Dan Loy, Iowa Beef Center director
With an expected record corn crop in the bins, the drought of 2012 can finally be declared “over” by livestock producers.
Cattle producers have been very resourceful in stretching the corn supply, looking under every rock for alternatives and being as efficient as possible.
During the transition period some of the realities that feeders had become accustomed to were changed. Distillers grains were no longer cheaper than corn for example. Some of this was due to export demand and seasonal shutdowns of ethanol plants, and will likely change.
In any event this return to normal may require as much adjustment as the drought induced feed shortage. Along with these adjustments come opportunities. Here are three examples:
Retained ownership may once again become a more profitable alternative to marketing the calves at weaning. Improved margins for cattle feeding and custom feeders with plenty of bunk space make this an option for cow calf producers to seriously consider.
Corn farmers may once again find cattle to be a more attractive market for their corn. Marketing the corn crop through cattle is the historical basis for the development of cattle feeding in Iowa. Now the manure nutrients give this concept an even greater incentive, whether feeding corn or corn co-products.
Record values for calves and yearlings should allow cattle to compete with row crops for marginal land. This represents an opportunity to economically expand the resource base for cow calf production, allowing herd rebuilding to begin in earnest.
However, one thing that the drought of 2012 reminded us of is that there is risk in agriculture and that risk is unpredictable. Those necessary adjustments in efficiency and cost management that were required last year will continue to be important for success. Now is the time to prepare for the unexpected, position for the future, and if it is part of your business plan—to grow.
Look for more programming from the Iowa Beef Center this winter in cooperation with the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association on successful heifer development. For those of you who are rebuilding your herds, it is important to have the tools and technologies do this successfully. A series of 12 workshops across the state entitled “Heifer Development 2- Maintaining Your Investment” will be held between January 16 and Feb 19, 2014. This is a follow-up series to our 2011 series, “Heifer Development- Rebuilding our Future.”
The goal of the upcoming series is to improve retention in the herd by focusing on nutrition, calving, and reproductive management of late gestation yearlings and first-calf females. For more information on locations, dates, and curriculum, please see Patrick Gunn’s article on this series in this month’s
Growing Beef newsletter. Also, you will be hearing more about a major study and statewide survey focusing on opportunities to successfully grow Iowa’s cattle industry.
Speaking of the future I would like to assure you that it is in good hands. Last spring, Dr. Patrick Gunn and I began teaching the 400 level Beef Systems Management course at ISU that consists primarily of last semester seniors. Several of them plan to work in the beef industry, return to family beef operations or begin new beef businesses after graduation. These students will bring the human capital to revitalize the Iowa beef industry. To those of you who supported this or other classes at ISU through guest lectures or hosting tours and field trips, thank you.
As 2013 comes to an end we can reflect on what turned out to be another challenging year for cattle feeders. Cow-calf producers, with more abundant forage and higher prices are already experiencing prospects for improving economics. We hope that 2014 bring new opportunities for the Iowa cattle businesses and the farm families that run them.