📈 Facing the Fax

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NEWS

📈 Facing the Fax.

📈 Facing the Fax - At NCBA's CattleCon24, the CattleFax 2024 Outlook revealed record prices in 2023, driven by the smallest beef cow inventory in 50 years, and strong demand, have set the stage for delayed industry expansion. Persistent challenges like drought, high costs, and labor shortages hinder growth. Weather patterns indicate La Niña's return, posing heat and drought risks for the Central and Southern Plains. Cattle inventories are expected to decline, impacting prices and production. Despite obstacles, the outlook is positive, with projections of peak cattle prices in 2025-2026, favoring cow-calf producers in the short term.

📕 On Record - Keeping accurate records is a crucial part of equipping yourself with the info you need to make short- and long-term decisions about your calves and breeding stock. Having a numbering system for newborns, collecting data in a timely manner, comparing calves within the herd and establishing a production history of your cows are each a step in the right direction. 

✈️ Biofuels Take Flight - Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) introduced the "Farm to Fly Act," proposing legislation to expand the use of biofuels as a replacement for jet fuel. The bill aims to establish a common definition for sustainable aviation fuel within USDA programs, fostering partnerships with private industries and emphasizing the potential to provide new markets for farmers, enhance domestic energy production, and bolster national security. 

🌾 Winter Feeding Woes - The aftermath of severe droughts in 2022 and 2023, led to low hay supplies at the start of 2024. University of Missouri Extension beef nutrition specialist Eric Bailey highlights the continuing impact of precipitation deficits, urges producers to manage winter feeding costs effectively and recommends strategic feeding based on nutrient requirements, emphasizing the importance of assessing total mixed ration (TMR). 

🐄 The Cull Call - Knowing when and who to peel off the herd is important information for any cow-calf producer, particularly in times of slim margins and low feed availability, such as after a drought. Bad attitudes, missed pregnancies, chronic disease, unsound structure, old age, poor performance, mismatched phenotype and late breeding should all be considered when making the cull.  

RANCHING KNOW-HOW

Feedstuff Finder

The University of Missouri developed a website to connect feedstuff buyers and sellers. Users can locate products for purchase, list products for sale or collaborate with other users to identify opportunity. Feedstuff sources can be identified by location, product type or price.

Master Beef Producer Series

The University of Tennessee Animal Science Department published eight videos comprising the Master Beef Producer Webinar Series. Topics include estate planning, weaning and backgrounding, consumer trends, hay purchasing, bull health, replacement heifers, sustainability and policy. 

CATTLE COMMUNITY

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