Backgrounding can add value, flexibility

How backgrounding may boost feeder calf value

by Morgan Boecker

July 15, 2021

Getting maximum value when marketing cattle is a constantly evolving process that takes careful planning.

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service 2017 data reports 70% or more of beef calves are born in the spring. Come fall, this leaves the glut of 550 pound calves at a prices disadvantage compared to their contemporaries that are held and sold after the first of the year.

Backgrounding calves can open gates to new revenue paths, though not without risk. When more cattle are sent to the grazing fields or grow yards, there’s a shift in the seasonal pattern of the market and more opportunity to take advantage of better prices.

Weight adds dollars

Even for just a couple months, backgrounding can add weight and gross income without using limited grazing resources year-round to stock more cows.

Adding weight may boost income, but requires strategy, says Dan Loy, director of the Iowa Beef Center at Iowa State University. He suggests backgrounding the lighter half of steers to reach heavier average sale weights.

“If you market the heavier ones direct from weaning, and have done that for years, you’ll have a more uniform group,” he says. “That in itself may help the price on those heavier calves.”

If it seems overwhelming to add a backgrounding enterprise, don’t be afraid to hire expertise, says Chad Cargill, of Cargill Ranch LLC, Medicine Lodge, Kan. He provides services for larger cattle feeders at his custom yard, with help from a nutritionist, veterinarian and environmental consultant, plus pharmaceutical representatives.

Every producer has different needs, but the staples are the same. Bunk space with some kind of concrete apron or a grass trap on which feed can be delivered with a mixer wagon, are necessities, as are a chute and working facilities to vaccinate or treat sick calves.

“These resources are a substantial investment but necessary for successful backgrounding,” advises Dale Blasi, extension beef specialist at Kansas State University.

Time boosts health

Calf health is often the highest concern for feedyards, so this also gives calves’ immunity time to get through the most stressful event in their lives.

“To me, backgrounding should include preconditioning,” Loy says. “That verifies health and lets the vaccines kick in, plus getting calves eating out of a bunk and drinking from new waterers.”

The dollar-advantage of weaning is well clear. According to the 2020 Iowa Precondition Sales data, Loy says preconditioned calves vaccinated for respiratory and clostridial disease, treated for parasites and weaned for 45 days brought at least $50 per head more than unweaned contemporaries.

“One issue is easy to handle, but those things together add up to bigger issues,” Cargill says.

As calves mature, their immunity improves. That’s important as natural beef labels and other process verified programs become popular. The biggest challenge for those kinds of programs is ensuring calves’ health so they aren’t disqualified due to antibiotics.

Yesterday’s most valuable feeder calf may only be average moving forward. That’s because buyers still look for groups with uniform weight and hide color, but verification is gaining importance. The market may soon require certified pre-weaned and vaccinated, age-source-and-genetics verified, records for performance and carcass history, along with animal welfare claims.

When it’s time to head down a new road of marketing, learn from others who have made the trip before you, Blasi suggests.

Those are the lessons from peers and mentors, he adds. Participate in a marketing network, or join local and state beef association meetings to learn from each other.

Squaring carcass value and calf prices

MARKET UPDATE

The past two weeks have featured fed cattle prices in a slowly increasing trend with the 5-area weighted average in the range of $109-$110/cwt. The higher trending CME Live Cattle futures contracts encouraged a bullish mentality for the cash market up through the middle of last week. The October contract corrected $2/cwt. lower last Friday from the opening $112.50/cwt. to $110.48/cwt. at the close.

The few Texas cattle sold in the live market were $1.00/cwt. lower for the region at $108/cwt. but trade in western Nebraska and Colorado through the weekend saw $110-$111/cwt. live prices and $174/cwt. dressed prices in the east.

Stronger carcass cutout values have been building through October and fit nicely into a trend line with the past two years. If the trend continues along this path we can expect higher cutout prices through mid-November prior to a softening beef price from there to the end of the year.

This is not a price projection, rather a review of the late-year trends we’ve seen in the past two years. It’s also justifiable to mention that late 2016 proved an opposite trend with a depressed October CAB cutout price of $195/cwt. increasing to year’s end at $206/cwt.

The CAB rib primal has been the darling of the 4^th quarter market again with last week’s price action adding a huge $18/cwt. to the rib. This translates to a heavy, lip-on ribeye wholesale price in the range of $9.60/lb., 50 cents higher than the prior week.

Tenderloin and sirloin prices also factored heavily as the seasonal upswing gets underway.

SQUARING CARCASS VALUE AND CALF PRICES

October is the season for weaning and shipping calves for many spring-calving herds. A broad area of western U.S. cow-calf areas experienced one of the wettest summers in memory and with that came a lot of grass growth. Many producers with the option to do so have held calves on the cows longer this fall with intentions of getting a little more weaning weight through extended forage resources. Some are also deciding whether near term calf prices are good enough to pay the bills or if retained ownership represents an opportunity for more net return.

Weighing these options should motivate cattlemen to run a breakeven projection on the retained ownership enterprise. Those raising what might be termed “front end” Angus influenced calves with carcass genetics built in should think about carcass based sales outcomes, not just commodity fed cattle values.

Here’s a quick example of how carcass value could factor into the price of a set of calves at weaning and as a finished steer.

Using a steer weighing 600 lb. on November 1^st, I ran some numbers using a very standard set of feedyard expectations. Placing these steers on feed against a June finishing date assumes today’s June Live Cattle contract price of $113.52/cwt.

The ration cost using $4/bushel corn may be near $200/ton. With an average daily gain of 3.6 lb./day and feed efficiency of 6 lb. of feed to 1 lb. of gain the resulting cost of gain is $79.76/cwt. with interest, yardage, health and death loss included. These estimates won’t fit any real outcomes precisely, but they’re fair for this example.

With the above assumptions and a relatively small frieght bill, 600 lb. steers should be worth roughly $154.29/cwt. today when compared to their live, finished steer value at 1,350 lb.

If carcass quality is known to be better than average then value at both weaning and finishing needs to adjust higher. Using 3-year USDA weighted average grid premiums and discounts for June provides some guidance.

The carcass quality and yield grade achievements I’ve used in the table to the right are above industry averages yet quite conservative in relation to some of the top tier outcomes observed across elite pens of Angus cattle. The quality-focused cattle represented would have brought back a total premium of $9.04/cwt. to the carcass price and given up a fraction of that ($2.01/cwt.) in yield grade 4 and heavyweight discounts. The discounts may be overstated, particularly regarding yield grade, when marketing timing and sorting are well-managed.

Converting the $7.03/cwt. net carcass premium to a live animal basis results in a $4.15/cwt. price increase or $56 per head. Working our way back to the 600 lb. weaned steer price equates to a $9.33/cwt. premium from that projected $56/head carcass value. It may be difficult for buyers to bid that much higher with all of the weather, health and market risk implied with 208 days on feed it will take to finish the steers. Even so, a bid of $162.66/cwt. is justified for this example of high quality steers at 600 lb. This conservative exercise is just the tip of the iceberg relative to what’s possible.

MORE QUALITY DEMAND IN STORE

The subject line may strike the reader as predictable, considering the source. That’s fair but let’s look at building a case for exceptionally strong Choice and higher (i.e. CAB, Prime, and CAB Prime) middle meat price spreads in the 4^th quarter. If we haven’t impressed upon readers the 4^th quarter impact of marbling-rich middle meats to cutout prices it’s not for lack of trying.

Choice and CAB ribs are currently at record high October prices, second only for the all-time highest price to the record set in June 2017. Both circumstances are characterized by seasonal demand spikes outstripping supplies. This sets the market up to place an exceptional premium on the marbling-rich middle meats.

Today’s fed cattle quality grade mix continues to disappoint packers with U.S. average Choice grade at 68% vs. 71% a year ago. This, coupled with slightly reduced weekly fed cattle harvest numbers of late has pulled back available supplies of Choice and CAB product.

The current rib market has CAB ribs pegged near $9.60/lb. There are three more weeks of earnest rib and tenderloin buying demand potential before beef takes a back seat to turkeys in mid-November. It appears today that carcass marbling achievement won’t magically right itself in the coming weeks so CAB rib prices are going to continue higher. Accompanying that we’d expect to see continued very wide price spreads between the quality grades and for Premium Choice CAB branded product above commodity Choice.

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You’ve got a name

Build it up by finding answers for your calves

by Morgan Marley

October 21, 2019

Buyers know your calves by their history and connect that to your name. Sometimes it’s all they know about you, good or bad. With a “good name,” you can make deals by phone, sealed with a handshake. Not preparing or knowing how calves perform after weaning keeps a lid on sale prices.

“It takes several years to build your reputation,” says Bo Bevis, an agent for Northern Livestock Video Auction in Montana and buyer for Lamberton (Minn.) Stockyards.

To the south, Joplin (Mo.) Regional Stockyards co-owner Jackie Moore says, “The cattle speak for themselves and the producer. After cattlemen get into a routine, the buyer sitting there has most likely been purchasing your calves for a long time.”

Since postweaning performance depends so much on genetics, reputations for commercial ranchers often link to their bull suppliers.

“Seedstock customers are the commercial cattlemen, and their customers are the feeders,” Bevis says.

Options for all include livestock auctions or “sale barns,” satellite-video auctions, or direct deals with feedyards. Your management may determine the best marketing channels.

Along the way are many questions that even those with the best reputations had to start with.

How should I market my calves?

Livestock auctions are the traditional way. At a basic level, you can load them up and take them to town a day or hours before the sale and wait for your check. Anyone can sell there, and it may be the only option for small operations or groups of uneven calves.

“The folks at the sale barn will sort out the light ones,” Bevis says. “There will be smaller packages with the same size and color steers. That’s where the order buyer bids on them and puts purchases together in packages.”

Livestock auctions often provide much more sophisticated services as well, and remain a solid way to build a reputation, Moore notes.

Video auction sales require enough calves to make a load.

“A load is anywhere from 48,000 to 64,000 pounds,” Bevis says. “You want to have like kind, but oftentimes there are mixed loads where it’s steers and heifers.”

The average U.S. beef herd of 40 head isn’t big enough without cooperative “pooling,” or partnering with neighbors to make up enough calves for a load. It’s not common but a good option for some, he says.

One benefit of the video auction can be its ability to capture typically strong, early summer markets that conventional livestock auctions can’t provide real-time.

When should I sell?

Your first concern is managing cattle, but getting paid well means understanding the market.

“If a producer is going into it blind and going into it brand new in the cattle business, my advice would be to look at a 15-year trend,” Bevis says. “See where the chosen marketing month peaks and just go off of that. I tell my customers all the time, do not chase markets.”

Prices move up and down seasonally by class, as any veteran marketer knows.

“Pay attention to what’s going on within the market and study how it works,” Moore advises. “Learn where the highs are for certain types of cattle and the lows for certain types of cattle. Try to hit those high times with your calves if they fit.”

For example, a 900-pound steer sells well just after Thanksgiving because it will be an April fat steer. The market traditionally sees finished cattle selling highest in February through April with lows from July to October.

Those seasonal trends reflect what’s happening on the ranch. Most calves arrive in the spring and sell after weaning in October and November.

“There’s always a glut of them,” Moore says, so prices are going to be lower then. “It’s just the way it works. People who sell then are always hitting a bad market.”

How soon do I make contact?

After you’ve made it through branding and processing, you have a headcount on the number of steers and heifers you can gather in a few months. That’s a good time to contact feedyards, sales agents or “reps” and find the best marketing channels.

Marketing professionals provide insight beyond what the typical farmer or rancher has time to judge regarding short- and long-term opportunities.

Even that basic plan to simply drop calves off at the conventional auction works best if you give them two or three days’ notice. A step up is to include that market manager earlier as you research options because livestock auctions regularly promote premium-quality offerings.

“A lot of people are spur-of-the-moment sellers,” Moore says. “Another thing is, when the market looks like it is gonna be up $5 or $10, well that’s a pretty good selling point.”

If you decided to put those calves in a video auction the timeline advances several weeks or more, the sooner the better. What’s the latest?

“If you’re putting them on the video auction, we need to have that paperwork in a week ahead of time,” Moore says.

Your rep isn’t just there to promote your cattle on sale day.

“It takes a lot of time and a lot of phone calls,” Bevis says. He stays in touch with customers throughout the year, especially in marketing seasons to make sure he gets the video work lined up and calves where they need to be.

How can calves look their best?

Mother Nature can sometimes swoop in and steal the show just before a sale or video, taking calves from full to wrung-out in short order. And they need to look their best for prospective buyers, says Moore. “It’s all a visual thing, so you do whatever it takes.”

That can mean taking a rain check on the video or waiting to sell, but there’s also a bigger picture in the calendar.

“I like to get a little more growth on them before I get them on video,” Bevis says. “I like to film the cattle on green grass. It’s just aesthetics, and cattle look a lot better walking across a green field than they do a brown field.”

That’s another reason to contact a video rep sooner. Capturing calves at their best on camera means choosing the right age and size, and fitting the shoot into open weather.

Video auction sales include a price slide to ensure fairness because weights are estimated for the future delivery. A listing might say calves will weigh 800 pounds (lb.) and sell with an $.08/lb. slide. If they sell at $1.40/lb. but weigh 840 after shrink, the difference of 40 X 8 means subtracting $.032, so the sale price of $136.80/cwt. yields a net price of $1,149.12 per head. The slide would add a similar amount to the price per pound if they were 40 lb. lighter than estimate.

“We need a slide in there to adjust the price because an 840- or 850-lb. steer is not worth near as much per pound as one that weighs a smooth 800 lb.”

How can I keep them healthy?

“Health is the most important thing in calves to any feeder,” Bevis says, suggesting a “rigorous” health and mineral program.

Yard managers comingle cattle from widely different sources, and successful adapting takes strict adherence to vaccination regimes. That’s why feedyards demand vaccinated calves with primed immune systems.

The vaccination protocol pays its way, in 2019 stacking up another $6 to $7/cwt., Bevis says.

Add 45-day preconditioning (a key standard for “weaned”) and there’s more value.

“A weaned calf is worth about $10 or $15/cwt. more than a non-weaned one,” Moore says.

In some areas, the recommendation is 60 days weaned, says Brandon Myers, owner of Cattlemen’s Livestock Exchange, Caldwell, W.V.

“We suggest the longer preconditioning period because with so many smaller producers, we have more frequent comingling,” he says.

In an industry where health maintenance is the highest cost, it pays to work with your veterinarian to develop a vaccination program for any preconditioning period and ready for whatever comes next at the feedyard.

How do I convey information?

You want the sale-barn bidders and buyers to know as much as possible about your calves.

There are opportunities to share their resume when alerting the sale manager your calves are coming in, and again when checking them in.

“We’ll convey that along to the buyers out of the auction block,” Moore says. “We’ll announce what shots they’ve had or the genetics that were used.”

On the video auction, that information is in the auction book and read off before the cattle sell.

Either way, the key is to contact the sales agent in time for them to help sell your calves so as to get the most value.

Are there value-added sales?

Those who go the extra mile may do well to set up a direct marketing channel with a feedyard. Another option is the value-added “special sale” where order-buyers fill premium orders for those yards.

“It’s just a way of tracking the information and keeping a more accurate record of it,” Moore explains.

Some of the popular value-added premiums are for all-natural, or non-hormone-treated cattle (NHTC) or certified under the Global Animal Partnership (GAP) for animal welfare.

“To enroll your cattle in those you’ve got to months out ahead of marketing your calves,” Bevis says.

Conversations with your sales reps can help find the program that is most relevant for your management and genetics. Bevis takes it as his responsibility to help ranchers find the premiums that will help “bring in a few extra dollars.”

A little background may help

by Justin Sexten, Ph.D.

Let’s say you weaned calves last fall but didn’t sell. Instead, you helped them cross the bridge to independent life in your dry lot pen and maybe on to a grazing program. Chances are, those “backgrounded” calves have moved on to a finishing yard or the next phase of heifer development.

You’ve got calving on your mind now, but that means weaning will surely follow this fall and some of your decisions then will be framed by decisions made this spring. So back to those pens and fields, perhaps empty now, but ready for planning.

Researchers at the University of Nebraska recently compared three backgrounding systems, and at least one of them might be a good fit for your farm or ranch.

A silage-based dry lot system is the most common model for those who get their weaned calves started at home, but the Nebraska work also looked at grazing options. One set of calves grazed oats and turnips that were planted after corn-silage harvest and another picked through corn stalks along with a distillers grains supplement at 0.9% of their body weight.

dalebanks perrier seedstock commitment to excellence award

The silage system lasted 53 days while each grazing option ran for a total of 93 days, including a month on the silage diet before moving on to the feedyard, where all groups were finished for approximately 160 days to reach a common back fat of 0.6 inches. The calves grown only on silage gained fastest with an average daily gain (ADG) of 3.25 pounds, so they moved into the feedyard and finished 40 days ahead of their grazing cohorts.

ADG for each of the systems depended on how much energy calves could take in. Stalk grazing was lowest at 1.91 lb./day and the cover-crop oats and turnip mix was intermediate at 2.32 lb./day. Feedyard gain was greater for calves that had grazed, typical after time on a restricted diet, but calves backgrounded on silage were more feed efficient. Final bodyweight was greater for both grazing treatments, which meant greater carcass weights.

The study was designed to reach a similar back fat level for all calves, but that didn’t mean intramuscular fat, marbling, would be the same. Marbling scores were lowest for those grazing corn residue, followed by calves on cover crops, and highest for those fed only the silage diet.

Previous studies suggested similar cattle fed to comparable back fat will finish with similar marbling, but it’s becoming clear that diet prior to finishing can make a difference in marbling, even when fed to the same back fat level.

Marbling development is a lifetime event, and it begins with breed and especially sire selection. Many studies show the advantage English-influenced genetics have over those with more Continental influence when it comes to marbling and final quality grade.

The recent Nebraska study showed small differences in marbling score due to backgrounding system. The lower rate of gain by calves trying to grow on corn stalks resulted in the lowest percent Choice, despite faster feedyard gains and heavier carcass weights. It goes back to the fact that marbling is a lifetime event. Even a moderate ADG presents a risk of reduced quality grade expression (failure to realize genetic potential) because of getting by on
limited forage intake, shipping stress or inclement weather.

You don’t need to run your own experiment, but look at any data on calves that got sick while on feed: you can count on lower than pen average quality grade, and some of that is the interruption in steady nutrition. It starts way before that, of course, as we know marginal cow nutrition can suppress eventual marbling ability of a calf even before it’s born. When the genetic potential for grade is unknown, the margin for nutritional error is mighty slim. When genetic potential for grade is supposed to be one of your herd’s advantages, you have a lot to lose.

With 70% of calves grading Choice today, we get paid grid premiums for reaching that grade only by exceeding plant average. What happens if you aim both genetics and management for closer to 100% Choice? Premiums are paid based on the Choice-Select spread for those 30% above and beyond average, and for each carcass qualifying for the Certified Angus Beef® brand and USDA Prime. All the more reason to ensure adequate nutrition for genetic potential—with a margin for environmental challenges—at every step along the way, from those calves you tag today to their backgrounding and finishing systems.

Precision for modern cattle

by Miranda Reiman

Backgrounding today’s cattle on yesterday’s “prescription” can mean missed profit opportunities.

“We can map to hit whatever target anybody wants us to hit,” says Robbi Pritchard, South Dakota State University animal scientist. “All we need to do is manage our stage of growth, oversee the implant, get the correct intake—and we start at ranch time.”

Ranches have differentiated their calves over the years, so it’s time to look at what each set of cattle needs before putting them in a routine program.

Kelly Bruns, University of Nebraska west central research and Extension director, worked with Pritchard and his team to study the ideal.

“Rather than have a prescription backgrounding diet for every set of calves that come in, can I strategically, or as Pritchard calls it, ‘precision’ background them to maximize my outputs?” Bruns asks.

That’s the question brought on by an evolution in genetics and management.

Breeding seasons are tighter. “We no longer need time to get the skeleton to grow. We no longer need time for things to average out,” Pritchard says. “Time solved a lot of problems with cows, but with quality-managed cattle today, we don’t have to fiddle around with that time.”
Growth genetics are the norm. When Pritchard started out decades ago, “very profitable” calves converted at 8.5:1 pounds (lb.) of feed to gain. “Growth potential is greater. The rules have changed,” he says. “If [calves] are coming out of 1,600-lb. cows, they probably don’t need any implants. The DNA is there. The implants just fill in for a lack of DNA.”
Marbling genetics have improved. “In the old days, bigger meant older. I had to let that frame grow. In the old days to get quality grade, they had to be older,” Pritchard says. “It used to be an adage that calf-feds couldn’t grade. That doesn’t exist anymore.”

The first step is deciding to modify the growing program. That begs a question: “how?”

Evaluate end goals and define quality grade and size targets, the animal scientists say.

“The game gets played everywhere from weaning day to about 65% of their harvest weight,” Pritchard says. “That’s where you change the percent Choice, that’s where you change what they’ll weigh when they hit yield grade 4 (YG4). That’s the window.”

Smaller to moderate-frame cattle need a more aggressive implanting program than the larger frames. It’s also important to consider final marketing method and quality grade potential, Bruns says.

“If we choose to use an implant, are we matching the correct level of the implant, such as low, medium or high potency to what their rate of gain is?” he asks. “Going back to all our previous marbling work, if we use too high potency of an implant and don’t match it up with a high enough caloric diet, we could impede marbling.”

When implanted, large-frame cattle run the risk of being heavyweight discounts in the packing plant.

“Once you put implants in that kind of DNA, now all a sudden you have a $10,000 nitro-burning car that flames out. It’s not a good thing,” Pritchard says.

That’s not all set on day one.

“Even genetics in the same pool can change carcass weight by how we background them,” Bruns says.

Researchers looked at targeted daily gains for backgrounding from 2 to 2.5 and 3 lb. The cattle finished on the same diet, for a similar number of days, to a consistent .5 inch of backfat.

“The slower they grow during backgrounding, the more they eat during finishing,” Pritchard says, noting the 2 lb./day group finished with a 4.09 lb. average daily gain (ADG), compared to the fastest growing backgrounders at 3.58 lb. The middle group (2.5 lb.) only gave up a little in finishing to hit 3.9 lb. ADG.

“All of this manipulation was happening during the backgrounding phase. That’s the trick,” he says.

Hot carcass weight was highest, at 856 lb., for the slowest growing group in backgrounding, and then fell linearly to 846 lb. and 821 lb. for those cattle pushed hardest earlier (see chart).

Marbling score, however, peaked at 587 on a 1,000-point scale with the middle rate of backgrounding while the 3-lb daily gainers in that phase slipped back to a 578-point marbling score.

“We were putting too much flesh on them for the rates that they can accumulate intramuscular adipose during backgrounding. We got into the finishing phase,” Pritchard says.

Bruns adds, “We met their genetic potential to maximize their marbling development and the rest just spills over into back fat.”

Another important consideration is diet: Wheat and low-quality forage could be suitable only for commodity cattle.

“They’re a very cost-effective way to background cattle, but it’s not the way you want to go if you’re going to need a premium carcass,” Pritchard says. The 5- to 8-month window is most critical. “If I rough them too much during backgrounding, I’m going to give up the marbling. I’ll get a bunch of carcass weight but I won’t get the marbling.”

As a general rule, early weaning is best for large-framed cattle, and creep feeding “fits best just to fill in the nutritional gaps,” he says.

Precision ag isn’t new, but precision backgrounding might be a change.

“If you’re a corn farmer in your other life, you’re perfectly comfortable with that precision ag,” Pritchard says. “We can go that way in the cattle business and make big strides. Today the genetics are better; they’re going to help us a lot. Our growth enhancement tools are better, and we know a lot more about them.”

It just might be time for a new prescription.

Connections

I’ve known the Rezacs for a long time, even before moving out to this Vermillion Valley south of Onaga, Kan., in 1980. But like the seven CAB foodservice pros along for an educational tour on May 21, I learned more about the family and “connections.”

Jay Rezac explains to foodservice pros when and how he uses antibiotics.

Jay Rezac always knew he wanted to come back to the farm. He told the CAB “Master of Brand Advantages” (MBA) class that by the time he was in high school he was borrowing money to buy herds of stocker cattle. I was not surprised at that, but what he shared next did surprise me.

He looked at me while explaining that he wanted to buy the place coming up for auction in 1980 near where his grandpa had started in the early 1900s. “Nobody would give a 16-year-old kid a loan to buy land though,” he said. “Steve bought that place and it’s probably a good thing for both of us, as I went on to college.”

Jay spoke from the heart, helping the group understand how he started with only a desire to live out his dream. “I didn’t know the farm economy was just about to change in 1980,” he said, jacking interest rates up and crashing land values.

“When I got back from K-State, things had not improved much.” But the timing actually helped: with a brother also recently graduated, the family looked around and found somewhat affordable ranch land that opened the doors for the new generation.

“We said let’s DO it, and we did it,” Jay said, noting the great financial risks. “That first place propelled us into buying the cattle and equipment, we bought another 1600-acre ranch two years later, and we have never looked back. We had our land base.”

He and two siblings all married and each family had three children of similar ages, several of them now starting on their own dream of producing food for the world.

The foodservice group wanted to know how and why the Rezacs use horses.

Matt Rezac provides a timely dose of antibiotics to a cow to head off a case of footrot.

“Some people use a calf chute to brand and work calves, but my guys like to rope and do it that way,” Jay explained. “You just catch his heels, flip him over and it doesn’t take long.” The brand goes on and vaccinations go in to safeguard their health. “We have neighbors come and help us do 300 one day and a party that night—we like to have fun every once in a while.”

The family later demonstrated roping in a calf corral and while moving a herd when one 1,200-pound cow was showing early signs of footrot. That ability on horseback allowed prompt treatment on the spot so that the cow will quickly recover.

Jay explained the sick pen where any animals in need of closer attention comes home for a short stay, and he told the group, “Antibiotics aren’t something you want to use, but sometimes you have to.” Noting a bottle of product can cost $500 or even $1,500, he joked that you only drop one of those, and you inject it only when needed, according to the label.

Weaning brings pairs into the lots where calves stay and the cows go back out to other pastures. Depending on the market, the Rezacs may background or finish steers at a nearby custom feedlot where many of them qualify for the CAB brand.

Russell Rezac explains pasture rotation to CAB partner Craig Rude, To-Le-Do Foodservice, Winnipeg, MB. — Russell Rezac explains pasture rotation to CAB partner Craig Rude, To-Le-Do Foodservice, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

After the last demo on heifer breeding and a quick tour of the ranch feedlot pens, Jay told the group they are all welcome to come back anytime with their families.

“Of course, the day was about education for our beef-selling partners, but for me, it was also quite a bit of fun and eye-opening in other ways. It was great to see the foodservice pros learning about these hills where our neighbors raise great cattle and great kids, and to have us all learn more about our connections.

Till next time, let’s keep building tomorrow together.

–Steve

Beef’s a trip day 7: Stocking for quality

Yesterday, we talked about the importance of a quality focus throughout the stocker segment and a tool that can help you set goals and guidelines for your own backgrounding operation. Today, we take a look at one stocker operator who’s putting those practices to work.

Mark Yazel 008 — Stocker Mark Yazel knows about quality.

Those guys who say stocker operators don’t care about quality? They’ve never met Mark Yazel. But Gary has, and he knows the Kiowa, Kan., producer buys and sells more than 75,000 head of cattle per year, with one-quarter of those spending time in his grower yard or grazing program.

But just because he deals in such large numbers doesn’t mean he’ll buy just anything. It’s quality in, quality out on his operation.

Mark prefers English cattle, at least 85 percent black-hided, with no more than one-eighth crossbreeding and “real limited exotic influence.” They’ve also got to grow, stay healthy and grade after finishing later on. And when cattle fall short? Well, he takes that seriously and will pass the next time he comes across animals from those herds.

Mark explains that in a business with such narrow margins, consistency is key.

“People demand a higher-quality eating experience when they go out. We’ve pretty much got to demand it when we go buy cattle. The feedyard demands it because the packing plant demands it because the consumer demands it.”

Once he’s got those high-quality calves in his program, he knows it’s up to him to make sure they continue on the high-quality path. He keeps animal stress to an absolute minimum and does all he can to keep them healthy and growing, fast enough to keep costs in check but not so fast that they’re being pushed too hard.

To read more about Mark check out “Quality in, quality out.”

Stop by tomororw as we head on out to the feedlot phase!

Beef’s a Trip Archives:

Day 1: Starting at day one

Day 2: Who are these people?

Day 3: Stockholders

Day 4: The cowherd’s purpose

Day 5: Deciding to care

Day 6: Quality focus doesn’t have to skip the middleman

Day 7: Stocking for quality

Day 8: SOLD!

Day 9: What have you done today?

Day 10: Working together to make ‘em better

Day 11: Keep on truckin’

Day 12: Packers want quality

Day 13: The target

Day 14: Packers up close & personal

Day 15: It’s not all about the beef

Day 16: Further processors

Day 17: From here to there–and a lot more

Day 18: He’s on your team

Day 19: Beyond prices, grocery stores uncovered

Day 20: Getting quality in the carts

By the way, have you checked out Holly Spangler’s My Generation blog yet? She’s got a whole list of all the ag bloggers that are in this 30-day challenge together.

Stocker strategies affect value

by Steve Suther

There was a time when corn was $3 per bushel and finished cattle were clocking in at younger and younger ages, that the stocker phase may have seemed less important. Nobody would say that, after a decade of increasing feed prices for fewer calves that finish at ever higher weights.

An estimated 76% of calves spend some time as stockers, and since marbling is a lifetime event, what happens then plays a key role in subsequent beef quality grade after finishing.

A white paper for Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) entitled, “Effects of nutrition and management during the stocker phase on quality grade,” evaluates the body of research in the area and finds pathways to profit that maintain consumer satisfaction.

The Oklahoma State University animal science and veterinary team led by ruminant nutritionist Clint Krehbiel sees the potential for increasing efficiency and carcass quality. It might just take a few critical changes in management “during early phases of the production cycle that increase intramuscular fat (IMF) deposition” while decreasing other fat deposition.

While noting that net dollars depend on both carcass weight and quality, the paper focuses on stocker nutrition and management strategies that can impact marbling. On the related tangent, however, it also concludes that increasing carcass weight will increase marbling scores.

Of course, differences in calves start before the stocker phase, which must deal with the range of genetics, nutrition and health. In general, prior sickness leads to poorer average daily gain (ADG) en route to a lower value carcass.

The effects of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) have been studied in more detail, always showing “negative effects on carcass characteristics.” ADG is also compromised, but research shows that, except for those chronically infected, more days on feed help to recover carcass quality.

The white paper cites several studies that support deworming as a way to add weight and quality. Application in the feedlot to steers not dewormed on pasture added 49 pounds (lb.) of gain, but deworming on pasture added $33.75 per head to the stocker phase. Use in both the stocker and feedlot phases improved subsequent marbling score.

A 1984 study established that IMF fat cells prefer glucose for development while external fat grows with more acetate in the rumen. That led to Illinois work in the 1990s showing glucose from corn starch in creep feed and starting rations for early-weaned calves gives marbling a head start.

That’s especially true when calves are gaining below their genetic potential.

After a meta-analysis of 14 studies that compared dietary starch in backgrounding, Krehbiel’s team reports cattle grown with a high level of starch had higher ADG in the finishing phase, but no difference in efficiency or carcass quality compared to other cattle.

Studies of high-starch supplementation on grass may show a boost to final marbling score only for cattle that enter the grazing phase weighing more than 800 lb., or nearly two-thirds of their final, finished bodyweight. More studies are needed to confirm that, however.
The highest gains on grass lead to heavier placements on feed and heavier subsequent carcass weights. Adjusted for rib-fat thickness, marbling score was positively related to ADG, placement weight and carcass weight.

However, the same rib fat-adjusted analysis shows lower ADG over longer grazing periods can also achieve the heavier weights that generally boost marbling scores.

“Marbling scores can be improved by ‘making cattle bigger’ through increasing the rate of gain during the stocker phase,” but the paper concludes that also increases yield grades. “In contrast, rib fat-adjusted marbling score can be improved by using low to moderate rates of gain for longer grazing periods.”

In taking a look at DNA-assisted selection, the paper concludes those new tools carry the potential to “maintain or increase muscle growth (ribeye area), while at the same time improving carcass quality (marbling score).”

The complete paper is available online at https://cabcattle.com/research.

‘Make stockers better’

April 20, 2011

Good stocker operators think about how to make their cattle better for the next segment in the beef business.

Many of them gathered at the Backgrounding for Quality field day near Hamilton, Kan., last month to learn more about what feeders want and how to get there.

Jerry Bohn, general manager of Pratt (Kan.) Feeders, shared his experience with the group.

“If you want a premium price, you must have premium cattle. Make them better,” he said. “If you have a story to tell a buyer, you’ll be in good shape.”

Any story must be backed by facts, of course.

“That helps us help them,” Bohn said. “We need to know if they are nutrient sufficient before we create a feeding program.”

Pfizer veterinarian Mitch Blanding said past feeding level and health programs go hand in hand. “We often overlook the role nutrition plays in prevention,” he said. “We can have everything else in place for health, but if you neglect nutrition it doesn’t matter what else you do.”

The educational program was presented at the Collinge Ranch, and stocker operator Mike Collinge shared what he does.

“We like to move them through the system as often as possible,” he said. “I really believe how we handle them here will affect how they perform after we gather them off grass. Feedback from the feedyards says this system pays off big time.”

Besides that proactive health stance, the ranch crew is simply around and observing the cattle often.

Bohn confirmed that program has long-term benefits down the line. “One important thing to us is, how easy are these cattle to handle? Are they used to people and horses and feed trucks? How they are handled at a place like Mike’s here has a huge impact on disposition, and disposition is also very important to us.

“We like it when we don’t have to worry about one jumping the chute when we work them or one of my guys getting run over by an ornery one in the pen,” he said. “But most importantly, calm cattle feed better; and they perform better in the packing plant.”

Most of the cattle fed at the Pratt yard are marketed on a value-based grid, and Bohn pointed out that avoiding discounts is the key to making money in such a system.

“You don’t have as many dark cutters with calm cattle, and that’s a big discount we want to avoid,” he said.

The only way to know if your ranch practices are beneficial to the feedyard is to ask.

“The surest way to get carcass data back is to own them through the feeding phase,” Bohn said, but it’s not the only way. He suggests talking to the feeder up front to see if they’re willing to give you performance and carcass data feedback.

“The information-sharing business is getting better,” he said. “Sharing is good for everyone involved.”

The field day was sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health, Certified Angus Beef LLC and Pratt Feeders. For more information, search “Backgrounding for Quality” on the Black Ink Blog at www.blackinkwithcab.com.

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Pre-grass stocker health management pays

April 19, 2011

Cattle health matters at every segment, but it could be the single biggest profit determinant for the stocker phase.

Mitch Blanding, senior veterinarian with Pfizer Animal Health, and rancher Mike Collinge shared tips for managing health at last month’s “Backgrounding for Quality” field day on the ranch near Hamilton, Kan.

The first weeks of ownership are some of the most critical, so Collinge keeps that top of mind when he procures 450- to 500-pound (lb.) calves to graze on his native grass Flint Hills range.

Within 24 hours of arrival, the calves move through processing facilities for a first round of vaccines and initial temperature readings. “I’ve yet to find anything as effective as temperature to really measure a calf’s health,” Collinge said.

In the following week, calves run through the processing facilities again, temperatures are checked and antibiotics administered as needed. The process is repeated four to five days later.

“We like to play offense, not defense on animal health. You can never catch up if you’re playing defense,” Collinge explained. “Monitoring and recording temperatures indicate health issues long before they start showing physical signs.”

Blanding said there are three ways to intervene with respiratory disease: prevention, control (mass treatment) and therapy (individual treatment). Prevention offers the highest return on investment, but that doesn’t mean just making sure they get their shots.

“What are our realistic expectations of vaccinations?” Blanding asked. “There are some groups with less than 40% of the animals capable of responding to vaccines. There are even some groups that we’d be lucky to get 30% responding. What causes that? Stress.”

“The only thing we’ve guaranteed is that the animal is exposed to it,” he said. “The next step is that they have to respond. Then we have to get protection, immunity. That still leaves a lot of room for error.”

The take-home point is that prevention also includes reducing stress, Blanding said.

At the Collinge Ranch, daily handling and movement helps. Load lots are kept in separate grass traps and brought in one at a time once a day. That first two or three weeks is a critical time to get the calves proper nutrition that gets them ready to be on their own for grazing.

“Copper, zinc and selenium are incredibly important parts of a starter ration when it comes to the health of these calves,” the rancher said.

After feeding, a group is kicked back out to pasture and the next group is brought in. The feeding crew monitors calves as they come into the feed pen. If they spot a calf that looks sick at the end of the group, they’ll separate the tail end and bring five to 10 calves in to have their temperatures checked and monitored. Not only is this less stressful on the calves, Collinge explained, but it’s also a good indication of the health of the rest of the herd.

Calves that are slow to the feedbunk and hanging around others already showing physical signs of illness are the most likely candidates. “You might find one or two in that group that are running a temperature besides the one that looked sick,” he noted. “You can get ahead of that illness and treat them before it becomes a problem.”

Another “must” to prepare cattle for the feedlot is deworming. In fact, an Iowa State University study says it’s worth about $24 per head.

“The immune system is a finite thing,” Blanding says. “If the immune system is being occupied by parasites, it’s less capable of dealing with the organisms that cause respiratory disease.”

Of course, all of Collinge’s procedures are geared toward reducing labor, stress and costs for the ranch, but there’s a greater reason: “We hope that these things are having an impact on carcass quality and performance. The goal is to create cattle that will do better down the line,” he said.

Research confirms that’s the right approach. Gary Fike, beef cattle specialist with the Certified Angus Beef^® (CAB^®) brand, shared Iowa data that shows calves that had to be treated twice have a lower average daily gain (2.93 lb. vs. 3.22 lb.) and poorer feed conversions.

“Those healthy cattle lay on intramuscular fat more easily, too, thanks to that added gain,” Fike says. That shows up in higher marbling scores and increased CAB acceptance for the calves that were never treated, 18.7% compared to 11.1% for their twice-treated counterparts.

“We know these stress-free, healthy cattle can really bring home the carcass quality,” Fike said.

For more information on the meeting, search “Backgrounding for Quality” on the Black Ink Blog, www.blackinkwithcab.com.

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