• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association

Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association

To Honor and Protect the Ranching Way of Life

  • Who We Are
    • Why Join
    • Leadership
    • Staff
    • TSCRA Partners
    • FAQs
    • Newsroom
    • Sponsorships
    • Employment
  • What We Do
    • Theft and Law
    • Issues and Policy
    • Education
    • Young Cattle Raisers
    • The Cattleman Magazine
    • Disaster Relief Fund
    • Cattle Raisers Insurance
    • Cattle Raisers Trading Co
  • Events
    • Cattle Raisers Convention
    • Summer Meeting
    • Policy Conference
    • Ranch Gatherings
    • Ranching 101
  • Member Center
    • Join
    • Renew
    • Instructions
  • TSCRA Store
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Expert: Cattlemen should be 'steeling' for the future

Source: AgriLife Today
Cow-calf producers have made some money and now need to be “steeling” for what is to come, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialist said.
Dr. Ted McCollum, AgriLife Extension beef specialist in Amarillo, spoke at the Amarillo Farm and Ranch Show recently. He said the definition of steeling as a verb is “to prepare oneself for something difficult or unpleasant.”

Preparing for the future should be a primary concern of cow-calf producers. Texas A&M Agriculture Communications photo by Kay Ledbetter
Preparing for the future should be a primary concern of cow-calf producers. Texas A&M Agriculture Communications photo by Kay Ledbetter

“We are just out of the drought of the decades and rangeland recovery is underway,” McCollum said. “But the strong El Nino is over next spring and we could revert back to dry conditions very quickly.”
The question is whether conditions will return to the long-term normal or “do we run the risk of dry weather,” he said. Couple that with the end of a long bull cattle market that is settling back into a lower trading range, a strong dollar that is hampering exports and incentivizing imports, and large meat supplies after both the poultry and pork industries overcompensated to recover from bouts with disease issues.
“Where will the trading range be for the calves we are producing? The price of cows and replacements hit all-time highs,” McCollum said. “On average, cow-calf returns are still good. We, the cow-calf producers, have some money in our pockets and need to be investing in the future.”
He said some measures to be taken at this time of profitability would be those that will help maintain productivity during the drier times: improve rangeland resources by building ground cover and improving water infiltration, manage woody plant competition, and enhance grazing distribution by improving water and fencing layouts.
“Set some money aside to invest in these rangeland resources,” McCollum said. “The longer we wait to do some of these things, the more the cost will be, especially on suppression of woody plant competition such as mesquite and redberry juniper.”
He also said that the investment in cows today is relatively high, and producers need to set themselves up to maintain productivity and profitability from those high-value assets. This will require efficient cows able to convert forage resources to pounds of calf or beef.
The continued increase in cow size has been a point of discussion in the industry for several years, McCollum said. As cow size increases, more land and forage resources must be allocated to the cow, thus the herd size that can be maintained on a finite resource is reduced.
The question of efficiency revolves around whether the larger cows will wean proportionately heavier calves to offset the reduced herd size, he said. Based on averages, this is not the case.
Producers need to strive to reduce the upward drift of cow weight on their operations or manage the larger cows so that their production is proportional to their size, McCollum said. In either case, bull selection and sourcing of replacement heifers will be focal areas.
He also recommended producers study “Key Performance Indicator Targets for Cow-Calf Operators” by Stan Bevers, AgriLife Extension beef economist in Vernon. Bevers outlines 15 indicators of financial performance that will help producers evaluate their operations and prepare for the future.
The booklet can be found at http://bit.ly/1N8Wqtm.

Written by:
kristin
Published on:
December 7, 2015

Categories: General

Recent Posts

Crime Watch: Cattle missing near Cuero

January 30, 2023

Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Special Robert Fields, District 25 in Southeast …

Continue Reading about Crime Watch: Cattle missing near Cuero

Cow-calf Corner: Cattle feeding in Ontario, Canada

January 30, 2023

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

Continue Reading about Cow-calf Corner: Cattle feeding in Ontario, Canada

Crime Watch: Bull missing in Starr County

January 30, 2023

Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Special Ranger Joe Aguilar Jr., District 29 in …

Continue Reading about Crime Watch: Bull missing in Starr County

Footer

Who We Are

Why Join
Leadership
Staff
TSCRA Partners
FAQs
Newsroom
Sponsorships
Employment

What We Do

Theft and Law
Issues and Policy
Education
Young Cattle Raisers
The Cattleman Magazine
Cattle Raisers Insurance
Cattle Raisers Trading Co.
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association

Information

Cattle Raisers Blog
News Releases
Bereavements
Events
Media Kit
Tip Hotline
Get Involved
Links

Membership

Membership Center
Membership Center Instructions
Join
Renew
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

PO BOX 101988
FORT WORTH, TX 76185

1-800-242-7820

© 2023 Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association; All Rights Reserved.

COPYRIGHT | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS OF USE