As I sit down to write this month, spring is among us. The grass is getting greener, the baby calves are growing and it is time to breed cows. This is a very interesting time of year, trying to decide which mating to market next year or the year after.

This spring has been fantastic for the Chi breed. We have been making great tracks to the future. Sales for the Chi breed have been great all spring and as good as or better than other breed sales in many areas. This means Chi genetics are in demand.

You, the breeders, have done a great job developing cattle to fit the current markets. Even though we have developed cattle to fit today’s demand and markets, we need to keep progressing forward. The beef cattle markets are moving targets that we are constantly trying to hit, we have to keep on our toes if we want to constantly hit these moving targets. Don’t let your guard down as we move forward in the Chi breed and the beef business.

There are many challenges facing the beef industry, and the Chi breed has many attributes to contribute to the progress and prosperity of the beef industry. There are many things that we should take into consideration as we move forward with our operations. Which market(s) do you want to target? What are your input costs? What are your break even costs? Is your operation as efficient as it could be? Do you have animals that need to be culled? What changes do you need to make to successfully market your cattle in the next year?

Data collection and submission is a very important part of the cattle business and marketing. Data driven information should be utilized to market your product based on the market you are trying to capture or the clientele you are marketing to. Knowing which information will be useful in marketing your animal will help you make the sale. A cattle producer needs to start by evaluating their current markets and developing a marketing plan if there isn’t one in place already. What is your mission? What are your objectives? What strategies and tactics can you employ that fit your operation and goals?

Knowing your customers or customer base is a very important start. This way you can develop a product to fit a market, which is more relevant than developing a market to fit a product.

At the current time almost everyone needs to evaluate their marketing plan and make sure that it fits their markets, inputs and data collection. The marketing plan may need to be adjusted to fit today’s markets and input costs and may need to be reevaluated annually, if not semiannually. Once the marketing plan is in place you need to utilize the information collected to market your product. You need to collect calving ease, birth weight, weaning weight, yearling weight, frame score, docility and carcass ultrasound or actual carcass data on steers. There is other information that should be collected and utilized to market your product if you think there is an advantage to using it in your market. Once data is collected, it should be reported on every animal, not just the animals you are going to register. By reporting data on every animal in your herd you can make your good cattle look great and your great cattle look superior. If you don’t report data on every animal in your herd you can make your good cattle look poor and your great cattle look mediocre. (Look for more information on this topic in a future editorial) Once your marketing plan is in place, make sure you follow through with it. Use this plan to make your operation, breed and industry prosper.

Beef Derby Update
On a beautiful April day we made the journey to Decatur County Feed Yard to evaluate the progress of the ACA Beef Derby steers. Northwest Kansas has had a mild and dry winter which has allowed the steers to gain and perform well in the feedlot.

There have been many changes in the beef industry since the 2007 ACA Beef Derby concluded and the 2008 ACA Beef Derby started. Many input costs have increased, cattle prices have been stagnant to lower and the choice/ select spread has decreased with a slight increase in the past week. The price of feedstuffs, fuel, fertilizer, land and many other factors have affected the beef industry in the past year. These factors are changing the amount of time cattle spend in the feedlot and the age that cattle are harvested.

Decatur County Feed Yard has a program they use to formulate the best time to harvest their cattle that are currently on feed. The formula takes into account live weight, back fat, cost of feed, cost of gain and market price. The cost of feed to cost of gain ratio is very important this year with the cost of feedstuffs being higher; this will be a major factor in determining the harvest date for these steers.

The steers have gained very well and have an appropriate amount of back fat to be harvested. Most of the steers will be harvested at an earlier age than they have been in previous years. Approximately 70% of the steers will be harvested by the time you read this article, 20% will be harvested in approximately 3 weeks and the remainder will be harvested about the middle of June. This is based on the cost of feedstuffs being higher and it is not cost effective to maintain them in the feedlot any longer. Micro Beef Technologies and Dan Dorn of Decatur County Feed Yard will again be doing the final calculations. Data collected by Decatur County Feed Yard will be analyzed to calculate feed efficiency, carcass value and adjusted net return. Payment for cattle will be made from the ACA as soon as money is received from the feedlot. Ten percent of the carcass value will be retained to award as prize money during the annual banquet in Louisville.

The steers are all doing well and it is a competitive contest. Good Luck to all participants!!

Bits and Pieces
The American Simmental Association has been doing research to develop an across breed calving ease EPD. The calving ease EPD is set to be added to the genetic evaluation for the June 2008 run. As you are submitting data on animals, please make sure that you are including calving ease records along with the other data.

Data for the summer EPD run was pulled on May 15. As soon as this information is calculated, updates will be available. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

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