The Building Blocks of the Cattle Business
The Complete Series
by
Andrew H. Davis
SMASHWORDS EDITION
* * * * *
PUBLISHED BY:
Andrew H. Davis on Smashwords
The Building Blocks of the Cattle Business:
The Complete Series
Copyright © 2011 by Andrew H. Davis
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.
* * * * *
Books written by Andrew H. Davis can be obtained either through the author’s official website www.beefcattlebiz.com
or through select, online book retailers.
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE CATTLE BUSINESS:
THE COMPLETE SERIES
The Building Blocks of the Cattle Business
The Complete Series
The Building Blocks of the Cattle Business
The Complete Series Part 1
Andrew H. Davis
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction
Soils
Soil Fertility
Soil Types
Soil Composition
Soil Profiles
Soil Nutrients
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Potassium
Soil pH
Advice on Soils
More on Breed Choice
Forages
Perennial Warm Season Grasses (PWSG)
Perennial Cool Season Grasses (PCSG
Annual Warm Season Grasses (AWSG)
Annual Cool Season Grasses (ACSG)
Perennial Warm Season Legumes (PWSL)
Perennial Cool Season Legumes (PCSL)
Grazing Systems
MIG
Multi-species Grazing
Limit Grazing
Continuous Grazing
Strip Grazing
Creep Grazing
The Building Blocks of the Cattle Business
Soils and Forages
Introduction
First of all, I want to thank you for purchasing this e-book, as the reason for this publication is to share 30 years of experience in livestock production and management, thus providing “no nonsense” articles and e-books that limit the technical jargon and bring forth a greater understanding for all. This way each generation that is interested in this business doesn't have to re-invent the wheel.
Before getting to the topic of soils and forages, I wanted to introduce beef cattle production with the different breed types. I won’t go through all the breed types in the USA, but will hit on the most popular ones. A few important questions:
Why is understanding about breed types important?
Rule #1
Since every part of the country has a differing forage base, we must raise the ‘type” of cattle best suited for our unique environments. This is the number 1 limiting factor. Your choice of cattle breed must coincide with your forage availability.
Rule #2
Understanding the cattle market from the stocker phase beyond the finishing phase to the packing house will bring forth a better understanding of the entire process and why breed choice is so important.
With this foundation of understanding; we can now think about cattle breed types. Some breed types are larger than others, some give more milk, some mature later, some eat more, some have better meat grades and some finish at different rates. I could go on and on, but I think you get my meaning.
Some will say, “I just want to raise calves and sell them at weaning and I don’t care about the livestock production chain as it doesn’t concern me”. You couldn’t be more wrong. By understanding the whole process, it can help you make better choices on what you are doing at the production level.
The performance levels, of the various breed types, along the production chain are not a mystery. Case in point:
Characterization of breeds based on their biological type*** (Cundif, et al. 1988)
Very high lean, low marbling, low milk, late puberty
Charolais
- very high growth
Chianina - very high growth
Limousin -
moderate growth
High lean, moderate marbling, high milk, moderate puberty
Simmental
- very high growth
Maine Anjou - very high growth
Select
Gelbvieh - very high growth
Brown Swiss - high growth
Moderate lean, moderate marbling, high milk, and early puberty
South
Devon - moderate growth
Tarentaise - moderate growth
Pinzgauer
- moderate growth
Moderate lean, low marbling, high milk, very late puberty, heat tolerant
Brahman
- high growth
Sahiwal - low growth
Low lean, high marbling, moderate milk, moderate puberty
Angus
- moderate growth
Hereford - moderate growth
Red Poll - low
growth
Devon - low growth
Let’s analyze what this means in an easy situation. You are a commercial Charolais producer and you live in Missouri, your forage base is perennial cool season grasses mixed with some perennial cool season legumes, like clovers.
The consumer has spoken and the packer has listened and what they want is a medium Choice, Yield Grade 2; carcass. Can you deliver? What are the limiting factors?
We have to look at the breed type. Charolais are a large breed, this means big frame scores, longer finishing times, low marbling (usually select grades and not medium choice) and very high lean (which will not meet the YG 2 parameter). If Medium Choice YG 2 cattle are the preference of the Packer based consumer need, you cannot deliver. Will you get top price for your cattle? No.
Some will say that with the bigger cattle that they will make more money on quantity pounds.
Let’s see:
You wean 50 weighing 650 lbs. 650 x $1.04 = $675/head x 50 = $33,750.00
Your neighbor has just as many acres as you do, but raises another breed. They don’t wean as heavy as your Charolais, but he knows he can meet the markets demand. Another factor is that with his smaller framed cows that consume less he easily runs 75 cows. The neighbor gets top price for his calves and sells more annually.
He weans 75 weighing 525 lbs. 525 x $1.28 = $670.00 x 75 = $50,250.00
Your neighbor matched his forage availability with breed type that could meet the markets demand, therefore he made more money even with lighter weaning weights.
The neighbor on the other side of you has a commercial herd of crossbred cows as he wants to take the best traits from each breed and use them to benefit his bottom line.
He also has the same amount of acreage but his crossbred cows are moderately framed in between the other two in maintenance costs. He runs 65 cows.
He weans 65 calves weighing 600 lbs. 600 x $1.17 = $700.00 x 65 = $45,500.00.
The myth that quantity pounds will pay more has been busted.
What I try to do in the cattle business is maintain a group of cows that are moderate for frame size, milking ability and therefore lower in maintenance costs. I also choose breed types that have the best opportunity to meet or exceed the market demand, as no one will pay you less for producing better calves.
Understanding how your product (beef) is delivered to the masses will bring forth a better understanding of this business. Since the early 1970’s, the mass production of meat has been possible by a change in the aging of beef.
The packing companies commonly use wet-aging of beef, which is done in a vacuum-sealed bag shipped in a refrigerated truck to your grocer as boxed beef. This was done mainly for economic reasons rather than quality reasons. This is why the packers want lean carcasses (less or minimal external fat). These carcasses will cure in a bag on the way to your supermarket.
When exceeding the market demand, many cattle producers end up being docked or losing their premiums due to trim (external fat). The packing house has to spend countless man hours to physically trim off this external fat, so the boxed beef will cure adequately on the way to the consumer.