory at 2.77 million head, down 0.7 percent from last year. Nebraska is number two with an inventory of 2.51 million, down 1.2 percent year over year. Kansas is the third largest cattle feeding state with a May 1 inventory of 2.30 million head, down 5.7 percent from one year ago. Colorado is number four with 0.950 million head, down 3.1 percent year over year. The top four feedlot states represent 73.8 percent of total inventories in feedlots with 1000 head or more of capacity. Other cattle feeding states, in descending order, include Iowa, California, Idaho, Oklahoma, Arizona, South Dakota, and Washington.

 

April feedlot placements were 1.656 million head, down 5.8 percent year over year and the smallest April placement total since the pandemic reductions in April 2020. In the first four months of 2024, total placements are down 4.3 percent year over year, with placements of cattle weighing less than 800 pounds down 6.7 percent. Placements of cattle weighing 800 pounds and higher are unchanged from one year ago. 

 

April feedlot marketings were 1.872 million head, up 10.1 percent year over year. April 2024 had two more business days compared to last year. After adjusting for the number of days, daily average marketings in April were about equal to April 2023. April marketings were 15.8 percent of the April 1 on-feed inventory, the highest monthly rate since August 2023. Nevertheless, the average marketing rate over the past twelve months remains historically low. Marketings in the first four months of this year are down 0.6 percent year over year. 

 

The slow pace of feedlot marketings continues to push fed cattle weights higher. The latest weekly data shows steer carcass weights at 923 pounds, up 32 pounds compared to one year ago, and heifer carcass weights of 848 pounds, up 28 pounds from one year ago. Increased carcass weights are partially offsetting reduced cattle slaughter and keeping beef production higher than otherwise. For the first 19 weeks of the year, beef production is down 2.1 percent year over year. Earlier forecasts called for 2024 beef production to be down nearly five percent, but those forecasts have been revised due to the heavy carcass weights to a smaller year over year decrease in beef production. 

 

 

Figure 1. The latest USDA Cattle on Feed report.

 

 

Genetics to Improve Profit Potential

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

 

Commercial cow-calf operations should take advantage of both additive and non-additive genetic effects. This can be accomplished in two phases: 1) determining which breeds to incorporate into a well-designed crossbreeding system in order to gain hybrid vigor and breed complementarity; and, 2) selecting sires within those breeds based on strong additive genetic values (in the form of EPDs) for the traits of primary economic importance in your production and marketing system. The results of a well-designed crossbreeding system are primarily realized through the advantages of the crossbred cow.

 

As compared to purebred cows:

• Crossbred cows have 1 - 2 years more longevity in production * Produce more calves and average 600 more pounds of cumulative weaning weight over there lifetime in production.

Crossbred calves, as compared to purebred calves:

• Have a higher calving rate and greater survival rate to weaning * Higher weaning weights, higher ADG and higher yearling weights.

The magnitude of these advantages will vary based on the breeds involved. Bos Taurus crossed to Bos Indicus will respond with higher levels of heterosis for reproduction, growth and carcass traits than Bos Taurus to Bos Taurus crosses. The USDA Meat Animal Research Center's Germplasm Evaluation Program serves as a long-standing resource for current additive genetic differences among beef breeds as well as the non-additive genetic response observed when making specific breed crosses.

 

Crossbreeding for the sake of crossbreeding is not suggested. Selecting the right breeds based on additive genetic strengths and complementarity is critical. A well designed crossbreeding system will require an additional level of management and considerations. Determining if sires will be used as terminal or rotational. If replacement heifers are to be purchased from outside sources or produced from within should be part of the planning process. 

 

References

Blueprint For The Future - Part 2 Cattle Conference. Selection and Mating Panel Discussion. May, 2024 

 

Mark Johnson, OSU Extension beef cattle breeding specialist, discusses economically relevant traits in cattle herds on SunUpTV from May 18, 2024.

 

Supplement Response by Stockers on Summer Grass Depends on Forage Quality

Paul Beck, Oklahoma State University State Extension Beef Nutrition Specialist 

 

The nutritive quality of native range in the Southern Great Plains declines during the mid to late summer. Crude protein and digestibility of the forage increases in the spring as it greens up and starts summer growth beginning in April, peaking in May, and then steadily declines throughout the rest of the year. 

 

Performance of stocker calves on native range declines from highs of 2 pounds/day during early summer to less than one pound per day through the late summer. Deficiency in dietary protein causes dramatic reductions in forage intake and digestibility. A small amount of high protein supplement corrects the protein deficiency increasing both forage intake and forage digestibility when adequate forage is available. Our research indicates that feeding 2 to 2.5 pounds of extruded distiller's grains cube supplement per day (or feeding 5 to 6 pounds/head 3 days per week) to growing calves on native pasture can increase performance in the late summer by 0.75 to 1.0 pounds/day requiring only 2.5 to 3.5 pounds of supplement per pound of added gain. 

 

Bermudagrass and other introduced pasture forages common to eastern Oklahoma and the Southeast do not have the same nutrient profile as native pastures through the summer with crude protein values over 12% even during the late summer. The fiber content of the bermudagrass increases as the summer progresses resulting in reduced forage digestibility and limited performance. Our research in Eastern Oklahoma steers showed feeding 5.8 pounds of supplement 3-days per week (a 2.5 lb/head daily supplement rate) increased gains of growing steers were increased by 0.5 to 0.7 pounds per day, requiring 5.3 and 3.5 pounds of supplement for each pound of added gain, respectively. 

 

Because protein content of the forage is usually adequate for growing calves in the fertilized bermudagrass throughout the summer, steers don't respond to added protein like they do on native range. The increase in performance we saw is through the addition of energy to the diet to offset the reduced digestibility of the forage during the late summer. This decreases the efficiency of supplementation on introduced pastures compared with native range.

 

Supplementation of grazing calves during the late summer can be highly profitable even in years with high input costs. The response by growing stocker calves may not be the same on differing forages and pasture types so the economics of the supplementation program need to be evaluated based on the types of pasture and supplement, the supplement cost, and the margins of the stocker cattle enterprise based on the current markets. 

 

SunUpTV highlighted research on the influence of supplementation and stocking rate on performance and economics of stocker cattle operations at the Marvin Klemme Range Research Station on  October 17, 2020.