Despite low local cattle numbers, beef production holding steady

An unpredictable winter is to blame for local cattle numbers being down but Patrick Wall, beef specialist with Iowa State Extension, said there still is hope for things to turn around.

He described local conditions as 'the perfect storm.” Because of the wet fall, corn stalks were not put up for bedding or feed and hay production was low but the prices were high. The cold weather caused the cow intake to increase which caused them to eat more than they normally would.

'(We had) horrible weather and the most horrible part came when a lot of people would calve heifers,” he said.

He said many calves froze to death this winter due to the weather being so frigid and the calves not getting warmed up in time.

'That's what happened in southeast Iowa, but we weren't isolated,” he said. 'The winter was harsh from Utah to Virginia. It was a tough winter for everybody.”

However, Wall says things are looking up as the weather begins to turn around.

'Green grass heals a lot of wounds, so a lot of folks are already (putting their cattle) out on pasture,” he said. 'The problem with that is if they went out too early, they could really hurt grass production for the entire summer.”

He said if rain does not come, cattle could eat through the grass and farmers could be in a shortage once again.

'Our feed supplies locally were the biggest concern on top of the weather,” he said.

With feed supply down, cattle numbers have been down as well. Wall said a lot of people have had to cut back or sell off due to conditions and not being able to keep cattle fed.

One thing Wall said they are uncertain about is how many calves were lost during the winter because they would not go to market until the following year. Next year it will be easier to track how many were lost, which could raise prices based on a low supply and high demand.

Beef production, he said, has been holding steady; however, there is a lot of beef on the market, which levels out the price.

'Supply has been good, exports have been good, neither have been great,” he said.

Feed lot numbers are up because heifers are not being retained for reproduction and taking cattle to heavier weights. This equates to more pounds of beef which means there is more beef to export.

'It's not a hard thing to battle if beef demand worldwide is good; the problem we're facing now is there's a lot of pressure from the swine industry. ... We're competing against cheaper proteins, in poultry and swine, right now.”

However, Wall said there is some optimism in the industry with the trade war happening with China. Because pork prices are likely to rise, people may be looking to purchase another kind of protein, such as beef or chicken.

The good news, according to Wall, is that there are no foreign animal diseases on the horizon in the beef industry. He said the market is looking flat right now because of the oversupply, but so far, there is nothing that would raise concern.

'We're sitting in good shape currently, but that could change overnight,” he said.