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Increasing Your Bottom Line in 2009
Fawna Henke
July 2009
As
harvest is winding down for some, it’s time to start
considering marketing options for those cattle that are
out to grass now. It is a great time to look at some
opportunities for added income in our herd. Hopefully
those calves out to grass are gaining well for us now
but soon it will be time to think about just how to
market them to get the best available value. With the
cattle market ever fluctuating, it’s important to look
at adding as much value to those calves as possible.
Some good management practices can not only improve your
herd but potentially help your profit margin as well.
It’s
all about marketing your cattle and seeking available
opportunities to increase your income. Some good
examples of practices that can easily add value are
weaning your calves, participating in a vaccination
program, and enrolling in an age and source verification
program. Providing buyers with load-size lots can often
increase value as well. It’s important to remember that
no matter what program your cattle are in, they need to
be healthy, quality animals that are ready to gain. In
such a consumer driven market, we must provide top
quality calves.
As
producers look at creating the most potential value,
here is a buyer’s prospective. Bill Shaw, owner of Shaw
Feedyard, Inc in Ashland, KS looks for a lot of these
characteristics when purchasing his cattle. He states
that “With high feed costs, performance is worth more
than ever. With $70 and over rations in feedyards, the
difference really starts to show between average cattle
and top quality cattle. I am willing to pay more for
cattle that are weaned, vaccinated and in an age and
source program.” As a matter of fact, Bill offers great
premiums for cattle in an age and source program, up to
$10 a head currently.
The
Marketing Options link on our website, has some helpful
marketing information. There is a feedyard directory
that lists feeders willing to work with producers on age
and source verified animals. They have different
finance options, lot sizes and most will get gain data
back to the producer. There is also some information
about some cooperative efforts being made. Even if the
location or program isn’t convenient, perhaps producers
in your area could use the outline for a similar program
effort.
Today,
there is a tremendous amount of information available at
all levels of the feeding process. Gain data and
carcass data can be used to bring back better producing
calves each year. This is a win-win situation for both
the cow/calf sector and the feedlot portion of the
industry. Programs such as the Beef Verification
Solution are designed to aid both in the collection and
management of data. When used correctly, this data can
help you in making better herd management decisions.
Age and
source verified animals continue to be a source of
incredible value. Some packers are paying anywhere from
$25-$50 per head premiums on cattle qualifying for
export to Japan. This means these animals need to be in
a USDA-approved Quality System Assessment program (QSA)
or Process Verified Program (PVP) and be under 21 months
of age at the time of slaughter. The Beef Verification
Solution is a Verification Partner with AgInfoLink and
can provide the services of their PVP.
Information taken from the Montana Beef Network states
that on a 600 pound calf sold through Superior
Livestock, age and source verification added over
$12.00. That is a tremendous value and a great return
on investment!
Calculated Added $$ - 600 lb Calf
ü
Age/source
verification $12.83
ü
Weaned $17.64
ü
Semi-load
lots $12.65
ü
VAC
34/45 $14.81
Source:
Montana Beef Network and Montana State
Calves sold through Superior Lvstk Auctions – Summer
2007
The goal of the BVS Program
is to not only provide members with National Animal
Identification System (NAIS) compliance but to offer a
range of animal identification solutions including
source and age verification, Country of Origin Labeling
(COOL) compliance, and more importantly, the ability to
manage and analyze animal data for better decisions and
increased income opportunities. Lastly, as a member
driven program, BVS strives to provide affordable
solutions to animal identification; always working to
offer the most competitively priced program in the
industry.
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