Iowa Beef Center director column
January 2012
Resolutions for Cattle Producers in 2012
A recent publication listed the top New Year’s resolutions for 2012. As you might guess the most popular ones had to do with pushing away from the table, getting more exercise, getting their lives more organized including budgeting and getting more out of life. By the time you read this you have probably already broken one of them.
The following list is 10 resolutions for your beef operation that you can stick to in preparation for the challenges coming in 2012.
1. Keep better records.
Whether it is a feedlot or a cow calf operation,
management of costs in a high cost environment requires knowing what
they are and making
sound decisions on that basis. Increasingly, good records on environmental
management, animal production, animal health and animal care are needed
for good stewardship and market access.
2. Attend an educational event.
You never quit learning and the business
and technology changes fast. Check the upcoming events on our website
for
an event near you.
3. Become a better environmental steward.
Do you know where the water
goes when it leaves your feedlot or feeding area? Are you a medium
CAFO? Learn
about the changes in rules and permitting that might affect you. The
IMMAG website (www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/)
and the Iowa DNR (www.iowadnr.gov/) are good resources.
4. Develop a health program.
Work with your veterinarian to develop
a state of the art health program. Don’t wait until an emergency to
give
him or
her a call.
5. Manage feed storage and handling losses.
The first step in managing
feed storage losses, whether it is wet corn co-products, commodities,
silage
or forages is to measure it. Weigh your feed in and out of storage.
You might
be surprised how much feed you are losing before the cattle see it.
6. Test your feeds and balance your rations.
Underfeeding reduces productivity
and overfeeding increases costs. Send your feeds in for analysis and
share the information with your nutritionist. If you balance your rations
yourselves,
consider the BRANDS program to fine tune and reduce feed costs.
7. Take credit for your manure value.
With increasing value of fertilizer
nutrients this is a resource that should be accounted for. This requires
testing and applying the manure at agronomic levels.
8. Evaluate your facilities.
Cattle comfort can pay off in better performance,
particularly during periods of weather extremes. Efficient handling
facilities are makes life easier for both human and bovine.
9. Manage your margins.
Risk management today involves managing the
risk of both input costs and market prices. Learn more about the cattle
“crush
margin”
and how to use it for managing volatility and price risk.
10. Get more out of your pastures this summer.
Take a pasture walk or
attend a grazing clinic. Forage and grazing management is one way to
get more
productivity out of fewer available acres.
IBC at Iowa State University serves as the university’s extension and outreach program to cattle producers. Our center comprises a team of faculty and staff from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Iowa State University Extension. We work together to develop and deliver the latest in research-based information to improve the profitability and vitality of Iowa’s beef industry. Call us at 515-294-BEEF, or e-mail us at beefcenter@iastate.edu
