Extension Update

Travis Meteer, University of Illinois Extension Beef Specialist

Opportunity Accompanies Challenge and Change

Here we are. A year has passed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Maneuvering changes on the farm and in everyday life has become the new normal. As we go forward, there is no doubt in my mind that more hurdles will appear along our path. Preparing to handle challenge and weather storms will yield opportunity. I challenge you to think about ways to make your farm or cattle operation more adaptable, more flexible and more financially resilient.

I have the unique opportunity to provide consultation to many cattle producers in Illinois and the Midwest. Here are some considerations that many progressive producers are taking seriously.

Soil health. It all starts with the soil. Healthy soil grows healthy plants that feed healthy animals. More evidence is showing that the secret to building healthy soil is livestock. Adaptive high-stock density grazing, balancing soil minerals and pH, removing compaction, increasing water infiltration, and establishing a diverse plant population are all important crucial parts of rejuvenating soil. Although greatly dependent on policy, improving soil and carbon capture will likely become income opportunities for farmers.

Crop residues. Utilizing crop aftermath is a no-brainer. Limitations are usually fence and water, however this could be a very good return on investment to better utilize your land. Water and fence infrastructure can also be used to incorporate cover crop grazing. Even baling crop residues has a place. Crop residues can be a component of a balanced ration. Baled cornstalks is likely your most economical bedding option.

Better grazing. Rotational grazing is a good start. Anything to allow plants proper recovery time will increase production and resiliency in your pastures. Many pastures are setstocked and they are overstocked. Let’s be honest, some Illinois pastures are glorified holding pens. We need to be better than this. Manage the grass. Managing the plants will improve animal performance and animal health while reducing costs.

Summer cow feeding. Normally this is a sign of drought or overstocked pastures. But what if you remove cows from cool season pastures in the middle of summer to feed hay or even a TMR? This could coincide with fenceline weaning or a low-stress weaning of calves. Shade and water need to be well thought-out, but many Illinois cattle producers have facilities to do this. Hay is more available, not as degraded from outside storage, and by-product feeds are generally more of a buy in the summer. Removing cows from pastures could allow for rest, plant recovery, and even a good stockpile period. This stockpiled forage can be grazed with less harm to the plants after they go into dormancy.

Direct Marketing. Some of the biggest smiles on cattle producer’s faces in 2020 were when they were talking about selling freezer beef. The pandemic and short supplies on shelves forced this. However, there is certainly opportunity in the area of direct-to-consumer. Is this something your farm can expand without much effort? If so, getting closer to the consumer can allow for more value capture as packers continue to use their leverage to take big profits.

Reduce hay feeding. Yes just two paragraphs up I talk about feeding cows in the summer. But the main goal of that practice would be to rest pastures and facilitate low-stress weaning. Let’s be honest… higher commodity prices will force more hay ground to row crop production, so decent hay will get more expensive. Ultimately, reducing hay feeding is correlated to increased profits. Better grazing management, proper stocking rates, and timely supplementation are all ways to reduce hay feeding and boost profit potential. Alternative feeds need to be investigated. Cover crops, local buys, waste-stream products are all opportunities. I have seen innovative farmers figure out how to incorporate candy, bread, nuts, cookies, vegetable waste, screenings and off-spec feeds with the help of their nutritionist. Cattle are up-cyclers!

Consolidate and reduce equipment. Overhead costs can eat up all the profit potential on small beef farms. Far too often, off-farm jobs are subsidizing a losing effort of small farms. Sure the lifestyle if desired by many, but no matter size, reductions in overhead costs will build farm resiliency. Are there opportunities to reduce equipment by purchasing hay or better using acreage for grazing instead of haying? Can you borrow equipment instead of own it? Can you consolidate to only essential equipment to reduce cost and improve reliability? Think about ways to diversify use of equipment to spread the overhead over more business entities.

Reduce Labor. The two biggest labor requirements are generally winter calving and hay making. Buying forages and calving on green grass can be potential solutions. Custom grazing instead of cow/calf ownership can reduce risk, capital needs and be a ‘growing season cow business.” This can eliminate the stresses of winter feeding and need for volumes of stored feeds. On the “out-there” thought process, we have seen the dairy industry largely adopt robot milkers. As technology improves and costs moderate, I think we will see more use in the beef cattle industry. Drones, cameras, sensors for movement and body temperature are already being used. I can’t wait to see a “Roomba-like” robot that cleans cattle pens!

Better record keeping. You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Record output and input. Make an effort to calculate pounds weaned per cow exposed, pounds weaned per acre, purchased feed costs, and replacement rate. These measures can help give insight to herd fertility, land productivity and replacement costs. Documenting cows that need calving assistance, bad udders, lameness issues and attitude problems is always important. Culling problems is most always profitable. The harder you cull a cowherd for problems, the less you eventually have to do it.

Stockmanship. It doesn’t cost much to learn how to be a better stockman. Observing animals properly can be the best return on investment. Understanding animal behavior can lead to better animal handling, use of timely supplementation, better animal health, lower death loss and ultimately a more satisfying feeling when owning livestock.

All in all, managing livestock and working with Mother Nature will always be challenging. With challenge comes opportunity. Look for the opportunity on your farm. Make sure that opportunity matches your business and personal goals. Align that opportunity to build more resiliency and adaptability to your cattle operation.

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