Cow-Calf Corner: Global trade of US meat; Schedule breeding soundness exams soon

March 13, 2017
Global trade of U.S. meat
By Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension livestock marketing specialist
The increased role of trade in the last decade for beef, pork and poultry highlights the importance of trade to all the meat markets. While trade of the meats individually is the focus of each industry, it is apparent that all meat sectors are increasingly affected by the trade of each meat.  This is especially the case when trade policies that will affect all meats are considered. Changes or disruptions in trade of individual meats often has impacts on other meats in various international markets and has impacts on domestic meat supplies, consumption and prices in U.S. markets.
Net exports of combined beef, pork and poultry have increased over time.  Imports of all meat have been relatively constant at about 4.7 percent of domestic meat production since 1960.  1992 was the first year that meat exports exceeded meat imports resulting in positive net meat exports. Exports of meat have averaged 12.3 percent of production since 1992 compared to 1.3 percent from 1960 to 1991.  Exports of meat exceeded five percent of production for the first time in 1992 and grew rapidly for beef, pork and poultry in the 1990s with total meat exports exceeding 10 percent of production by 1996.  Total meat exports have exceeded double-digit percentages of production since 1996 except for 2004, which dropped briefly to 9.5 percent of total production (largely due to reduced beef exports as a result of BSE).  With lower meat imports in recent years and continued strong exports, net meat exports have exceeded double-digit levels since 2008, averaging 12.0 percent from 2008-2016 with exports averaging 16.1 percent and imports averaging 4.1 percent of production.  2016 net meat exports were 11.0 percent of domestic production, up from 2015 levels but lower than peak net exports of 13.7 percent in 2011 and 2012.  Net meat exports are expected to continue improving year over year in 2017 with exports increasing and imports declining year over year.  Net meat exports are projected to approach 12 percent of production in 2017 assuming no unexpected changes or disruptions.  Any number of disease incidents or political changes in the U.S. or globally could impact this forecast.
The top five countries for total meat exports in 2016 were: Mexico (23.6 percent); Japan (12.9 percent); Canada (8.3 percent); South Korea (6.3 percent) and Hong Kong (5.4 percent).  The top five countries accounted for 56.5 percent of meat exports with the NAFTA market accounting for 31.9 percent and the three Asian markets accounting for 24.6 percent of total meat exports.  These five countries accounted for 82.6 percent of beef exports; 74.7 percent of pork exports and 32.2 percent of poultry exports.  All five countries were important markets for beef, pork and poultry in 2016, with the exception of no poultry exports to Japan and less than five percent of total poultry exports going to South Korea. Other important markets tend to be dominated by individual meats.  For example, 85.7 percent of Caribbean meat exports are poultry (4.7 percent of total meat exports); China, 99 percent is pork (3.5 percent of total meat exports); and Taiwan, 87.7 percent is beef (1.1 percent of total meat exports).
Meat imports are heavily dominated by beef imports, which accounted for 71.1 percent of meat imports in 2016.  Pork accounted for another 25.8 percent of meat imports.  Beef trade is much more complex than other meats with many diverse product markets and the massive impact of the ground beef market.  In 2016, it is estimated that 45 percent of U.S. domestic beef consumption was ground beef.  An estimated 71 percent of beef imports were trimmings used for ground beef; with imported trimmings providing about 48 percent of the lean trimmings needed for ground beef production.
 
Schedule the breeding soundness exams soon
by Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension animal scientist
Although the spring calving season may still be ongoing, the next breeding season is only a few weeks away.  Now is the time to schedule the old and new bulls for their pre-breeding soundness examination.
For the breeding soundness evaluation to be successful, bulls should be evaluated 30 to 60 days before the start of breeding.  It is important to allow sufficient time to replace questionable bulls.  Bulls could also be evaluated at the end of breeding to determine if their fertility decreased.  A breeding soundness exam is administered by a veterinarian and includes a physical examination (feet, legs, eyes, teeth, flesh cover, scrotal size and shape), an internal and external examination of the reproductive tract, and semen evaluation for sperm cell motility and normality.
The physical examination studies overall appearance.  Flesh cover is one factor to evaluate.  Body condition can be affected by length of the breeding season, grazing and supplemental feeding conditions, number of cows the bull is expected to service and distance required to travel during breeding.  Ideally, bulls should have enough fat cover at the start of breeding so their ribs appear smooth across their sides.  A body condition score 6 (where 1 = emaciated and 9 = very obese) is the target body condition prior to the breeding season.
Sound feet and legs are very important because if they are unsound, this can result in the inability to travel and mount for mating.  The general health of the bull is critical since sick, aged and injured bulls are less likely to mate and usually have lower semen quality.  The external examination of the reproductive tract includes evaluation of the testes, spermatic cords and epididymis.  Scrotal circumference is an important measure since it is directly related to the total mass of sperm producing tissue, sperm cell normality and the onset of puberty in the bull.  Bulls with large circumference will produce more sperm with higher normality and also reach sexual maturity sooner.
Examination of the external underline before and during semen collection will detect any inflammation, foreskin adhesions, warts, abscesses and penile deviations.  The internal examination is conducted to detect any abnormalities in the internal reproductive organs.  Also, be certain to ask your veterinarian about the need to test the bulls for the reproductive disease, trichomoniasis.  Learn more about this disease by downloading and reading OSU Fact Sheet VTMD-9134 “Bovine Trichomoniasis”.
The semen evaluation is done by examining a sample of the semen under a microscope.  The veterinarian will estimate the percentage of sperm cells that are moving in a forward direction.  This estimate is called “motility”.  In addition, the sperm cells will be individually examined for proper shape or “morphology”.  Less than 30 percent of the cells should be found to have an abnormal shape.
Any bull meeting all minimum standards for the physical exam, scrotal size and semen quality will be classed as a “satisfactory” potential breeder. Many bulls that fail any minimum standard will be given a rating of “classification deferred.”   This rating indicates that the bull will need another test to confirm status.  Mature bulls (that were listed as classification deferred) should be retested after four to six weeks.  Mature bulls will be classified as unsatisfactory potential breeders if they fail subsequent tests.  Young bulls that are just reaching puberty may be rated as “classification deferred”, and then later meet all of the minimum standards.  Therefore caution should be exercised when making culling decisions based on just one breeding soundness exam.
Many producers work hard to manage their cows for high fertility.  They may assume that the bulls will do their expected duties.  However, it’s important to pay close attention to bulls to establish successful breeding.
For a video clip of this topic as presented on Sunup, visit https://youtu.be/2rmI5YwmxUY
Cow-Calf Corner is a weekly electronic newsletter by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Agency.