Navigating Nutrition Prices

Navigating Nutrition Prices

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
I was talking with Idaho Cattle Association Executive Dir. Wyatt Prescott about the changing landscape in beef production. Among the concerns of many cattlemen is the fact that prices for feed inputs have changed significantly over the past few months, and those market changes are reason for beef producers to re-evaluate their grain versus forage feeding strategies. That’s according to Galen Erickson a University Feedlot Specialist: "Foragers are incredibly important to the beef industry so I am very concerned about what our pasture prices are, let's say we were going to graze those with stocker cattle. Our cost per unit of pound gain isn't competitive on that type of pasture cost or that system as it would be if we penned them up and fed them a high grain diet. We've got some adjustments coming in the near future in the beef industry on sorting out where’s the best place to put on weight and it may favor more grain feeding. Pasture costs are high relative to other costs and so something is going to change.”  

 

When making decisions on feedstuffs, Erickson says cattle producers should focus on the energy values associated with each available option

 

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