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OSU Extension - Fairfield County
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and the
BEEF Cattle questions may be directed to the OSU Extension BEEF Team through Stephen Boyles or Stan Smith, Editor
Previous issues of the BEEF Cattle letter
Issue # 301
August 7, 2002
Maybe it's not 'officially' a drought, but it's darn dry! - Stan Smith, PA, Fairfield County OSU Extension
This 301st issue of the BEEF Cattle letter begins the 7th year of publication. As I look back to those early newsletters, the irony is that I see we were dealing with many of the same concerns then, as we are today - adding value to feeder calves, calf and fed prices that are not what we want them to be, and drought related concerns.
Over the weekend, one of the TV meteorologists said we weren't officially in a drought because we haven't been 30% or more below normal in precipitation for 3 months in a row. In addition to that, the Long Term Palmer index says that northern Ohio is only in "Moderate Drought" while the rest of us are "Near Normal."
Well, let me tell you what "near normal" looks like in northwestern Fairfield County - not pretty! As I looked back at my rainfall data for this summer, I found I'd had less than 2.25 inches of rainfall over nearly the past 8 weeks. In fact, I've received even less rainfall during this June/July than I received during the 'official' drought of 1999 - you remember, the one that many are calling the worst around here in 50+ years. And, I know we're not the only ones suffering. During a recent conference call among Ohio Ag Agents, it was speculated that as much as 30% of the corn crop in northwestern Ohio didn't pollinate well enough to even be harvested for grain. Friends for that area have confirmed those concerns. Maybe it's not "official" but, I can tell you that much of Ohio is suffering this summer, and we will be needing to look at alternatives for survival, yet again.
In recent weeks, many people are inquiring about many different alternatives for managing their cattle operations in addition to making the most of a dwindling and/or low quality feed supply. The best advice I can offer is to browse through OSU Extension's Drought '02 website at http://corn.osu.edu/drought02/ and consider many of the alternatives mentioned there. In the mean time, let me offer you my "2 cents worth" in response to some of the questions I've been getting in regard to managing this 'drought":
Harvesting Drought Stressed Corn Silage
For detailed information regarding the harvest of drought stressed corn as silage, review the previous two weeks' editions of the OSU Agronomy Team's C.O.R.N. newsletter. And, plan to attend the meeting on August 8 in Ottawa that will also address these concerns. Contact your local Extension office for a copy of these C.O.R.N. letters, or visit these two web links: http://corn.osu.edu/archive/2002/jul/02-24.html#linka and http://corn.osu.edu/archive/2002/aug/02-25.html#linkg Also, see the following article regarding listeria concerns.
Listeria a Concern in Ensiled Crops - William P. Shulaw DVM MS, OSU Extension Veterinarian, Beef/Sheep
Listeria monocytogenes infections are relatively common in sheep, goat and cattle production systems. These bacteria are frequently shed in the manure of apparently normal animals that serve as chronic carriers. The bacteria usually find their way into the ensiled material by soil or manure contamination of the forage prior to, or during, the ensiling process. One common way this happens is when tractors that are used for other animal management operations are used to pack forage in a bunker silo.
Ideally, ensiled material should reach a pH of 4.5 or so after fermentation. Listeria can continue to grow at pH above 5-5.5. If the material is chopped coarsely, or inadequately packed and sealed, the fermentation process may not reach the desired low pH. Likewise, there may be pockets that did not reach the proper acidity in otherwise acceptable forage. Listeria can grow in these pockets. Silage is is often incriminated in infections in animals, but not all infections can be traced to silage alone.
Animals that consume the bacteria may develop intestinal infections that cause no disease but result in chronic shedding of the bacteria. In some animals, the mammary gland is chronically infected. Dairy cows have been known to shed the organism in the milk for months. Mammary infection in other species is possible also. The bacteria may also gain access to the body through the tonsil, or abrasions of the mouth, and travel up the cranial nerves to the brain. When this happens, microabscesses occur and the animal develops the classic signs of circling disease with incoordination, circling to one side, and paralysis of the lips, ear and eyelids on the affected side. Most of these animals die.
Listeria monocytoges can also be a cause of abortion. This is most common in sheep and goats and may be more common than the brain infections in those species. The bacteria are shed in the aborted fetus, placenta, and discharges. Earlier this spring an Ohio sheep producer had an outbreak of both abortions and brain infections attributed to Listeria, and the source appeared to be inappropriately made baleage.
Unfortunately, this bacteria can also cause infections in people, especially pregnant women, elderly people, and the immunocompromised. Unpasteurized milk, or inadequately pasteurized milk, and contact with aborted fetuses or discharges are the usual sources for people. Producers should practice good personal hygiene, especially around aborting animals, and should not consume unpasteurized dairy products.
There is no vaccine for Listeria, and treatments for infected animals are usually only moderately successful. The bottom line for effective prevention of losses in animals is to practice good sanitation, make the best quality silage possible ensuring adequately low pH for proper preservation, and with baleage, be sure that the plastic remains sealed.
Weaning Calves on the Farm - Steven C. Loerch, Professor, OSU Animal Sciences Dept.
Weaning, marketing, and starting calves in a feedlot, combine to be the most stressful events in the life of a calf. When these stressors occur in a matter of days, you are asking for trouble. Calves are the most susceptible to shipping fever (Bovine Respiratory Disease) when they are 6-8 months of age. Earlier in life, calves are protected from disease by maternal antibodies from colostrum. When calves are yearlings, they have a fully developed immune system and are better able to respond to a disease challenge.
So what do we typically do as beef producers? We take a 7-month old calf when it is most susceptible to disease and we put a whole bunch of stress on it. Weaning, trucking, vaccination, no feed, no water, crowding, co-mingling, new pathogens, new source of feed, and new source of water. This is a wreck waiting to happen and it often does.
The U.S. beef industry is a $44 billion industry. The health problems due to transitioning calves from the farm to the feedlot cost the industry about $700 million annually. Treatment costs, death losses, poor performance, and lower quality grades result when calves get sick. The best way to reduce these costs is to reduce the stress of transition from the home farm to the feedlot or backgrounder. Taking steps to prevent disease is always better than having to treat disease after it occurs. You can't solve the Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex with just a bottle of antibiotics.
The best way to keep calves healthy is to vaccinate before calves are stressed and to reduce, eliminate, or spread out the stress calves are exposed to. Details on vaccination strategies will be presented in other articles of this series. Bottom line is that stressed calves don't respond as well to vaccines. If you don't vaccinate prior to these stresses, some calves may not develop antibodies soon enough to be protected from respiratory disease the first 10 days after feedlot arrival.
Many management strategies can be employed to reduce calf stress at weaning time. Castration and dehorning is best done when calves are young (1-3 months of age). These procedures should not be performed at weaning time. Calves should be weaned at least 30 days prior to shipping. This separates the stress of weaning from all the other stresses associated with marketing and feedlot arrival. Shipping less than 30 days post weaning is not recommended for several reasons. A 30-day period gives plenty of time for calves to learn how to eat from a feed bunk and recoup the post-weaning check in weight gain. Actually weaning 45 days before shipping may be more profitable because the calf producer will have more pounds of beef to sell. Thirty days also gives plenty of time to respond to vaccines and be better protected from disease challenges.
Weaning Procedures: Calves can be weaned on pasture or they can be confined in a drylot. Supplemental feed is needed to meet energy and protein needs for growth and the immune system. Calves that remain on pasture should be provided with a grain-based supplement in a bunk. Grain intake should be 5-10 lbs/day based on quality of pasture and the eventual destination of the calves (backgrounder vs feedlot). Target gains should be between 2 and 3 lbs/day. There is some evidence from Canadian researchers that weaned calves actually do better if they have fence line contact with their dams. You may want to move cows to a pasture adjacent to the calves, rather than the traditional "out of sight, out of mind" approach. A recent California article on this can be found at: http://danrrec.ucdavis.edu/sierra foothill/sfrec_2002_fenceline_weaning.pdf. Calves weaned in a drylot should be fed about a 50% grain, 50% forage diet. Feed good quality hay. A weaning diet should be 45-50 Mega calories of NEg/100 lbs of feed dry matter and contain approximately 16% protein. Protein, vitamin, and mineral requirement must be met so calves can grow and have a fully functioning immune system. A high quality protein, vitamin and mineral supplement from a reputable feed company is recommended. Adequate bunk space is necessary so all calves can eat at once (1.5-2 ft/calf). Clean, fresh, water should always be available. Avoid finely ground, dusty feeds. Cracked corn works well and is one of our cheapest source of calories. Creep feed for 2 weeks before weaning will ease the transition to bunk feeding after weaning. Alternatively, fence-line feeding a small amount of grain to cows and calves a few days before weaning is a good substitute if you don't want to creep feed.
Facilities and Animal Handling: Facilities for handling calves don't need to be fancy or elaborate. Drylot pens should be small to reduce fence waling and allow closer observation. Pens should be dry but not dusty. I was in Saskatchewan last September working on a weaning project and we measured how far calves walk the first two days after weaning. Calves weaned into big feedlot pens (without fence line contact with their dams) walked 10 miles the first two days after weaning. Bawling, dust and exhaustion definitely contribute to Respiratory Disease. Feed and water should be located on the perimeter of the pen because that is where the calves will be. If weaning on pasture, the same principles should be used. Working facilities also don't need to be fancy, but they should be designed to allow easy movement of calves through the chute. Weaning time is when we realize the fruits of our labor for the year. Weaning time should not be a rodeo. Avoid crowding and bruising calves. Work calves slowly, calmly, and quietly. The process is noisy and stressful for the calf in the best of circumstances. Don't add to stress with a lot of yelling. Avoid whips and hot shots. This whole process is like putting your child on the bus for the first day of kindergarten. Look for opportunities to be gentle.
In summary, weaning management affects the quality and value of your calves. It is the key component in a planned marketing strategy.
Next week's BEEF Cattle letter will feature more information on the "Basics of Preconditioning"
Feed and Meat Supply Issues Continue to Vex Market - Brian Roe, OSU Extension Ag Economics
Despite the mounting summer heat across key feedlot states, steer carcass weights are up 30 pounds (about 4%) compared to last year and show no sign of slowing down. Given that the number of cattle being slaughtered has also increased by about 1%, this means the United States beef complex is delivering nearly 5% more beef to the market than last year. Combine this with increased pork and poultry production and decreased pork and poultry exports and one can quickly understand why prices have struggled to remain in the mid-$60's for much of the summer. Furthermore, the decrease in Japanese exports and the heavy slaughter weights have combined to drive premiums for choice cattle to their lowest point in several years, with the average choice-select spread in the US hovering around the $4/cwt mark, which is well below its seasonal average of $8/cwt.
The USDA's summer cattle inventory report shows essentially no increase in the beef cow herd, but rather a reallocation of herd out of drought stricken states of Montana, Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska and into states such as Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas, where pasture conditions are relatively good or at least improving. Other signs that suggest a lack of herd rebuilding include that cow slaughter is down only a little from last year (-1.4% year to date), with a recent surge in beef cow slaughter. Furthermore, the number of heifers retained for replacement is unchanged from a year ago while heifer slaughter is virtually unchanged from year previous.
The combination of these inventory numbers and the record beef production numbers leads me to wonder if the natural cycle in the cattle market won't replicate the change that we have seen in the hog cycle. To the point, most expansion phases in the US hog cycle involve a 6% increase in sow numbers while the last 'expansion' phase in the hog cycle involved only a 1.2% increase. This was due to great improvements in reproductive capacity that required fewer sows to expand and increases in meat per carcass. In beef cattle, the last two breeding herd expansion phases (1990-96 and 1979-82) involved 9% and 6% increases in beef cows, respectively. Given the increase in carcass weights we've observed, perhaps the next 'expansion phase' in the cattle cycle will only be 3% or 4%, particularly if feed prices remain cheap.
Local cash slaughter cattle prices are unlikely to break the $70 mark for some time without a change in the chicken export situation, a strong rebound in the US economy or an unexpected decrease in slaughter weights. Any improvement in these three items could allow $70 to emerge sooner rather than later, however. Without these improvements, prices are projected to steadily climb from their current position in the lower-$60's to the seasonal highs in the upper-$60's next spring, with a chance for $70 next April.
Higher corn prices and increased volatility in the corn market have stalled any chance of feeder cattle price rallies. Saddled with modest fed cattle prices and heavy losses earlier in the year, feedlots aren't likely to make strong bids on feeder cattle. This has resulted in stagnant feeder cattle prices this summer, with the 7-8 cwt prices in the upper-$70's being nearly $12/cwt lower than year previous. I project local cash prices for lightweight feeder calves (3-4 cwt) to be in the mid-$90's for September, October and November and then increase seasonally in December and January to the mid-$100's. 5-6 cwt steers are projected to sell in the upper-$70's for much of the fall and winter with a slight trend toward $80 as the year progresses. For more projections by weight category, check out my updated beef cattle slides at: http://aede.osu.edu/people/roe.30/livehome.htm.
In the beef market, it looks like the boxed beef cutout values are finally trying to stabilize around $107-$108 for the Choice types and somewhere around $103 for the Select types. These cutout values have come down over $2 per cwt. across the past five to six business days, and that is hurting the chances for feedyards to get anything better than $63-$63.50 for cattle. Weights are still very high compared to year-ago levels, but the numbers of cattle on the showlists are not growing and that is encouraging. There is talk already that we will get some boost on the demand side from the Labor Day market buying. The nearby August live cattle contract is being pressured a bit by talk of futures deliveries, and we are $2 off the $66.50 high that we saw about two weeks back. Out a little further in the December, we corrected down a bit from the $69 level but closed at $69.30 on Tuesday. I would continue to sell the nearby August on a rally toward that $66.50. We either need to sell more distant contract like December on a rally above $69 where we have recent highs all the way up to about $69.40 or be prepared to place short hedges in that market when we see a close below the long-term trend line that hooks the late April low and the late May and early June lows on the December contract.
Feeder cattle are getting helped a bit by the pressure we are seeing on corn this week and better live cattle prices. These contracts are up 50 cents or more in Tuesday's session with some live cattle up more than $1. We have resistance from last week across a high on the August at about $78.25 and then a bit earlier resistance at about $78.50, and that is going to stop any rallies in this August market. Looking out a bit further, the most obvious resistance on the October is the highs just above $79, and I would be inclined to sell any initial thrust up toward those levels. By the time we move into late in the year if corn is relatively cheap, I expect to see better prices on these fall and winter feeder cattle contracts, but they will correct to the downside after a thrust up toward the $79 level.
Visit the OSU Beef Team calendar of meetings and upcoming events
BEEF Cattle is a weekly publication of Ohio State University Extension in Fairfield County and the OSU Beef Team. Contributors include members of the Beef Team and other beef cattle specialists and economists from across the U.S.
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