News Update
October 13, 2017
Ag Prospects Looking Up
It might not feel like a quick ascent, but agriculture will climb out of the slump affecting nearly all sectors in recent years.
That ray of hope comes from AgResource Co. President Dan Basse, who in August spoke as part of the Feeding Quality Forum in Omaha, Neb., while colleague Ben Buckner addressed the crowd with a similar message in Garden City, Kan.
“Dairy is the only industry this year that will make more gross than the year before,” Basse said, noting it is up $40 billion, compared to the beef sector, which will drop $7 or $8 billion.
“Our revenues have fallen in half. Name me another industry where net revenues have declined by 50% in a period of five years. That’s our story,” he said.
Cyclical trends and export prospects provide a glimmer.
“The United States will be a net exporter of crude oil by 2019,” said Basse. “This is a really big deal. [It’s] the first time we’ve had a net export of energy going back to the 1940s.”
Continue reading this Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
Drought and Regional Cow Slaughter Trends
U.S. cow slaughter has been trending higher for much of this year but the pace of slaughter increased notably this summer when drought conditions across the U.S. Northern Plains forced producers to cull herds. USDA provides each week a breakout of cow slaughter by region. Based on weekly slaughter statistics available through Sept. 23, total cow slaughter for period June 3 through Sept. 23 was 1.842 million head, 161,600 head (+10%) higher than the same period a year ago.
While the number of beef and dairy cows slaughtered during this period was evenly divided, beef cows contributed almost 2/3 of the entire increase in U.S. cow slaughter. Beef cow slaughter for this period was 903,100 head, 105,900 head (+13%) more than a year ago. Region 6 (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas) accounts for the largest share of the U.S. beef cow herd. On Jan. 1 there were 8.382 million cows in the five states that make up the region, 26.8% of the national total. Beef cow slaughter in region 6 during this reference period (June-September) was 246,800 head, 46,300 head (+23%) higher than the previous year.
Read the full report at www.dailylivestockreport.com.
The Source
Have you ever been to a turtle race? It can sure test your patience. It is always fun and a great way to get to know people who are standing beside you. It reminds me of a recent wedding. The wife was gluing on her fingernails, talking on the phone and trying to decide which piece of jewelry would look best with her outfit. Her son was getting married, and time was ticking. Her husband said it was time to go and out the door he went. One friend grabbed the wife’s phone, the other grabbed a bag for the jewelry and nails. She was herded to the truck.
Her husband made the comment she was like trying to herd a turtle. There are some cattlemen who move as fast as a turtle when they try to decide how and when to market their calf crops.
Learn more in the Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
Eye in the Sky
An “eye in the sky” can help when you need to locate missing cattle, or check a fence or water source in a big pasture and don’t have time to drive out there. Most ranchers can’t afford to hire a helicopter to look for cattle, but they might consider having their own personal “bird” to look at everything from water troughs to activity in the calving pasture.
Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones, have many applications, including law enforcement, land surveillance, wildlife tracking, search and rescue, disaster response, border patrol, photography, and agriculture. A growing number of farmers and ranchers are utilizing drones with onboard cameras that take high-quality photos and video for many monitoring purposes, as well as for advertising and marketing.
John Walker, professor and director at the San Angelo AgriLife Research and Extension Center in San Angelo, Texas, says most ranchers in his area have sheep and goats, as well as cattle. When trapping predators with snares along some of the fences, they can fly a drone down the trap line to see if there is anything snared, without having to drive to the pasture to look.
Read this Angus Journal article online.
46th South Central Texas Cow-Calf Clinic Oct. 27 in Brenham
The 46th Annual South Central Texas Cow-Calf Clinic is scheduled Oct. 27 at the Washington County Fairgrounds, 1305 East Blue Bell Road in Brenham.
Cost is $20 at the door and includes a barbecue lunch. A trade show will also be hosted and an afternoon social immediately following the clinic. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. with the program starting at 8 a.m.
The program is sponsored by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agents and beef committees from Austin, Brazos, Burleson, Fayette, Grimes, Harris, Lee, Washington and Waller counties.
“A great list of program topics and excellent speakers have been prepared based on the recommendations of the area beef and forage committee members,” said Kara Matheney, AgriLife Extension agent in Washington County. “The 2017 clinic will focus on adding value to the calf crop. The day is packed full of great presentations and live cattle demonstrations and includes a number of contests for participants to test their knowledge and skills. Throughout the day there will be time to visit with trade show vendors, view cattle in the contests, and network with producers, speakers and others.”
For more information, visit the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events.
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