McMorris: Beef Business: Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Most people in the beef business are likely asking themselves the above question these days. Making it in the beef industry has never been easy, but now it’s harder than ever. Steep rises in the Canadian dollar and feed costs have combined to challenge even the best in the business. Those who commit to giving it their best shot of being in the beef business five years from now, will have to draw on every possible advantage and most likely have to change the way they do business as well. Industry standards are changing and are sure to include age verification, a sound herd health protocol, excellent management and predictable genetics. These all work together to provide the market what it needs and will pay for. Everyone along the production system will be looking for ways to reduce cost and add value. So, what can you do as a cow/calf producer?

Know your market.
Understand what your buyers are looking for and then sell it to them. For example buyers want age verification and it doesn’t have to be onerous. In fact it is free when you buy tags through Beef Improvement Opportunities (BIO). Know your herd, every cow beyond her looks and her tag number! You need to keep records on your cows so you can sort out the good, the bad and the ugly. Herd evaluation through BIO can cost as little as $99 per year and gives you very valuable information for culling and selection purposes. The range in productivity for cows on herd evaluation in 2006 (genetic potential alone) was 180 pounds! You can’t afford to be carrying the bottom end!

Select the right bull.
Your bull decision today will affect your herd and your bottom line for years. Knowing what your buyer will pay for, what your cows bring to the equation and how you manage your herd let’s you identify what you need in a bull. Bulls that have been through the BIO evaluation program have information on calving ease, growth, maternal, and carcass characteristics. You can look at the results for all of the bulls evaluated by visiting www.biobeef.com (go to Bull Evaluation Program or BEP query). Gone are the days when just looking at the bull was good enough - you need to know what you are buying! Good genetics give a good return on investment.

Present the package.
Offer groups of calves that are age-verified, similar in genetics and weight, from a herd health program and are ready to grow. These cattle get a premium price. Healthy calves come from good herd health programs, which involve making an investment, but have a proven return. If you have not yet added in the component of genetics, now is the time to do it. Test your customer satisfaction. Follow up with the buyers of your calves. Did they perform as you expected and as they needed them to? What could you change that would ensure better value for the buyers of your calves? Make changes as needed or you might just lose that buyer to someone who does listen.

Join a value chain.
The beef industry simply must catch up to other industries with respect to information flow: what is in demand, what will gain better payment, what do you need to change. This is sure to happen eventually on an industry level but as an individual producer, you can get a jump by being part of a group that shares information forward (like genetics) and backward (like carcass information). A clear signal that a particular carcass trait is valued and paid for can then lead to changes in breeding decisions. BIO is here to help. We are owned by beef producers and in business to work with those producers that want to use information to make better business decisions. We look forward to working with you, should you decide to stay. BIO

Editor’s Note: Mike McMorris is the General Manager of the Beef Improvement Opportunities (BIO) To contact Mike McMorris, e-mail him at: mmcmorris@biobeef.com or call him by phone at: Ph: (519) 767-2665 ext. 301.

This commentary is for informational purposes only. The opinions and comments expressed herein represent the opinions of the author--they do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Farms.com. This commentary is not intended to provide individual advice to anyone. Farms.com will not be liable for any errors or omissions in the information, or for any damages or losses in any way related to this commentary.

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by OntAG Admin on November 6, 2010 at 4:17am

Everyone should plan to attend the Farmer's Matter Event....check out the details in the OntAg Calendar.

▶ Reply

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Welcome to
Ontario Agriculture

Sign Up
or Sign In

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Climate change worries Canadian farmers: poll

A poll released Dec. 11 suggests that Canadian farmers worry more about the impacts of climate change than they do about input costs and market prices for canola, corn, wheat and cattle. The poll of 858 producers from coast to coast determined that farmers rank climate change as their No. 1 concern. “When farmers and ranchers were asked an open-ended question—at the very beginning of the poll—about the top challenge for the agricultural sector for the next decade, climate change was the number one answer,” says Farmers for Climate Solutions, a group, that as its name suggests, is focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation within Canadian agriculture. The organization hired Leger, a market research firm, to conduct the survey. It was done by phone from Aug. 8 to Sept. 8. The headline question from the poll asked farmers to identify the top challenge for the agriculture sector over the next 10 years. The results? 17.9 per cent said climate change. Input costs were 17.2 pe

Livestock producers are warned to watch for a larval disease

A disease that lives off the flesh of living mammals has been confirmed in Chiapas, Mexico. New World screwworm (NWS) is a parasitic larval disease of warm-blooded animals where the female fly will lay eggs near an open wound and the larvae can infest the wound and cause significant infections. NWS can infest livestock, pets, wildlife, occasionally birds, and in rare cases, people. Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton said the confirmation comes on the heels of a report in October from Guatemala where the first case was identified. “This larva and the fly were identified at the Mexican border in cattle that were coming through in Guatemala and so this is a very significant concern of especially grazing animals but really of any warm-blooded animal,” she said. “It does cause destruction when a wound gets infected.” Animals can exhibit very painful draining wounds that don’t heal. It has a negative impact on production and can include mortality o

Durum Ending Stocks Tighter from November

Agriculture Canada has whittled down its 2024-25 durum ending stocks estimate from last month, although it remains up from a year earlier. Monthly government supply-demand estimates released Thursday showed durum ending stocks at 650,000 tonnes, down 150,000 from the November forecast but still well up from the previous year’s 407,000. The reduction reflects Statistics Canada’s Dec. 5 crop production report which put this year’s Canadian durum crop to 5.87 million tonnes, down from the federal agency’s previous estimate in September of just over 6 million. However, this year’s durum crop is still 44% larger than the 2023 harvest, 20% above average and the sixth largest on record. Ag Canada trimmed its domestic use estimate slightly to reflect this month’s downward revision in the durum crop, but left its export forecast unchanged from last month at 4.9 million tonnes, up from 3.558 million in 2023-24 but still below over 5 million in 2022-23. At $325/tonne, the average expecte

Alberta Canola Seeks Grower Support for First Service Charge Increase in 20 Years

Alberta Canola is urging canola growers to approve its first service charge increase in over two decades. The proposed change—from $1 per tonne to $1.75 per tonne—will be put to a vote at the organization’s Annual General Meeting on Jan. 22, 2025. The increase is critical to addressing financial challenges and ensuring Alberta Canola can continue supporting farmers amid rising operating costs, declining production, and evolving industry pressures. A Challenging Landscape “Alberta Canola was built by farmers, for farmers, and that hasn’t changed in our 35 years,” says Karla Bergstrom, Executive Director of Alberta Canola. “What?has?changed is the world we operate within.” Bergstrom highlights the dual challenges of reduced public research funding and increased regulatory demands. Meanwhile, consumers, increasingly removed from farming, are demanding greater transparency in food production. With over 90% of its operating revenue coming from its service charge, Alberta Canola has face

BMO underscores trends affecting Canadian agriculture

The Bank of Montreal has published an in-depth analysis of nine key trends. Here’s a topline of several economic indicators and what to expect in 2025. ???????

More…

Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service