Marketing Op-ed from industry legend

by Col. Joe Goggins, Northern Livestock Video Auction

There has been a lot of discussion the last few years about fed cattle marketing and finding solutions to make it a fairer and more equitable situation on a consistent basis for both the producer and the feeder. I’ve had the great opportunity to sit in and be a part of many of these conversations, and one thing is blatantly obvious: the cattle industry of the United States will never totally agree or unify on any solutions that have to do with the way we market fed cattle. It’s plain and simple.

However, I do believe that we, the U.S. cattle industry, had better come together and unify on some key issues that deal with fairness and incentives, not only for those of us in production agriculture; these issues also impact main street, rural America. We need to keep it alive and well.

Something we can all agree upon within the livestock industry is the great need of a referee at the highest level of the livestock food chain, in order to hold the packers accountable. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced the bipartisan Senate Bill 3870, or the Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act of 2022 (Special Investigator Act). The summary of this bill states that it would establish the Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters.

“Specifically, the office must use all available tools (e.g., subpoenas) to investigate and prosecute violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 (P&S Act) […] the bill grants the office the authority to bring any civil or administrative action authorized by that action against a packer,” the summary writes.

I believe that the Special Investigator Act, if passed, will give this industry that much-needed referee. It is not asking us to change the way we market our fed cattle, rather, it is simply putting someone in a career position to make sure the packing industry is playing by the rules of the P&S Act. I firmly believe that this position needs to be a career position, and not one that is politically appointed; the intent of the position should be to remain neutral and consistent in the way the P&S Act is enforced. The Office of the Special Investigator would also be very helpful in providing input on how the 100-year-old P&S Act could be updated to fit the times and ways of modern-day business.

The way I like to illustrate my support of the Special Investigator Act is that, as young people growing up in America, we have all been taught how to be good, competitive citizens. We’ve played football, basketball and baseball. We’ve done speech and drama, showed cattle in 4-H and FFA, we’ve done the Little Britches rodeos. In all these endeavors growing up, we have literally had a judge or a referee. If we ever stepped out of bounds or broke the rules in any way, we came to realize at a young age that there are consequences and penalties for these violations.

In the livestock industry, I think we can say in unison that all we want is someone who will enforce the P&S Act with a team of dedicated staff that has the ability to investigate the tough issues facing producers and hold bad actors accountable.

Since I am in the mood, one other issue that we as an industry, and as a country, need to address is food independence. The United States of America can’t lose much more acreage out of food production if we are going to hold onto our food independence. When we are forced into a position where we have to import more food than we produce, we are no longer a superpower.

Our top bargaining chip when it comes to world trade is not our energy, it’s not our technology. It’s our food. We must come up with some ways to incentivize folks to keep their land in food production for the masses. We must add some margin to these grassroots operations if we want these young people to stay involved in agriculture.

Our lawmakers have never been more willing to help rural Americans than the present. They just need wellthought-out, common-sense solutions from a unified front. I absolutely believe that we, as one industry, can go to work and get this done. Let’s put our differences aside, come together and do something meaningful for ourselves and most importantly, the next generation!

by Clint Rusk, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, American-International Charolais Association

In the U.S., the National Charolais Sale is the annual event that signals the beginning of the four-month period in the winter and early spring we often refer to as “Bull Sale Season.” This year’s National Charolais Sale featured exciting genetics consigned by progressive Charolais breeders from across the United States. With active bidders from Canada, Mexico and the U.S., the rapid pace of the sale was fueled by a large face-to-face crowd and numerous online bidders. I was fortunate to get a firsthand view of the sale from the auction block standing behind auctioneer, Col. Justin B. Stout. I watched as Mr. Greg Hubert (sale manager), Colt Keffer (sale consultant) and Mr. David Hobbs (AICA Vice President of Operations) received bids via cell phones on the elite investment opportunity in the popular Charolais bull, M&M Outsider 4003. A one-third revenue sharing interest in “Outsider” sold for $200,000 to kick-off this year’s National Charolais Sale. The camaraderie and enthusiasm in the sale arena at this event was electrifying! What an exciting way to begin 2022 with this sale grossing over half a million dollars!

With only one month left of summer, the fall bull sale run out west is about to begin and we expect to see the same demand for good bulls!

As a commercial cattle producer, you are aware of the importance of selecting the best bulls possible for your herd. Since your herd bulls provide at least half of the genetic make-up of your herd, it is imperative that you invest both time and money to select the best bulls possible to advance the profitability of your herd. For those of you who start the breeding season by synchronizing your replacement heifers, you know the artificial insemination (AI) sires you select will have a major impact on the level of success you have at the beginning of the calving season nine months after the first heifers are bred. It is important to consider calving ease direct, birth weight, scrotal circumference and maternal traits if you plan to keep replacement heifers out of your first calf heifers. If you sell your calves by the pound at weaning, you will also want to consider weaning weight EPDs. Choosing proven sires whose EPDs have high accuracy values (closer to a value of one) will help minimize the variation in your calf crop. Many of you have or will soon attend a sale to purchase herd bulls to put with your cows after they have been bred AI or, in some cases, instead of using AI, these will be your new herd bulls. My advice is to choose wisely because all bulls are not created equal.

If you retain ownership of your calf crop through the feedyard, you will also want to consider carcass traits (backfat, carcass weight, marbling and ribeye area) when selecting your AI sires and or your new herd bulls. During my first three months at AICA, I received many phone calls from Charolais breeders asking me to visit with packer buyers about the carcass merit of Charolais and Charolaisinfluenced cattle. As many of you know, Charolais and Charolais-influenced cattle have plenty of advantages in the feedyard. First and foremost, these cattle are very efficient at converting feed to gain. This efficiency is partially derived from the Charolais advantage in muscularity and their ability to produce carcasses with large ribeyes per hundred weight. Certain bloodlines of Charolais cattle are also known to produce a high degree of marbling, which is the intramuscular fat found within the muscle that gives meat its desirable flavor.

In January, I visited with Charolais breeders who have been breeding Charolais cattle that excel in carcass merit (marbling and muscle) for several generations. These breeders talked about the success they have experienced increasing marbling and muscling in the bulls they sell their customers, as well as in the calves their customers are producing. Because of the extra carcass merit found in Charolais and Charolais-cross calves, these animals are excellent candidates for premiums offered by carcass based “grids” such as “GeneNet” and “Sterling Silver.” Last month, I learned one of the major packers is now offering a premium for market cattle weighing over 1,600 lbs. In my opinion, this is good news for Charolais breeders and those who buy their bulls, as Charolais cattle tend to be leaner (less fat) at heavier market weights than some breeds. Thus, Charolais and Charolais-cross cattle should produce a lower percentage of Yield Grade 4 and 5 carcasses at 1,600 lbs., making them a breed of choice for packers seeking heavier market cattle.

Best of luck as you plan your strategy for selecting AI sires and choosing your new herd bulls. As a final reminder, choose wisely, the bulls you purchase will certainly impact next year’s calf crop and if you keep their daughters as replacement heifers, your new bulls will influence your herd for many years to come!

We believe strongly in the value of crossbreeding and the benefits of heterosis or hybrid vigor. Crossbred calves are more vigorous at birth, they are more resistant to disease and they have increased performance levels or weight gain. In addition, crossbred beef cows have higher fertility levels, they are also more disease resistant and they are superior in terms of longevity, an often overlooked but very economically important trait in a beef herd. These combined factors result in the generation of more total pounds of beef being produced from a commercial cowherd when crossbreeding is utilized.

We believe that Charolais bulls are the logical and best choice to use on the Angus-dominated commerical beef cowherd that currently exists in this country. They will infuse the benefits of heterosis and produce the “smokies” and “buckskins” that have been popular with cattle feeders and packers for decades.

Jim Ansbach 43861 Burnt Ranch Rd. Mitchell, OR 97750 (541) 462-3083 Annual Bull Sale • February 2023 • Madras, OR

Jerry and Sherry Maltby PO Box 760, Williams, CA (530) 681-5046 Cell • (530) 473-2830 Office BBR@citlink.net • www.brokenboxranch.com Bulls available at Red Bluff and off the ranch.

California State University, Fresno 2415 E. San Ramon, Fresno, CA Randy Perry (559) 278-4793 http://fresnostate.edu/jcast/beef Bulls available private treaty.

Fred & Toni Jorgensen 25884 Mollier, Ave, Orland, CA (530) 865-7102 Contact us about all-around trait Charolais bulls available private treaty.

Nicoli Nicholas 6522 Vernon Rd., Nicolaus, CA • (916) 813-2384 Breeding Charolais cattlsince 1959. 75 outstanding Charolais bulls available private treaty this year!

Bill & Cindy Romans • (541) 538-2921 Jeff & Julie Romans • (541) 358-2905 romansranches@hotmail.com www.romanscharolais.com Annual Production Sale • March 2023 • Westfall, OR