Beef Trade Update

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

 

The latest trade data shows March beef exports down 8.2 percent year over year and down 5.9 percent for the first quarter of 2024.  This follows a 14.3 percent decrease year over year in 2023 beef exports.  Japan is the largest market thus far in 2024 with exports down 5.1 percent year over year in March and down 10.8 percent in the first three months of the year.  Japan has a 22.7 share of total exports thus far in 2024.  South Korea is the number two beef export market with a 21.8 percent share of the total.  Beef exports to South Korea were down 13.7 percent in March and down 8.8 percent in the first quarter of the year.  Beef exports to China/Hong Kong were down 8.2 percent in March and down 4.7 percent for the January- March period.  China/Hong Kong is the third largest beef export market this year with an 18.6 percent share.

 

Mexico is the fourth largest beef export and the only major market growing in 2024.  Beef exports to Mexico were down 5.3 percent in March but are up 11.7 percent year over year in the first quarter.  Mexico was the only major market with increased beef exports in 2023 as well.  Canada is the number five beef export market with exports down 4.0 percent in March and down 2.7 for the first quarter of the year.  Canada has a 7.8 percent share of total beef exports thus far in 2024.  Taiwan is the sixth largest beef export market with a 5.1 percent share of the total in the first quarter.  Beef exports to Taiwan were down 33.3 percent in March and are down 17.3 percent year over year in the first three months of the year.

 

Total beef imports in March were up 10.6 percent and are up 25.0 percent year over year in the first quarter of the year.  This follows a 9.9 percent year over year increase in beef imports in 2023.  Canada is the largest source of beef imports and was up 20.2 percent in March and up 12.8 percent for the first three months of the year.  Brazil is the number two source of beef imports with March imports down 26.6 percent year over year and the first quarter total up 24.8 percent.  Australia is the third largest source of beef imports with March imports up 117.2 percent and January-March total imports up 112.9 percent.  New Zealand is the number four beef import source with March imports up 7.0 percent and total first quarter imports up 32.0 percent year over year.  Mexico is the fifth largest beef import source with March imports declining by 20.6 percent and a first quarter total down 18.2 percent year over year.  Mexico is the only major beef import source that is decreasing in 2023.  Uruguay is the number six beef imports source, up 28.6 percent in March and up 68.3 percent for the first quarter of the year.

 

 

Foot Rot  

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

 

Recent rains in parts of Oklahoma have led to many beef producers seeing a high incidence of foot rot in beef herds. Foot rot is an acute or sub-acute necrotic (decaying) infectious disease which causes swelling and lameness in at least one foot. The disease can cause severe lameness, decreased weight gain and lower milk production. Lame bulls and females will be reluctant to breed. If treatment is delayed, deeper structures of the foot may become infected, leading to chronic disease and poor recovery prognosis. Severely affected animals may need to be culled. The incidence of foot rot varies according to the weather, season of the year, grazing conditions and housing environment. Approximately 20% of all diagnosed lameness in cattle is actually foot rot.

 

Cause

Fusobacterium necrophorum is the bacterium most often isolated from infected feet. This organism is present on healthy skin, but it needs injury or wet skin to enter the deeper tissue. F. necrophorum appears to act cooperatively with other bacteria, such as Porphyromonas levii, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Truperella pyogenes, thereby decreasing the infective dose of F. necrophorum necessary to cause disease. Prevotella intermedia has also been implicated as causative agent for foot rot.

 

Normal healthy skin will not allow the bacteria to enter the deeper tissues. Moisture, nutrient deficiency, injury or disease can result in compromised skin or hoof wall integrity, increasing the likelihood of the bacteria invading the skin. Deficiencies of zinc, selenium and copper can lead to higher frequency of foot rot infections due to the important role these trace minerals play in skin and hoof integrity as well as immune function. Injury is often caused by walking on abrasive or rough surfaces such as stony ground, sharp gravel and grazing stubble on recently mowed pasture, which may irritate the interdigital skin. Standing in pens or lots heavily contaminated with feces and urine softens the skin and provides high exposure to the causative bacteria. High temperatures and humidity will also cause the skin to chap and crack, leaving it susceptible to bacterial invasion.

 

Clinical Signs

Foot rot occurs in all ages of cattle, with increased incidences during wet, humid conditions. When case incidence increases in hot and dry conditions, attention must be directed to loafing areas, which are often crowded and extremely wet from urine and feces deposited in small shaded areas. The first signs of foot rot include:

• Extreme pain leading to sudden onset of lameness, which increases in severity as the disease progresses.
• Acute swelling and redness of interdigital tissues and adjacent coronary band.
• Lesions in the interdigital space are often necrotic along its edges and have a characteristic foul odor.
• Evenly distributed swelling around both digits and the hairline of the hoof, leading to separation of the claws.
• Loss of appetite.

 

Treatment

Treatment of foot rot is usually successful, especially when started early. Treatment should always begin with cleaning and examining the foot to establish that lameness is actually due to foot rot. A veterinarian may advise recommended antibiotics and dosages for each situation. Use of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory product may be indicted for pain relief. There are multiple antimicrobial products labeled for the treatment of foot rot. These products should be used rather than using another product in an extra-label manner. A product specifically labelled for pain associated with foot rot is now available.

 

When possible, affected animals should be kept in dry areas until healed. If improvement is not evident within three to four days, it may be an indication that the infection has invaded the deeper tissues. Infections not responding to initial treatments need to be re-evaluated by a veterinarian in a timely manner. 

 

Prevention

Prevention and control of foot rot begins with management of the environment. Prevention of mechanical damage to the foot caused by frozen or dried mud, brush stubble and gravel is desirable. Minimize animals’ exposure to sharp plant stubble and sharp gravel. Attempt to minimize the time cattle must spend standing in wet areas. Pens should be well-drained and frequently scraped. Areas around ponds, feed bunks and water tanks should be maintained to minimize mud and manure.

 

Summary

Foot rot is a major cause of lameness in cattle and can have a severe economic impact on animal health, animal performance and enterprise profitability. Skin and hoof lesions allow bacteria to invade live tissue. Therefore, the most important preventive measures are centered on the protection of interdigital skin health. Important preventative measures include a well-balanced mineral nutrition program and minimizing exposure to conditions that may cause skin or hoof injury. Treatment is frequently successful if the disease is diagnosed and treated soon after symptoms develop.

 

Reference: Foot Rot in Cattle. OSU Cooperative Extension Fact Sheet AFS-3355

 

 

The Long-Term Consequences of Receiving Bulls in a Stocker Program during Grazing and Finishing 

Paul Beck, Oklahoma State University State Beef Cattle Nutrition Specialist 

 

Intact bulls often receive price discounts at auction markets. Last week we looked at the impacts of leaving bull calves intact on performance and health during receiving. Estimates of discounts range from $5/hundred pounds up to $11.25/hundred pounds from past market survey reports. However, recent USDA livestock auction reports from the Southeast Arkansas Department of Ag Mkt News, April 10, 2024 show discounts of $16.50/hundred pounds for 400 to 500 pound bulls. These discounts at auction markets signal producers to castrate male calves before marketing. 

 

We analyzed receiving records from Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma and found that bulls were 2.4-times more likely to be pulled and treated for bovine respiratory disease (BRD), 1.2-times more likely to be a chronic, and 2.3-times more likely to die from BRD than steers and gained ½ pound less per day. This made the receiving cost of bulls to be $64 per head more than steers.  Bulls are less productive and more expensive to receive than steers, but how long do these impacts last?

 

Tracking calves after receiving onto high quality pastures showed that calves treated for BRD were lighter when they started grazing and remained lighter at the end of grazing. For instance, calves that never required treatment for BRD weighed 550 pounds at the start of grazing and gained 2.5 pounds per day compared to 2.4 pounds per day for calves treated for BRD. Calves only treated once for BRD were 18 pounds lighter (532 lbs) where calves treated twice for BRD weighed 517 pounds at turnout and calves that required a third BRD treatment weighed only 504 pounds at turnout. With no compensatory gain the differences in bodyweight due to BRD at turnout on grass were still present following grazing.

 

A smaller subset of calves was followed through finishing after the grazing phase. Lifetime performance from initial receiving through the stocker grazing phase and finishing was still impacted by health during receiving prior to the stocker phase many weeks earlier. This resulted in reduced bodyweight at harvest as well as reduced hot carcass weight and increased the days on feed required to reach harvest. Only calves that were deemed healthy and fully recovered from BRD after the receiving period were used in the grazing phase and were further selected for health status after grazing when followed through finishing. 

 

Bovine respiratory disease has long-term implications on performance not only during the receiving period but also impacts BW and productivity through the stocker grazing phase and finishing. Decreased performance and carcass quality along with increased days on feed to reach similar carcass endpoints were apparent even following an extended grazing period.

 

The cost of bulls during the receiving period through increased health issues and reduced performance indicate that larger discounts are likely needed for equal profitability to steer calves.

 

 

Establishing Native Grasses

Mike Trammell, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service Southeast Area Agronomy Specialist

 

Establishing a native grass pasture can be an intimidating process. The pros relative to native perennial pasture grasses are noteworthy – low demand for fertilizer after establishment, drought hardiness if properly grazed, diversity, and increased wildlife habitat, to list a few. On the other hand, after the cons are considered - low germination and seedling survival rate, low seedling vigor, low tolerance to competition, and general unpredictability of stand success (not to mention lower stocking rates) - few producers decide to attempt a native grass planting. However, successful establishment can occur through attention to detail during the establishment process. The following are key steps to guide producers who want to establish a new stand of native grass.

 

1. Identify the species of native grasses found on good condition native range sites of your soil type. The quickest means to find this information is on the Web Soil Survey. This entails locating your property or area of interest (AOI) on the interactive map and finding the plant community like your ecological site description or the desired plant community. The listed native grasses include both high and lower successional grasses. Most of these grasses should be included in the seed mixture.
2. Soil test! If soils are deficient in phosphorus or potassium, or have a low pH, these deficiencies will need to be corrected prior to planting. 
3. Eliminate competition prior to planting. Native grass seedlings are not tolerant of competition. Difficult to control species such as bermudagrass, johnsongrass, crabgrass and annual ryegrass may require several tillage operations or herbicide treatments during the growing season to reduce seedling competition.
4. Prepare a smooth, firm, weed free seedbed. The soil should be worked to a depth of 3 to 5 inches until it is free of clods. The use of a drag or harrow behind the last tillage improves the smoothness and uniformity of the field. Follow with a packer or other packing implement to firm the seedbed. 
5. Purchase a seed mixture similar to the plants listed in the Web Soil Survey ecological site of the targeted planting area. Include the mid-successional species in equal proportion to the high successional species. The mid-successional species will often emerge earlier and in greater frequency during the first growing season. Plant the mixture at a seeding rate of about 10 pounds per acre or more of pure live seed (PLS). Always purchase your seed from a reputable seed dealer. There are several regional seed sources for native grass seeds. 
6. In Oklahoma, native warm season grasses should be seeded between March 15 and May 15 to capitalize on favorable moisture patterns. Some successful seedings have been obtained after June 1, but the chances for success decrease rapidly after that date. Native cool-season grasses (wheatgrasses) should be planted in September or October. Use a calibrated seeder designed to handle native grass seeds. Air-flow seeders, Brillion seeders and other seeders with agitators running through a seed box designed to manage "fluffy" seeds work well. Calibrate the drill to ensure a proper seeding rate. Seed should be planted at a depth of about 1/4 inch. 
7. Control weed competition throughout the growing season. Most native grasses will not germinate until soil temperatures reach 60 F. Broadleaf weeds emerge soon thereafter. If the grassy weeds have been eliminated, broadleaf weeds will be the main competition. Manage weeds by mowing or treatment with an appropriate herbicide when weeds reach about 2-4 inches in height or before they begin to shade emerging grasses. 
8. Avoid grazing new stands during the establishment year or lightly (top) graze only after plants are well established. A full growing season of grazing or haying deferment will allow new plants to develop a good root system. Always leave adequate residual height during grazing events even in subsequent years, and remember, ‘take half, leave half’ is a good rule to follow when grazing native grasses.