D2 BEEF Disruption, quandaries during pandemic THE NORTH PLATTE TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020
Cattle producers face dilemmas over sale prices, cost of operation
grain will return. In the meantime, some pro- ducers are trying to figure out what to do with cattle that are at market weight, but the price they can get at the sale barn has fallen well below the prof- it point. If they hold onto the cattle, waiting for the market to improve, that adds expense and risk to their operations. Producers have to figure the cost of continuing to feed and maintain market-size an- imals, said Dr. Brian Vander Ley, a veterinary epidemiolo- gist for UNL stationed at Clay Center. In addition, if cattle be- come excessively heavy, they are at greater risk for heat-re- lated illnesses. They also are more likely to be injured on their way to market. On top of that, when they get to the sale barn they may demand a lower price compared with cattle at the ideal weight. “There are a couple of ways” to limit weight gain in mar- ket-ready cattle, said Dr. Galen Erickson, a UNL professor of ruminant nutrition, but “none of them are great.” “You can increase the for- age,” in their diet, and limit protein intake, “but forages are expensive per unit of feed value” and “they’ll still gain some” weight anyway. Another option is to limit to- tal feed amount, Erickson said, but “that [only] works fine if you have room for all the cat- tle to feed at once,” which is often not the case. Cattle who need the feed the least may get
By GEORGE HAWS For the North Platte Telegraph
Effects of the pandemic have hit beef producers hard. Many have been forced to change the way they feed and mar- ket their cattle, and trying to figure out how to keep their businesses going, given the negative market situation. “We didn’t anticipate the interruption in the supply chain,” said Kelly Heath, di- rector of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Institutional Animal Care Program, with the COVID-19 related closures of many pack- ing plants. Nebraska producers also didn’t anticipate the loss of a distiller’s grain, an inexpen- sive feed source that producers have grown to depend on, said Travis Mulliniks, the UNL range cow production special- ist based at the West Central Research and Extension Center in North Platte. Ethanol plants have idled be- cause the demand for the fuel additive plummeted along with the price of gasoline. Distillers grain is a byproduct of ethanol production. Maybe things will work out for the better soon, Heath said, and packing plants will return to full capacity. When that happens, hopefully pric- es will get better: Higher for producers and lower for con- sumers. Maybe the demand for ethanol will improve also, and the supply of distiller’s
Photo courtesy the Beef Checkoff Amid the pandemic, cattle producers are being forced to weigh the revenue of selling cattle at lower-than-normal prices at the sale auction vs. how much the cattle would cost the operation by keeping it until prices rise again.
“protein is not just protein,” Mulliniks said. Different pro- tein sources are composed of different combinations of ami- no acids and they are not all utilized in the same way in the cow’s digestive system. Therefore, feed formulation re- quires careful consideration of the animal’s needs, based on life stage and performance goals. This year’s challenges, Vander Ley said, may prompt some long-term changes in the way cattle are raised and fed. However, what long-term ad- justments are appropriate “is
the billion-dollar question,” and warrants careful consider- ation. Otherwise, “unintended consequences of changes are likely.” The whole situation is com- plicated, Erickson said, and university specialists are available to help producers consider options. “Now is the time for professional help,” rather than just trying to fig- ure everything out, he said. At the same time, “Our producers are innovative,” Heath said, and working with them may result in “solutions that we ha- ven’t even thought of.”
to the bunker ahead of the oth- ers. As a result, you end up “fully feeding the first group and not feeding the others at all.” The distiller’s grain short- age is another problem, and “it’s hard to mitigate that,” said Mulliniks. Distiller’s grain is high in protein. There are other sources of protein, such as soy- beans, alfalfa hay and corn gluten, but a number of factors come into play. They include cost per ton, local availability and trucking costs. A complicating factor is that
Science shows no need to eliminate beef from diet US continues to be a top world leader in cattle production
consumption of fossil fu- els. Not only does this data demonstrate that cattle’s environmental impact is less than often reported, thanks to cattle’s unique digestive system they can actually help miti- gate food waste. “Cattle are natural up- cyclers, which means most of what cattle eat can’t be consumed by humans and would oth- erwise end up in the landfill,” said Sara Place, Ph.D., senior di- rector of sustainable beef production re- search for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contrac- tor to the Beef Checkoff. “At the end of the day, cattle generate more pro- tein for the human food supply than would exist without them because their unique digestive system allows them to convert human-inedible plants into high-quality protein.” It’s also important to note that beef continues to become more sustain- able in the U.S. thanks to innovation and pro- duction efficiencies. In the U.S. today, the same amount of beef is pro-
evaluated greenhouse gas emissions, feed con- sumption, water use and fossil fuel inputs. In all these areas, beef’s envi- ronmental impacts were found to be less than previously reported.4 Specifically, the report found: Beef production, in- cluding the production of animal feed, is re- sponsible for only 3.3% of greenhouse gas emis- sions in the U.S. Per pound of beef car- cass weight, cattle only consume 2.6 pounds of grain, which is similar to pork and poultry. Corn used to feed beef cattle only represents approximately 9% of harvested corn grain in the U.S., or 8 million acres. On average, it takes 308 gallons of water, which is recycled, to pro- duce a pound of boneless beef. In total, water use by beef is only around 5% of U.S. water with- drawals. Total fossil energy in- put to U.S. beef cattle production is equivalent to 0.7% of total national
By HILLARY MAKENS Beef Council
Recent reports ques- tion beef’s role in a healthy, sustainable diet. Beef is healthier and more sustainable today than at any point in time. History and well-estab- lished research have consistently shown that practical, balanced dietary patterns ground- ed in science promote health and sustainabili- ty, not eliminating single foods, like beef. U.S. leads the world in sustainable beef production Research recently con- ducted by the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and The Beef Checkoff, and pub- lished in the journal Agricultural Systems, found that data common- ly used to depict beef cattle’s environmental impact in the U.S. is of- ten overestimated. The study, which is the most comprehensive beef life- cycle assessment to-date,
Promoting beef in foreign markets Baxter Communications Inc. via The Beef Checkoff The Nebraska Beef Council continues to work with the U.S. Meat Export Federation in promoting the state’s product worldwide.
Steve Wellman, direc- tor of agriculture for the state of Nebraska, says, “beef from Nebraska is known throughout the globe for its commitment to quality. Behind that commitment are our farmers and ranchers, the families that for gen- Please see BEEF, Page D3
in Nebraska is well- known across the globe and consumers love the high-quality product. By working with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and the US Meat Export Federation, the NBC fa- cilitates promotions and educational events to help promote beef.
By ANN MARIE BOSSHAMER Executive director, Nebraska Beef Council
The opportunity to promote beef in the foreign marketplace has been an emphasis for the Nebraska Beef Council for decades. The beef raised here
Please see DIET, Page D3
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