Unit 1 - Cow Calf Overview Flashcards
What are the 3 operations that make up the basic structure of the beef industry?
1) Finishing Operations
2) Stocker Operations
3) Cow-Calf Operations
Finishing Operations
-what is it?
-how many are there?
-3,000 of these operations market what percent of fed cattle?
-how many states produce what amount of all fed cattle?
- it is the consolidation at the feedlot level. At this time they feed the cattle to fatten them up for slaughter.
- there are about 30,000 of these operation in the United Stated,
-fewer than 3,000 of them market 85% of all fed cattle.
-5 states produce 72% of all fed cattle.
Stocker Operations
-what do they do here?
-how does it add value to the feeder cattle?
-what’s an important benefit of using stocker operations?
- facilitate the movement of cattle from many widely distributed cow-calf operations to few geographically concentrated feedlots.
- they add value by
1) grouping cattle into marketing units based on AGE and BIOLOGICAL TYPE.
2) correct HEALTH PROBLEMS and MANAGEMENT DEFICIENCIES. - an important benefit is they reduce feedlot search costs.
How many cow-calf operations are in the United States?
625,000
how many beef breeds are there roughly?
50 mainstream beef breeds
How many beef cows are there as of January 2024?
28.2 million beef cows
How much has beef cow operations declined since 1997?
By 31%.
(From 900,000 to 625,000)
What are the wide geographic differences between cow-calf operations?
1) productions systems
2) quality
3) health
4) management
On average how many cows are within a cow calf operation?
> 70% have fewer than 100 cows.
How is profitability determined by?
1) pregnancies per cow exposed for breeding
2) pounds of calf weaned per cow exposed for breeding
3) control of production costs
4) revenue per acre
What does Extensive Production refer to?
Refers to:
1) outdoor production systems
2) reliance on foraging
3) relatively large land requirements,
It is CAPITAL INTENSIVE and a LOW MARGIN business.
EFFICIENCY is key!
What are the 5 major U.S. cow-calf production regions?
1) West
2) Northern Plains
3) North Central
4) Southern Plains
5) Southeast
What are the 5 regional differences?
1) Climate and Weather
2) Land-use opportunity cost
3) Relative degree of urbanization
-availability of off farm income
4) Availability of industry infrastructure
5) Operating costs as affected by local basis
What is local basis?
The difference between the cash price and the future price for the time, place, and quality where the delivery actually occurs.
What is the cheapest and most expensive states when it comes to land investment ?
Cheapest: North Dakota (rank 1)
Most Expensive: Florida (rank 14)
