Download May 2016

Volume 38 Number 5 Circulation 8,000 May 2016

Non-ProfitOrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDDaleville, VA 24083

Permit No. 8

The Virginia CattlemanP.O. Box 9Daleville, VA 24083-0009

The Virginia CattlemanPhoto Taken By: Tracy Brown At Seminole Farm, Culpepper, VA. Heifer Herd.

Save The Date!!!

July 8, 2016

Virginia Cattlemen’s Association Annual Meeting & Field Day.

Contact: VCA for more informa-tion or visit our website at

www.vacattlemen.org

, MAY 2016, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN

OpportunitiesBy: Jason Carter

WHAT’S INSIDE

Page 12 - Southwest Bull Test Sale

Page 16 - Va General Assembly Session Summary

1 - Investigating Beef Mar-ket Volatility

Page 25 - Management Of Cattle To Maximize Marbling

Page 38 - Survey Assesses Cattle Feeding Performance

SAVE THE DATE7/8/2016

Virginia Cattlemen’s AssociationAnnual Meeting & Field Day

Virginia Tech Agricultural Research &Extension CenterMcCormick Farm

Raphine VA

The old children’s rhyme goes “spring showers bring May flowers”. In the past few years, Virginia springs have been relatively moist and that precipitation has carried over, in some cases, well into May causing issues getting dry hay made. Technology is a wonderful thing that agriculture has benefited immensely from and for many Virginia beef cattle producers that includes access to wrapping hay for haylage to work around wet seasons. However technology cannot make it rain and at the moment southwestern Virginia has become a yellow spot on the National Weather Service Drought Monitor map. Early spring cold weather has combined with general lack of precipitation to slow the grass, delay corn planting and generally depress the calf market. It has been concerning to see a general lack of enthusiasm among grazers for spring calves in the markets and the anxiety over spring hay that will be here before we know it. Despite the lack of rain there has been some unexpected enthusiasm in the bred heifer markets over the last 8 weeks. Generally prices at replacement heifer sales have been higher than I

expected them. That’s a good sign given the feeder cattle market

and encouraging for breeding herd stability. While feeder cattle prices

are much lower than 2014 and much of 2015, the margins for cow/calf producers are still higher than average for most of the 21st century prior to 2014. Herd expansion and cattle consistency to mitigate costs and risks are still solid business plan foundations for Virginia beef cattle producers.One of the realities that we continue to live with from the boon of 2014 was the tremendous added value that exports of beef became to our business. Since then exports have gone from being a crutch that unexpectedly propped up even further a good market, to now being the third leg in our stool we rest on. While 80% of our beef is consumed domestically the greatest share of that is ground beef and consumed via foodservice. We depend on exports more than ever for marketing high value cuts as well as offal and organ meats. The Pacific Rim countries are particularly critical markets that can’t get enough even with the myriad of tariffs and restrictions placed on American beef. The opportunity is immense. For this

reason American agriculture stand to benefit and needs to support Congress ratifying the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. Japan is an especially important beef trading partner. In 2015, Japan purchased $1.3 billion of US beef even with a 38.5% tariff. They have turned to Australia with a separate agreement that provides for a 28% tariff giving Australia a competitive advantage worth $300 million last year. TPP would lower the Japanese tariff on US beef to 9%. TPP is a broad reaching trade agreement that affects much more than agricultural goods but stands to benefit us particularly because it levels the playing field and requires participating countries to move towards open and free markets similar to our own now. Unscientific and phytosanitary trade barriers are prohibited. The Pacific Rim and North American countries signed onto TPP initially represent up to 40% of the world’s economy and the center of population growth in the coming decades. Free trade will be more important than ever as a factor in agriculture for the future as well as critical for general international security. China is a powerful economic engine in

Asia capable of dictating terms of trade. Currently China is not signed onto TPP. The quicker our Congress ratifies the TPP agreement and secures our place assuring free trade, the less likely China will be in position to control future trade agreements and the more likely China will be to accommodate TPP expectations to play along with their neighbors.It is vital that TPP not be a political casualty in this election year. Contact your Congressional representatives and tell them that free trade is vital to agriculture and vital to the beef cattle business. Tell them that the sooner they ratify TPP the better off we will be as cattle producers and as a nation. Where there is significant demand there will be opportunity and for beef the US needs to be at the forefront of meeting that opportunity to grow beef sales where demand increases. Tell our folks in Congress that TPP and trade are issues for America much more important than who Trump is running down today, Bernie Saunder’s tax returns, Hillary Clinton’s FBI probe or Ted Cruz’s supposed manipulation of Republican convention delegates.

THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, MAY 2016, PAGE 3

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The Virginia Cattlemen’s Association

Affiliated with theNational Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc.

P.O. BOX 9Daleville, Va 24083-0009

www.vacattlemen.org

The Virginia CattlemenPhone: 540-992-1009Fax: 540-992-4632

[email protected] monthly by the

Virginia Cattlemen’s Association

Jason Carter……….Stuarts DraftExecutive Secretary

Butch Foster……….BristolField Manager

Troy Lawson……….ChurchvilleField Manager

FEEDER COUNCILGlenn Wheeler……….Atkins

Region 1Chuck Miller……….Crockett

Region 2Joe Meek……….Dublin

Region 3Forrest Ashby……….Staunton

Region 4Rick Matthews……….Browntown

Region 5Steve Hopkins……….Lousia

Region 6Tom Nixon……….Rapidan

Region 6Brett Stratton……….Evergreen

Region 7Andy Smith……….Rosedale

Director at Large

POLICY & INDUSTRYADVOCACY BOARD

Gene Copenhaver……….MeadowviewDistrict 1

Joey Davenport……….Glade SpringDistrict 1

George Stovall……….StuartDistrict 2

OPEN SEATDistrict 2

Bill Tucker……….AmherstDistrict 3

Jon Repair……….GlasgowDistrict 3

Jared Burner……….LurayDistrict 4

Allen Heishman……….EdinburgDistrict 4

John Goodwin……….OrangeDistrict 5

James Kean……….LousiaDistrict 5

Jay Calhoun……….CallandsDistrict 6

Mike Henry……….ChesterfieldDistrict 6

Editor……………Jason [email protected]

Publications Coordinator…Jacquelynn Davis

[email protected]

Issued the first week of every month. Copy deadline the 15th

Of previous month.The Virginia Cattleman is sent to

members of the VirginiaCattlemen’s Association. Annual dues are

$50/year orParticipation in the Association’s Feeder

Cattle MarketingProgram Complimentary copies are sent

to various Supporters of the Virginia Cattle Industry.

A Member of:(LPC) Livestock Publications Council

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CONTACT LIVESTOCK MARKETS OR VCA STAFF FOR QUESTIONS

MAY2016

VCA 540-‐992-‐1009 BUTCH FOSTER 423-‐360-‐0434 TROY LAWSON 540-‐430-‐0042

VIRGINIA CATTLEMEN'S ASSOCIATIONSponsored Graded Sales Schedule

Check our Website at www.vacattlemen.org for updates

March 25, 2016

State Graded Feeder Steers, Me-dium and Large 1

400-500 lbs 148.00-205.00, mostly 195.50-205.00, average 197.70




State Graded Feeder Heifers, Medium and Large 1





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Breakers, 1200-1600 lbs, 62.00-80.00, average 70.83

April 1, 2016





700-800 lbs 135.50-148.50, mostly 142.00-148.50, average

145.24



500-600 lbs 139.00-156.00, av-erage 149.53



Slaughter Cows



April 8, 2016




600-700 lbs 130.00-192.00,

mostly 156.00-170.50, average 165.34







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400-500 lbs 130.00-188.00, mostly 164.00-175.00, average

169.35








700-800 lbs 119.50-134.50, av-erage 126.37

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- Working with industry groups, media and government to insure Virginia’s Cattlemen have a Voice!- Marketing Virginia Feeder Cattle through special graded sales, tel-o-auctions, and special board load sales.- Representing the cattle industry in regulatory and policy issues.- Providing Educational opportunities to Virginia’s Cattle Producers on Local and State-wide level

Membership Benefits Include a One Year Subscription to The Virginia Cattleman Newspaper - providing valuable and timely information to VCA Members.

For more information call our office at 540-992-1009 or Visit our website at http://vacattlemen.org/membership_join.php

Join Us Today

Virginia Cattlemen’s Association Membership Form

Name:______________________________________ Farm Name: _______________________________________Address:_______________________________________________________________________________________City:______________________________________State:_______________________Zip:_____________________County:_________________________________________Phone:_________________________________________

Email:____________________________________________ ARE YOU A MEMBER OF A LOCAL CATTLEMEN’S GROUP, IF SO WHICH ONE:___________________________________________________________________________

______ General Membership / Renewal $50.00 ______Allied Industry Members $300.00 (Local cattlemen groups and breed associations with budget less than $10,000)______Allied Industry Members $600.00 (Local cattlemen groups and breed associations with budget more than $10,000)______ Associate Members $300 - $1000 (Livestock Markets, Agribusinesses, Lenders with budget less or more then $1million) (Please contact us for more information and benefits.)


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After a string of high prices for calves and feeder cattle, margins are being slashed as cattle supplies increase and feedyards recover from wrecks that cost them $400 to $600 per head in losses. But with a powerful preconditioning program in place, ranchers can see their calves at the top of the market and worth an extra $25 or more per head1,2.

“A good preconditioned calf is very valuable to the buyer,” said Dr. Jerry Woodruff, professional services veterinarian for Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI). “And, as the supply of feeder cattle gets more plentiful with more cow numbers, those calves that have gone through a preconditioning program will be the ones preferred by the buyers.”

The proper preconditioning program should involve quality

forage and/or supplemental feed and nutrients and constant access to clean fresh water. It should also include a vaccination program that protects calves against respiratory, digestive and other diseases that attack the immune system, and dewormer program designed to control the types of internal and external parasites that may harm your calves.

Vaccinations start early

The vaccination program starts with making sure cows and heifers are vaccinated 30 to 60 days before breeding to provide protection against common pathogens that contribute to both reproductive and respiratory disease such as bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) and other diseases. A pre-breeding vaccination program will better enable the mother to provide the calf with colostrum fortified with protection against diseases the calf may encounter once it hits the ground.

Calf vaccinations should include a clostridial and modified live virus (MLV) vaccine at turnout or branding time. “If we start a MLV program in a young calf, when it’s 30 to 60 days old, we can help ‘start’ its immune process in preventing BVD Type 1a and 1b, BVD Type 2 and other viral and bacterial respiratory diseases,” Woodruff said.In fact, research shows that calves vaccinated with a five-way MLV plus Mannheimia haemolytica combination product at 62 days old (branding) have higher BVD Type 1a antibody levels and greater cell-mediated immunity than those that were first vaccinated at 188 days of age.3

Different ranches will have different vaccination periods. But a sample calf health protocol is:•30–90 days (branding) – Viral-bacterial combination respiratory vaccine, clostridial vaccine •120–190 days (preconditioning/weaning) – Booster respiratory and clostridial vaccine

Dr. John Davidson, BIVI professional services veterinarian, said cow-calf producers should work with their veterinarian to understand the diseases that threaten the health and performance of their cattle. “Selecting the proper vaccine product, route of administration and timing are all critical to

fully realize the health benefit of a preconditioning program,” Davidson said. “Knowledge of the benefits of and limitations of certain vaccines and their routes of administration are essential to achieve the best results.”

Dr. Ted McCollum, Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist, said preconditioning is the key to a value added calf (VAC) program. “There is value that can be realized by preconditioning calves, but the value depends on the type of preconditioning program that is used.”

In a VAC 24 program, calves are vaccinated while they are on the

Earn $25 or More Per Head From Preconditioning

Continued on Page 8.


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cow, McCollum said, and for VAC 34, calves are vaccinated before weaning and at weaning when they are sold.

“The VAC 45 is the full vaccination program in which calves receive the vaccinations and are held on the ranch 45 days. According to Superior Livestock Auction and other large sales, calves that demand the greatest premiums are those in the VAC 45 program.”With the call for more verification that cattle have been vaccinated in a full preconditioning program, BIVI has developed the MARKET READY Quality Feeder Calf Program. “The program is a hands-on preconditioning program that provides documentation of vaccinations and other animal health and nutrition programs to buyers of the calves,” Woodruff explained. “It provides some flexibility for managing the herd the way you want.”

With the MARKET READY program, you can vaccinate at branding age, preweaning

or weaning, using Pyramid® 5 + Presponse® SQ vaccines. Woodruff said that for producer convenience, protection for the following diseases can be covered in just two syringes (follow label instructions for necessary boosters):•Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR)•Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) Types 1 and 2, including BVD 1b•Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV)•Mannheimia (Pasteurella) haemolytica•Parainfluenza 3 (PI3)•Clostridium chauvoei, Cl. septicum, Cl. novyi, Cl. sordellii, Cl. perfringens Types C and D (7-way blackleg)•Pinkeye

Parasite control

Woodruff said vaccines will protect calves more if their immune system is not hurt by parasites. “If an animal is dealing with an internal or external parasite problem, those parasites are occupying part of the animal’s immune system.

They are not as responsive to vaccines,” he said. “Parasites maintain their existence at the expense of the host calf or cow. They are drawing nutrients the animal would otherwise have, and diverting a portion of the immune system that should focus on responding to our vaccination program.”

A proper deworming program will control parasites, based on the type of parasites infesting the cattle and time of year. “It’s easy to grab fecal samples to determine the worm load,” Woodruff said. “A producer’s veterinarian can assist him in targeting certain groups to identify the level of parasite activity, as well as the type of parasite and the deworming program needed to control them.”

Woodruff said that while parasites can hurt an animal’s immune system response, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, especially trace mineral deficiencies, can also slow down calf performance and possibly cause health problems.

“If there is anything afoul in

the nutrition program there can be problems,” he said. “If it’s a shortage of energy or protein, that is more readily detected. But less visible are deficiencies of trace minerals, such as copper, zinc, manganese and vitamin A and E.“If those deficiencies are present in the animal, the immune system just doesn’t perform as well when they are receiving their vaccinations,” he added. “With trace mineral deficiencies, it may require some outside expertise to spot the problem, such as a nutritionist or veterinarian.”

Know your market

With higher input costs cutting into already thin margins, McCollum suggested that producers have a marketing program in place before investing in a full preconditioning program. “The marketing venue becomes important,” he explained. “If you’re going to precondition calves to capture some added value, you need to be willing to participate in a market venue such as a video market or designated preconditioned calf sale that has buyers present to

provide that added value.

“The fact that we may be seeing more calves the next few years, there may be more of a difference in value between preconditioned calves and others as time goes by. But remember, if you hope to get a premium, you better have a market.”

For all products, read and follow all label directions, including booster requirements. Product combinations vary; read label directions to determine antigens included in each vaccine.

All products are trademarks or registered trademarks of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. ©2016 Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc.

1—Donnell J, Ward C, Swigert S. Costs and benefits associated with preconditioning calves. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service Bulletin AGEC-247. Oklahoma State University, Stillwater. 2007:1–4.

2—Seeger JT, Grotelueschen

From Page 6. - Preconditioning


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DM, Stokka GL and Sides GE. Comparison of the feedlot health, nutritional performance, carcass characteristics and economic value of unweaned beef calves with an unknown health history and of weaned beef calves receiving various herd-of-origin health protocols. Bov Pract 2008:42(1);1–13.

3—Powell JG, Richeson JT, Kegley EB, et al. Immunologic, health and growth responses of beef calves administered pentavalent modified-live virus respiratory vaccine during the presence of maternal antibody versus a traditional vaccination regimen. Bovine Pract 2012;46(2):122–130

From Page 6. - Preconditioning

Scott P. GreinerExtension Beef Specialist,

Virginia TechMay signals the beginning of the forage harvest season. The impact of weather on forage production and harvest is typically the concern that predominates; however, other items warrant close attention. Each ton of harvested forage removes about 50 lbs. of nitrogen, 50 lbs. of potash and 15 lbs. of phosphate per acre. As a result, hay from unfertilized fields is effectively mining your soil resources. Another common problem when applying fertilizer is not adding the correct proportion of each element. Field fertilized repeatedly with 15-15-15 or 10-10-10 likely need no additional phosphorus. Poultry litter and animal manures also supply more phosphorus than grasses can utilize. Soil samples and test results are the only way to know the nutrient and pH status of your fields. Your local Extension office should have soil probes

and sampling instructions you can utilize. Using these results to match fertilizer application to soil needs will enhance both the productivity and quality of your forage crop, and be cost-effective. Lastly, remember that forage testing at harvest is an excellent way to determine your success at making quality hay, and also provides the basis for making supplement decisions next winter.

Spring Calving Herds (January-March)

General· Calving season winding down. Continue to observe late calving cows frequently. · Calving records should be complete and up to date.

Nutrition and Forages· Continue to offer a high magnesium mineral to prevent grass tetany. Monitor intake to insure cows are consuming the recommended

amount. No other source of salt or minerals should be available.· This is the time to put into place a rotational grazing management system which will provide a rest period for pastures. During rapid growth move more quickly to the next paddock and leave some residue.· Make plans to store your high quality hay in the dry.· Collect and submit forage samples for nutrient analysis.

Herd Health· Consult with your veterinarian concerning pre-breeding vaccination schedule for cow herd, yearling heifers, and bulls. Plan early to allow 30-day vaccination window prior to breeding season.· Plan parasite and fly control program for herd, and begin planning vaccination and preconditioning protocol to be used for calf crop.

Reproduction

· Finalize plans and protocols for breeding season. Establish calendar with dates and timing of synchronization program to be used during breeding season. Have supplies and semen on hand.· Breed heifers 2-4 weeks ahead of mature cows to allow longer post-partum interval prior to second breeding season.· Schedule and conduct breeding soundness exams on herd sires, including annual vaccinations.· Manage bulls properly

during the breeding season. Observe frequently to confirm breeding activity and soundness, and monitor cows for repeat estrus. Avoid commingling mature and young bulls, as older bulls will be dominant. As rule of thumb, yearling bulls should be exposed to number of cows equal to their age in months (ie. 18 month old bull with ~18 cows).

Fall Calving Herds (September-November)

May Herd Advisor



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James D. Bennett Paul S. Bennett 434-376-7299 434-941-8245 Jim G. Bennett Brain R. Bennett 434-664-7935 434-664-8309Dalton G. Bennett Scott Bennett434-664-7946 434-660-7268

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The 37th Annual Southwest Virginia Performance Tested Bull Sale sponsored by the Virginia Beef Cattle Improvement Association was held Saturday, March 26, 2016 at Wytheville. The 138 bulls offered sold for an average price of $3480 per head. Breed averages were as follows: 69 Angus averaged $3604, 1 Braunvieh at $2000, 5 Charolais $3570, 8 Purebred Gelbvieh $3113, 3 Gelbvieh Balancers $3367, 13 Hereford $2662, 13 Purebred Simmental $3077, and 26 SimAngus $3927. The BCIA-influenced Virginia Premium Assured Heifer Sale held in conjunction with the bull sale sold 48 fall-calving bred heifers for an average price of $2040 per head, along with

4 spring-calving bred heifers which averaged $2600.

The sale was topped by the high-indexing Junior Angus bull, Lot 68, bred by DeHaven Farm of Hillsville, VA and selling to KowPoke Cattle Company of Tazwell, VA for $9750. This calving ease son of Deer Valley All In posted test YW and ADG ratios of 117 and 132, along with CED EPD +11, YW EPD +123, MB +1.01, RE +0.82, $W of +75, and $B of +171. Chimney Top Angus of Gray, TN consigned the high selling Senior Angus bull, Lot 34 which sold to James McConnell of NIckelsville, VA for $7300. This AAR Ten X 7008 SA son posted EPDs of +117 YW, +1.04 MB, $64 $W and +$176 $B along with test YW ratio 116. J&M Windy Acres of Maryville, TN was recognized with the top Senior

Breeder Group, and a member of that consignment, Lot 47 brought $6100 and sold to Sam Crockett of Wytheville, VA.

Another GAR Prophet son from J&M Windy Acres, Lot 46, was recognized as the top indexing Senior Angus, and commanded

$4200 from Dean Pratt of Draper, VA. This bull had EPDs

2016 Virginia BCIA Southwest Bull Test& BCIA-Influenced Virginia Premium Assured Heifer Sale Report



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From Page 9. - May Herd AdvisorGeneral· Schedule and conduct pregnancy diagnosis with veterinarian following breeding season. Plan a marketing strategy for open cows. Cull cow prices typically peak mid-spring through mid-summer, and prices generally stronger for cows in good body condition vs. thin cows (evaluate forage availability and potential feed and management costs to increase BCS of cull cows if warranted).· Evaluate potential options for marketing of calf crop. Match weaning date and calf management with operational goals. Calculate

break-evens on various marketing options and consider risk management strategies.· Reimplant commercial calves.

Nutrition and Forages· As calves are weaned move cows to poorer quality pastures.· Use palatable feeds during the weaning period to bunk train calves and minimize weight loss.· Reserve high quality hay and a pasture area for calves post-weaning.

Herd Health· Consult with

veterinarian on vaccination protocol for calf crop. Design vaccination and weaning program around marketing goals and objectives.· Plan parasite and fly control program for cows and calves.

Genetics· Collect weaning weights on calf crop at optimum time (age range 120-280 days), along with cow weights, hip heights and body condition scores (cow mature size data taken within 45 days of calf weaning measure).

of +12 CED, and +59 WW, along with $W of +74 combined with strong individual performance. Lucas Farms of Blacksburg, VA bred the popular Lot 7 Senior Angus, a calving ease son of GAR Prophet which sold to Bundy Farm of Lebanon, VA for $6000. Lucas Farms were also recognized with the Junior Breeder Group Award for their Junior Angus consignment. Another high-growth son of GAR Prophet, Junior Angus Lot 109 from J&M Windy Acres brought $5500 and went to Barry Vaughn of Austinville, VA.

The Charolais bulls were paced by Lot 307 from the Virginia Tech Beef Center and brought $7250 from Rogers Bar HR of Collins, MS. Sired by WC Benelli 2134, this bull had WW and YW EPDs of +63 and +84, along with test YW ratio 112,

ADG ratio 117 and REA ratio 111.

The demand was strong for the SimAngus bulls, led by the high indexing Senior bull Lot 452 bred by Hounshell Farms of Wytheville, VA and selling to Johnson Farm Operations of Dobson, NC for $6000. This high growth and carcass value, homozygous black son of GW Robust 605Z posted a YW EPD +128, MB +0.58 and REA +1.00 along with test ratios of YW 108 and ADG 129. The high-indexing Junior SimAngus was bred by Trio Farms of Luray, VA and sold to Jamie Wyatt of Draper, VA for $5200. This homozygous black, calving ease son of GAR Sunrise posted CED EPD +15.5, YW +105, along with test ADG ratio of 118. Reasor Simmentals of Rural Retreat, VA ’ Lot 441, sold to Riverview

Farms Cattle of Louisa, VA for $5100. Sired by SAV Final Answer 0035, this homozygous black bull had CED EPD +16.1 YW EPD +119, and RE ratio 119. Virginia Tech Beef Center bred Junior SimAngus Lot 475, which sold to Lawrence

Tankensley of Duffield, VA for $5000.

The purebred Simmental bulls were led by Lot 401 from Reasor Simmentals and selling to Larry Davidson of Gate City, VA for $5200. This fall-born son

of MR NLC Upgrade U8676 posted +107 YW EPD, +0.39 MB and +0.89 RE, along with +136 API. The high-indexing Junior Simmental, Lot 425, was consigned by Virginia Tech Beef Center sold to Duggins

From Page 12. - Southwest VA Bull and Heifer Report


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PAGE 14, MAY 2016, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN

Farm of Galax, VA for $3600.

Lot 204, bred by Fields Edge Herefords, Terry and Roger Slusher of Floyd, VA led the Hereford sale and brought $3800 selling to Valley View Farms of Bland, VA. This September 2015 son of R Visionary 4200 posted CE EPD of +6.9, YW +108, BMI Index $23, CHB Index $36, along with test ADG and YW ratios of 127 and 112. Potts Creek Farm of Covington, VA consigned the high selling Junior Hereford, Lot 225, going to Robert Corell of Tazewell, VA for $3200.

A pair of Senior purebred bulls led the Gelbvieh sale. Lot 605, bred by Handfula Gelbviehs of Bland, VA sold for $4100 to Randy Oliver of Newport, VA. This homozygous black, homozygous polled son of LWHF Ameritrac had YW EPD of +95, Milk +39 and RE +0.91. Randy Oliver also purchased Lot 601 from Little Windy Hill Farms of Max Meadows, VA for $4000. This homozygous black, homozygous polled bull was sired by HYEK Black Impact 3960N.

The Braunvieh bull, Lot 702, was consigned by The Cassell Farm of Crockett, VA and sold to J. Randell Eller of Independence, VA.

The BCIA-Influenced Heifer Sale consisted of 48 fall-calving commercial bred heifers, and 4 spring-calving bred heifers. All heifers were designated as Virginia Premium Assured females. Demand was strong and prices steady, as the fall calvers averaged $2040 and spring-calvers averaged $2600 per head. The two lots of bred heifers due in April were both consigned by Hillwinds Farm of Dublin, VA and sold to Jerry Allen Bare of West Jefferson, NC for $2600 each. Virginia Tech Beef Center consigned a lot of four SimAngus females top the fall-calvers, selling for $2500 to Paul Chambers of Lebanon, VA.

All bulls and heifers were consigned by members of the Virginia Beef Cattle Improvement Association. Bulls were developed at Hillwinds Farm at Dublin, VA owned and operated by Tim Sutphin. The sale was

managed by Virginia BCIA and the Virginia Cattlemen’s Association, and the auctioneer was Mike Jones.

Virginia BCIA and the Southwest Bull and Heifer Sale consignors would like to thank ABS, Baker Cattle Company, Brilee Angus Ranch, Brown Insurance, Chilhowie Fence Supply, DeHaven Farms, Farm

Credit, Fields Edge Herefords, First Bank & Trust, G & G Livestock, Genex, Giles Farm Bureau Cooperative, Handfula Gelbviehs, Lucas Farms, Mt. Airy Equipment, Performance Feeds, Potts Creek Farm, Select Sires, Snuffy’s General Store, Twisted Wire Designs, and Zoetis for their sponsorship and support.

From Page 13. - Southwest VA Bull and Heifer Report


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Smith Reasor of Reasor Simmentals in Rural Retreat, Va - 2015 BCIA Premier Simmental Breeder. Joe and Timmy Lucas of Lucas Farms in Blacksburg, VA received the Junior Breeder Group Award along with 2015 BCIA Premier Angus Breeder. Mark & Mike DeHaven of Dehaven Farm in Hillsville, VA - Junior Angus High Sale Order Index Award. Chad Joines representing Virginia Tech Beef Center - Junior Simmental High Sale Order Index Award. Mat-thew Lucas of Lucas Farms. Jason Hounshell of Hounshell Farms in Wytheville, VA - Senior SimAngus High Sale Order Index Award.. Mike Connatser of J&M Windy Acres of Maryville, TN - Senior Angus High Sale Order Index Award and Senior Breeder Group Award. Terry and Roger Slusher, Slusher Valley Farm in Floyd, VA - Senior Hereford High Sale Order Index Award. Jared Burner of Trio Farms in Luray, VA - Junior Simmental High Sale Order Index Award.


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The 2016 General Assembly Session is in the books, and there were a number of bills and pieces of legislation that effected the cattle business and agriculture. This year was a 9-week “long session,” in which the General Assembly crafted and passed a new state budget (see below for a full budget update). In total, 3,286 bills and resolutions were introduced this session, with over 1,800 of them passing. So far, the Governor has vetoed just a dozen or so, but now that session is over, he has until around mid-April to consider all of the bills that passed. The General Assembly will reconvene on April 20th to consider these vetoes and any potential amendments he may offer to bills. Overall, this session was extremely busy and fast paced, especially in the first few weeks, and as always happens, there were many bills introduced that we were not expecting. But this was also a very good session for agriculture and forestry. We were very successful in the final state budget. Furthermore, we were successful in seeing passage of many items on which we worked for the year leading up to session, such as a bill making changes to certain commodity boards and setting a path for control of a protected predator of livestock.After over 2 years of preparation, the advancement of capital funding for new and renovated livestock and poultry facilities at Virginia Tech is being realized. The current facilities for livestock, pork, equine, and poultry sciences are aging and antiquated and in desperate need for repairs, renovations, and in some cases, complete replacement. The Governor’s bond package included full funding for the first phase of this two-part project, providing critical support for this initiative going in to the General Assembly bond-negotiations. Ultimately, funding for phase one was retained in the final bond package approved by the General Assembly, and we anticipate official planning at the University to begin soon.

Consistent with the state two-year budget cycle, the Governor proposed an ambitious budget in mid-December 2015, and the General Assembly proposed and ultimately made amendments to his proposal. The introduced budget represented a sizable increase in resources for the Secretariat of Agriculture and Forestry, and all but one of the proposed initiatives was ultimately approved by the Assembly. In total, the approved budget resulted in over $6.0 million in additional funding to the Agriculture and Forestry budget items. Key items include doubling the size of the AFID (Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development) fund, additional funds for international marketing assistance both abroad and incremental increases for the weights and measures program. Water quality funding continues to be a priority issue for all of agriculture, and the Governor’s leadership in allocating over $54 million in Ag BMP cost-share and over $7 million in technical assistance from the state budget surplus represented a significant influx of critical funding for these programs. The Assembly retained all of this funding in their final budget,

resulting in significant growth in agricultural best management practice cost-share in the coming year. This was a busy session for animal welfare and animal care issues, for both companion animals and agricultural animals. First of all, the General Assembly passed a VDACS-requested bill that gives the Board of Agriculture the ability to assess a civil penalty of up to $1000 for animal disease violations; currently the only option for these violations is a criminal misdemeanor. Another bill gives judges more options for sentencing of dogs that have been proven to be repeat killers of poultry. The current law states that the dog must either be put down or sent out of state, and the new law allows the dog to be fitted with an identifying microchip and transferred to a new owner or confined to a kennel. This arose out of an issue with backyard chickens and ultimately livestock and poultry owners’ rights to defend their own animals are protected. There were also a few bills VCA strongly opposed. One, sponsored by Senator Bill Stanley (R-Moneta), would have required farmers to certify that new-born calves

had received a certain amount of colostrum after birth. This bill was handily defeated in the Senate Agriculture Committee. Another bill, sponsored by Del. Sam Rasoul (D-Roanoke), had to do with the use of bull hooks for animals. The bill originally dealt only with elephants, but

it was amended to cover all animals. We had concerns that this could affect farmers and youth who show livestock, and this bill was also handily defeated in subcommittee.On the environmental front, we monitored and took positions

2016 Virginia General Assembly Session Summary



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on many bills this session. There were a handful of bills that would have imposed burdensome regulations on the land application of biosolids and industrial residuals, including one to require disclosure on property records of applications on the property. VCA opposed all these measures which were defeated in subcommittee. However, the VCA supported a study resolution directing the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), an arm of the General Assembly, to conduct a study about land application of these products and to once again review the scientific literature about their safety, and this study will be conducted over the next two years.On the food safety front, there were two different bills that would have changed Virginia’s food safety regulations for both dairy products and food produced on a farm or in a private home. Legislation that was patroned by Del. Rick Morris (R-Sussex), would have exempted milk producers who have three or fewer milking cows from state requirements, and would have allowed for the sale of unpasteurized dairy products. We opposed this bill and it was defeated in subcommittee. Another “food freedom” bill, introduced by Del. Rob Bell (R-Albemarle), originally exempted any food or dairy products from state requirements, and this would have included raw milk. However, the patron significantly amended this bill to only include certain baked goods (those that require time and temperature control, such as cheesecake). We did not have a position on this amended version, which failed to advance in subcommittee after the Department of Agriculture raised food safety concerns.A critical update to the conflict of interest act was successfully approved after Soil and Water Conservation Districts worked through legislation this year to exempt locally-elected Directors from the conflict of

interest act. This change will ensure that Directors who may also be farmers or beneficiaries of Ag BMP cost-share programs can continue to serve on local soil and water boards, while also excusing themselves from voting on actions directly related to their business operations. Amendments were made to the nutrient credit program to allow for new and expanding facilities to acquire credits under their contractual control or on their own lands, after concerns were raised by a major new agribusiness about the current nutrient credit program. Likewise several updates to the nutrient credit program were made, including allowances for sediment reduction credits for MS4 permittees, and new streamlined timelines for certain nutrient credit approval.Finally, a proposal that we opposed to update Virginia’s phosphorus standards for nutrient management plans did not advance this year after the patron agreed to not pursue a legislative mandate. The issue of a review of the phosphorus standards for Virginia, especially in light of new phosphorus standards in Maryland, is one that may not be completely “put to rest”. We will be closely following these discussions within the Bay watershed in order to protect our industry’s use of valuable nutrients on agricultural lands.Overall, the 2016 Virginia General Assembly Session was positive for Virginia agriculture as well as the cattle business. VCA is grateful for the partnership of the Virginia Agribusiness Council, Virginia Farm Bureau and the Virginia State Dairymen’s Association as well as the Virginia Poultry Growers and numerous other agricultural interests groups for the cooperation we all share in speaking for Virginia agriculture on the legislative front.

From Page 16. - 2016 Virginia General Assembly

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HOW ARE CHECKOFF DOLLARS BEING USED?Every dollar invested returns $11.20. Checkoff dollars are used for:

WHO PAYS?When cattle are sold, the buyer of the cattle must withhold $1/head from the seller’s purchase price. Failure to do so is a violation of the law and may be subject to a $5,500 penalty.

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Perdue UniversityOverweight and obese adults who are losing weight with a high-protein diet are more likely to sleep better, according to new research from Purdue University. “Most research looks at the effects of sleep on diet and weight control, and our research flipped that question to ask what are the effects of weight loss and diet — specifically the amount of protein — on sleep,” says Wayne Campbell, a professor of nutrition science. “We found that while consuming a lower calorie diet with a higher amount of protein, sleep quality improves for middle-aged adults. This sleep quality is better compared to those who lost the same amount of weight while consuming a normal amount of protein.” These findings are published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which is affiliated with the American Society for Nutrition. The research was funded by Beef Checkoff, National Pork Board, National Dairy Council, Purdue Ingestive Behavior Research Center and National Institutes of Health.A pilot study found that in 14

participants, consuming more dietary protein resulted in better sleep after four weeks of weight loss. Then, in the main study, 44 overweight or obese participants were included to consume either a normal-protein or a higher-protein weight loss diet. After three weeks of adapting to the diet, the groups consumed either 0.8 or 1.5 grams of protein for each kilogram of body weight daily for 16 weeks. The participants completed a survey to rate the quality of their sleep every month throughout the study. Those who consumed more protein while losing weight reported an improvement in sleep quality after three and four months of dietary intervention. A dietitian designed a diet that met each study participant’s daily energy need and 750 calories in fats and carbohydrates were trimmed per day while maintaining the protein amount based on whether they were in the higher- or normal-protein group. The sources of protein used in the two studies varied from beef, pork, soy, legumes and milk protein.

“Short sleep duration and compromised sleep quality frequently lead to metabolic and cardiovascular diseases and premature death,” says Jing Zhou, a doctoral student in nutrition science and the study’s first author. “Given the high prevalence of sleep problems it’s important to know how changes to diet and lifestyle can help improve sleep.” Campbell’s lab also has studied how dietary protein quantity, sources and patterns affect appetite, body weight and body composition.“This research adds sleep quality to the growing list of positive outcomes of higher-protein intake while losing weight, and those other outcomes include promoting body fat loss, retention of lean body mass and improvements in blood pressure,” Campbell says. “Sleep is recognized as a very important modifier of a person’s health, and our research is the first to address the question of how a sustained dietary pattern influences sleep. We’ve showed an improvement in subjective sleep quality after higher dietary protein intake

during weight loss, which is intriguing and also emphasizes the need for more research with objective measurements of sleep to confirm our results.”Campbell, whose expertise and research focuses on understanding how protein

nutrition and exercise influence adults’ health as they age, served as a member of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, which helped provide the scientific foundation for the nation’s 2015-20 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

High-protein Diet Can Help Adults Sleep Better


SMITH REASORAuctioneerReasor Simmentals

[email protected]

Simmental & SimAngus Bull For SaleCalendar of Events 2016

5/6 Greene County Angus Assocation Sale,Greeneville, TN

5/21 VT Surplus Property Auction, Blacksburg, VA

Thanks to all the buyers of Reasor Simmental Bulls at Wytheville BCIA Sale.

401 - Larry Davidson, Gate City, VA. 441- Steve Hopkins, Louisa, VA.

442 - Raymond Campbell, Saltville, VA. 445 - Eddie Rash, West Jefferson, NC

Marcus Brix, CattleFaxIf you were to ask the cattle feeder about volatile markets across history, you would get many of the same answers. Often the first response is December of 2003, “the cow that stole Christmas.” It is still staggering today to recall the devastation caused by the first U.S. case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, which was found in a Canadian-sourced Holstein cow. Spot live cattle futures broke sharply from the December 23rd closing price of $92.35/cwt to what would become a multi-year low of $72.50/cwt, a loss of roughly $275/head for a fed animal. The biggest damage was inflicted from the loss of beef exports, which research from Kansas State University estimated to be between $3.2 and $4.7 billion dollars in 2004 alone. Another historically volatile time is one that most all Americans would be familiar with, the collapse of the U.S. financial system in 2008. Already nine months into a recession, the greatest financial risks occurred with the bankruptcy of the Lehman Brothers investment bank, which at the time was the 4th largest U.S. bank of its kind.

Spot live cattle futures fell from a closing price of $103.75/cwt on September 2nd, 2008 to a recessionary low of $79.18/cwt on June 8th, 2009. Feedyards were forced to sell cattle into the lowest fed cattle demand level in 30 years.It is hard to believe with the magnitude of these two past events, that a more recent market could compete in scale with the degree of cattle market volatility described above, but it’s true and measurable. Volatility is a statistical measure of price risk, evaluated by calculating the standard deviation of price changes over a given period. Analyzing the 30-day volatility against the live cattle strip allows for an easily comparable measure of price risk in late 2015 versus the two previously mentioned cases. The strip is a simple average of the front six live cattle futures contracts which covers a full calendar year. Using the live cattle strip is preferred over spot futures for this analysis because it removes the additional risk of changing price spreads across futures contracts. Thirty-day volatility reached as high as 23.8 percent in late

Investigating Beef Market Volatility

Continued on 23.

Feeding Time

VIRGINIA SIMMENTAL ASSOCIATION

VIRGINIA SIMMENTAL ASSOCIATION

Dana Campbell, VSA Secretary / Treasuer

[email protected] Lowesville RoadLowesville, VA 22967

434-277-9104 * www.virginiasimmental.com

Virginia Junior Simmental Association Update

Farrell Jones, Junior Advisor

The Virginia Junior Beef Roundup Youth Beef Show was held on April 17, 2016. In the heif-er show, we were pleased to have a percentage show in addition to our purebred show. Class-es and winners are listed below.

Purebred Junior Yearling Heifer (Mar.-Apr.2015) – 1st Carlee Taylor, 2nd Savannah Cline

Purebred Junior Yearling Heifer (Jan.-Feb.2015) – 1st Daniel Campbell, 2nd Savannah Cline

Divison Winner – Carlee Taylor

Reserve Division Winner – Savannah Cline

Purebred Senior Yearling Heifer (Sept.-Oct.2014) – 1st Hayden Campbell (also Division Winner)

Champion Purebred Heifer – Carlee Taylor

Reserve Champion Purebred Heifer – Savan-nah Cline

Champion Bred & Owned Purebred Heifer – Hayden Campbell

Percentage Senior Heifer Calf (Sept.-Oct.2015) – 1st Kristin Seay (also Division

Winner)

Percentage Intermediate Heifer (May-Jun.2015) – 1st Carlee Taylor (also Division Winner)

Percentage Junior Yearling Heifer (Mar.-Apr.2015) – 1st Jenna Kibler, 2nd Carlee Taylor

Percentage Junior Yearling Heifer (Jan.-Feb.2015) – 1st Lianna Durrer, 2nd Cheyenne Deming

Division Winner – Lianna Durrer

Reserve Division Winner – Jenna Kibler

Percentage Senior Yearling Heifer (Sept.-Oct.2014) – 1st Taylor Edwards (also Division Winner)

Champion Percentage Heifer – Lianna Durrer

Reserve Champion Percentage Heifer – Jenna Kibler

Percentage Bull (Jan.-Dec.2015) – 1st Brittany Linton (also Champion Percentage Bull)

In the All Other Breeds steer show, four Simmental or SimAngus steers were entered. Billy Powers placed first in class 3. Aaron Locke placed second in class 4 and was also Reserve Champion AOB Steer. All of our junior exhibitors are commended for their hard work.

Virginia Simmental Association Recognizes Members

At the Virginia Simmental Association (VSA) annual meeting on April 14, 2016, Smith Reasor was presented with the 2016 Simmental Service award. Smith is a long-time breeder and active promotor of Simmental and SimAngus cattle.

He is also a participant in the Virginia BCIA bull test program, consigning to both the Southwest

and Culpeper Bull Tests. In March, he was awarded the BCIA Premier Simmental Breeder Award. Congratulations, Smith, and thank you

for your support of the Simmental breed!

Outgoing directors were also recognized for their service to VSA. They are: David Haulsey, Farrell Jones, and Joe Robinson. VSA members Matthew Miller and Lisa Zirkle were elected to the VSA Board of Directors. President Kathy Freeman-Walters was also recognized for her

service to the association. Chad Joines was elected VSA president.

Plans are underway for a VSA Field Day to be held July 23rd at Virginia Tech. Planning is in the preliminary stages, but mark this date on your calendar and plan to join us!

Outgoing Directors

Plaque to Kathy Walters.Simmental Service Award



Interstate Preview Youth Show LLC

June 17-19, 2016 Jefferson County Fair Grounds

Kearneysville, WV

Early entry deadline: June 1, 2016

Showmanship included with entry fees!!

For entry forms and more information: http://hrfshowcattle.wix.com/interstatepreview

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2003, which was the first time above the 20 percent mark since November 1987. The highest recorded volatility during the recession was 25.8 percent in October of 2008. For context, 30-day volatility has averaged 11.1 percent per day over the last 10 years of data with a variance of about 4 percent, so values above 20 percent are considered to be extreme. Volatility at year-end 2015 reached 24.4 percent, actually higher than during the BSE-driven volatility of 2003. From August to October live cattle prices declined 20 percent, then rallied 18 percent into early November. From here, prices declined another 18 percent through mid-December, and finally rallied yet again leaving prices 17 percent off the December lows entering the New Year. From close to close, the live cattle strip was moving on average 1 percent per day in this time period, compared to a 10-year average daily change of only 0.13 percent. For many producers, hedging with plain futures contracts was much too risky. Despite expensive option premiums, largely due to the immense volatility in the market, managing risk using options became the only viable

strategy.There were a multitude of reasons for the volatile price decline. The cattle market had been trending lower already that year, dealing with a large front end supply of cattle. Volatility spiked, however, immediately after the closure of the Tyson meat packing plant in Dension, IA. The sudden loss of packing capacity hurt the cattle feeders from a leverage standpoint; leverage was accountable for $10/cwt of the rally seen in 2014. Cattle weights were also record large and had been trending higher into the fall. This compounded the situation as feedyards tried to unload the heavy cattle and accepted discounts to do so. While fundamentals turned negative on the live cattle side, fundamentals turned negative on the beef product side as well. Total meat supplies were building much faster than anticipated as pork and poultry production pushed higher, beef exports were stifled by the strong U.S. dollar and poultry exports were drastically reduced by HPAI-related bans in China and new protectionist trade policies in Angola. As a result, per capita net meat and poultry supplies

increased by an estimated 9.4 pounds per U.S. resident, about seven pounds of the increase being poultry product. As an interesting parallel, exports as a percentage of meat and poultry production fell from 17 percent in 2014 to 15 percent in 2015. This was the largest yearly drop since BSE in 2003.These abrupt year over year changes explain why the market grew weaker and more volatile, but there might still be an unexplained piece of the

puzzle, intraday volatility. From August to December 2015, the spot live cattle average daily range from high to low was 1.73 percent. This is compared to an average range of 1.27 percent for the same monthly range in 2014, and a 1 percent range for the 5-year average. The cattle industry has recently pointed a finger at high frequency trading as being a main source of this extra volatility. Although some of these claims are speculative at this point, many are based

on sound evidence. Since the adoption of electronic trading, research has suggested higher volume of trade leads to better liquidity, but to increased volatility as well. An underlying issue with high frequency algorithmic trading, however, is that orders can be entered and bounced between different trading stations before a manual trader can act on the order, potentially causing changes to the bid-ask spread. This behavior

From Page 21. - Investigating Beef Market



2015 - 2016VCA Officers

Bill Thompson - President1295 Park Avenue

Clifton Forge, VA 24422540-968-1987

Kaitlin Smith - Vice President454 Old Farm RoadLexington, VA 24333

540-463-6778

Deidre Harmon - Secretary1445 Pipers Gap Road

Galax, VA 24333276-233-8852

Walt Winkler - Treasurer124 Kindig Road

Waynesboro, VA 22980540-943-6144

Rob Farmer- Past President8030 Greenwich Road

Catlett, VA 20119540-270-3886

Chad Joines - Junior Advisor

Virginia Tech Dept Animal & Poultry Science

Blacksburg, VA 24061540-557-7263

ountain eadows

William (Bill) Thompson

1295 Park AveClifton Forge, VA 24422

CELL 540-968-1987MountainMeadowsCharolais.com

FOR SALE Quality Charolais Embryos

M River Croft Charolais

BreedingPolled - Registered

Performance CharolaisWilliam and Agnes Anerson

P.O. Box 304Altavista, VA 24517

434-369-5366

“Keeping the commerical producers in mind”

Charolais bulls for most discriminating buyer

Colonial Farms

124 Kindig RoadWaynesboro, VA 22980

Walt Winkler540-943-6144

CrossMountainCattle Co.Robert Farmer

8030 Greenwich Rd.Catlettt, VA 20195

540-270-3886Gerry Scott 540-379-1975

CREWS FARMSRegistered Charolais

784 Payneton Rd.Chatham, VA

Billy Crews, Barry CrewsBilly C. Crews, Brent Crews

434-656-2361434-656-3771

VIRGINIA CHAROLAIS ASSOCIATION

Data from the Spring 2012 Across-Breed EPD Genetic Trends presented at the Beef Improvement Federation documents Charolais and

Charolais-infl uenced genetics lead all major breeds compared for both weaning and yearling weights. In fact, Charolais cattle were proven to

excel at adding more pounds at weaning and yearling.

Every beef producer knows profi tability starts with more pounds.

More pounds. More profi ts. Simple math. Increased Red Meat Yield

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AMERICAN-INTERNATIONAL CHAROLAIS ASSOCIATION11700 NW Plaza Circle ■ Kansas City, Missouri 64153

816.464.5977 ■ Fax: 816.464.5759

www.charolaisusa.com© American-International Charolais Association 2014

D o W h a t W o r k s

more pounds at weaning!more pounds

more pounds at yearling!more pounds

8.5x11 4c (bull).indd 1 3/10/14 1:04 PM

Charolais Bulls for Commerical Cattlemen

Charlottesville, VA, 434-566-2750

Our 24th annual Superior Charolais Genetics Sale was held at the VA 2016 Beef Expo. The sale averaged $3,006.32. Some of the top selling lots were as follows: Lot 31 $8,250 cow/heifer calf split; consigner Vollborn Cattle Co, Bidwell, OH. $5,500 cow by Gerrald Montezuma to William Ashton, Glencoe, OK. $2,500 heifer calf by WC Hoo Doo Sandpoint to Begoon Farms, Grottoes, WV. Lot 5 $5,500 ¾ interest bull VCC Hoo Doo Sandpoint; consigner Vollborn Cattle Co to Clint Hall, Cleveland, OH. Lot 6 $4,300 cow/bull calf split; consigner VA Tech, Blacksburg, VA. $3,400 cow by VPI Free Lunch to Glenmary Farms, Rapidan, VA. $900 bull/calf by M6 Grid Maker 010 to Glenmary Farms. Lot 24 $3,900 bred heifer; consigned by Dunkard Valley Charolais, York, PA. Heifer by WCR Sir Duke 7340P and bred to TR PZC Rapid Fire 9775 ET. Lot 27 $2,500 open heifer; consigned by Beginning Waters Charolais, Gapmills, WV. Heifer M6 Right Now 5239 Pld ET. Thanks to the bidders and buyers that made this sale a success. The sale was managed by Dennis Adams of Outfront Cattle Service, TX.


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would then not be increasing liquidity, but still increasing volatility. This scenario increases the transaction costs to manage risk not only through futures, but options as well, because increased volatility is transferred into option costs as risk premium. The CME Group is evaluating several options for reducing volatility, including shorter trading hours and a maintaining a stricter watch over trades. This is a complex problem, and the solution will have to ensure contracts trade at adequate volume, but also on an even playing field for all market participants.

From Page 23. - Investigating Beef Market

Bridget Wasser and Dani Shubert, National Cattlemen’s

Beef AssociationBeef palatability is a substantial driver of consumer demand for beef, and marbling is one of the largest contributing factors to beef palatability as it affects beef tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. For many years, marbling research has focused on understanding both how marbling contributes to eating quality, as well as how to increase marbling levels in cattle through genetics and feeding. A checkoff-funded white paper titled “Marbling: Management of cattle to maximize the deposition of intramuscular adipose tissue” seeks to summarize the beef industry’s progress toward understanding marbling in beef and how the beef industry can increase marbling to create a more tender, juicy, and flavorful product. Consumers in the United States and abroad have valued highly marbled beef for nearly a century. In spite of growing interest in pasture-fed (or grass-finished) beef in the United States, most consumers still prefer beef that is reasonably marbled and juicy. Scientists have taken a two-pronged approach to understand the biology of marbling

development. Biochemists, molecular biologists, and geneticists have worked to understand the intracellular and extracellular factors that

regulate the development of marbling, whereas beef cattle nutritionists have created feeding regimens to provide high-quality beef carcasses

without increasing carcass subcutaneous fat, or fat trimmed from steaks before they reach the consumer. The contribution marbling to

overall palatability has been established for decades. Savell and Cross (1988) established a “Window of Acceptability”

Management of Cattle to Maximize Marbling


, MAY 2016, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMANKNOLL CREST FARM

JAMES, PAUL, JIM, BRIAN BENNETT17659 RED HOUSE RD.RED HOUSE, VA 23963434-376-3567 OFFICE

434-376-7008 FAXJAMES BENNETT - 434-376-7299PAUL BENNETT - 434-941-8245JIM BENNETT - 434-664-7935

DALTON G. BENNETT - 434-664-7946BRIAN BENNETT - 434-664-8309SCOTT BENNETT - 434-660-7268

WINTERFEILD FARMBARBARA & JASON KNABE

2074 GRAVEL HILL RDDILLWYN, VA 23936Barbara 434-983-3110

[email protected] 434-547-9878

[email protected] MI. EAST OFU.S. 15 ON 617

FAUQUIER FARM6470 BEVERLYS MILL ROAD

BROAD RUN, VA 20137HOME 540-347-4343OFFICE 540-905-2667

NORTHERN VA areaCATTLE FOR SALE

[email protected]

CEDAR PLAINS FARMR.E. BALTIMORE, OWNER,MANAGER, FEILD HAND150 CARTERSVILLE EXT.

CARTERSVILLE, VA 23027HOME 804-375-3071OFFICE 804-399-7409

“All Cattle Made in America”

COTTAGE HILL FARMMIKE TAYLOR

20 COTTAGE HILL ROADPETERSBURG, WV 26847

[email protected] 304-257-1557CELL 304-668-0580

NORVUE FARMJACK SHEEHAN

4442 FACTORY MILL RDDABNEYS, VA 23102

PHONE 804-556-4947EMAIL [email protected]

FROGTOWN ACRESJERRY FUNKHOUSER

REBECCA WEBERT417 FROGTOWN LANEEDINBURG, VA 22824HOME 540-984-8833

JERRY CELL 540-333-1020REBECCA CELL 540-333-1019

EMAIL [email protected]

MEADOW RIDGE FARMS, INC.DOUG & MELISSA HARRISON

2184 HILLYARD DRIVEBROADWAY, VA 22815

[email protected]

PIONEER FARMCHARLES, MEREDITH AND

OLIVIA WILLIAMS485 HEREFORD CROSSING

FAIRFIELD, VA [email protected]

540-460-8803

ROCK MILLS HEREFORDSPAUL AND KIM NOVAK

240 THUNDER VALLEY LANECASTLETON, VA 22716

[email protected]

HEREFORD HILLS FARMROY AND KIM DEAN9311 BRADY LANE

HARRISONBURG, VA 22802540-432-9805

[email protected]

LVP LIVESTOCK, LLCKENT FIRESTONE

33525 NEWSTEAD LANEUPPERVILLE, VA 20184

[email protected]

POTTS CREEK FARMJASPER & ALICE PERSINGER, JR.

2917 POTTS CREEK ROADCOVINGTON, VA 24426

[email protected]

DUNROVINDON & SHEILA RICHARDSON

3473 DUNROVIN FARMCROZET, VA 22932

434-823-4438EMAIL [email protected]

THICK, DARK RED, HEAVY MILKING COWS

DR WORLD CLASSDR MR CONSERVATIVE

DOUBLE J FARM, LLCREGISTERED POLLED HERFORDS“QUALITY CATTLE FOR QUALITY

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CATTLE IN TRAPHILL, NCHEADQUARTERS:

775 CLACTON CIRCLEEARLYSVILLE, VA 22936

OFFICE: FAYETTEVILLE, NC910-489-0024

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DIAMOND “W” FARMKEN & DORIS WORLEY25052 RICH VALLEY RDABINGDON, VA 24210

276-944-3458CELL 276-356-3458

[email protected]

DEER TRACK FARM3320 DEER TRACK RD

SPOTSYLVANIA, VA 22551BOB SCHAFFER

540-582-9234 [email protected]

“Virginia Finest”Performance Tested Bulls for sale

HICKORY SPRINGS FARMJOHN BRASUK

RT. 2 BOX 211-AFAIRMONT, WV 26554

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BAY BROOK FARMRODNEY & BARBARA PHILLIPS

4277 FACTORY MILL ROADDABNEYS, VA 23102

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MAPLEWOOD FARMJOHN AND KAREN FLEISHMAN

DANIEL AND ELIZABETH5442 DANIEL CUPP ROAD

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OAK CREEK FARMBILLY AND JACKIE KOONTZ

25840 INDEPENDENCE ROADUNIONVILLE, VA 22567

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Mark Your Calendar to Join Us...

For a weekend full of cattle shows and fun!SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15

AM - Mid-Atlantic Fall Round Up Junior Hereford ShowPM - Shenandoah Classic Open Hereford Show

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16Eastern States Jackpot Show - Open show for all breeds!!

To be held at Rockingham County Fairgrounds. More information available this summer!

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for beef (Figure 1), indicating that overall palatability of beef is optimal between 3 and 7.5 percent intramuscular fat (marbling). The relationship between percent fat and overall palatability highlights the importance of marbling in beef quality. What was not addressed in this research is that as percent fat increases, there is a dramatic change in the fatty acid composition of marbling. As intramuscular fat percentage increases, the proportion of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and trans-fatty acids decrease, and the proportion of oleic acid and other monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) increase. These changes in fatty acid profile have a direct effect on the palatability of beef. The fatty acid profile of meat influences beef palatability in a variety of ways. Early studies demonstrated that increased oleic acid (a MUFA) in beef led to an increase in overall palatability of the beef. One theory used to explain this shift in palatability is that oleic acid is “softer” than SFA, providing a more fluid mouthfeel, which most consumers perceive as more desirable. The melting point of fat directly affects the perception of juiciness in beef, and the ratio of MUFA to SFA dictates the melting point of fat. Saturated fatty acids have higher melting points and are “harder” at refrigerated or room temperatures, whereas MUFA have melting points below room temperature and thus are perceived as “softer” fats. More recent studies have discovered that the fatty acid profile of beef contributes to the formation of flavor through the cooking process. Fatty acids react with heat, sugars, and proteins to create different beef flavors. Oleic acid has been identified as the fatty acid that contributes most to positive, buttery beef flavor. Marbling represents a unique fat depot, and can be distinguished from other fat depots by its location within the muscle. Marbling consists of clusters of individual fat cells (adipocytes), and these fat cells increase in

number and in size as the beef animal progresses from being practically devoid of marbling, to having higher marbling scores.Management of cattle through growth and during feeding can also influence the extent and composition of marbling development in beef. In the early stages of marbling development, glucose contributes 70 percent of the energy and carbon needed to create marbling. As cattle become fatter, the contribution of glucose decreases while the use of acetate for fat synthesis increases, especially in the creation of marbling. Thus, providing sources of dietary glucose at early ages may promote marbling development more than if glucose is fed at later stages of development. Early weaning of beef steers may result in higher marbling scores at slaughter than normal weaning of steers. Researchers hypothesize this may be caused by increased glucose availability (from grain-based rations) at the early stages of marbling development. Calf-fed steers are typically fed high-concentrate finishing diets at weaning, whereas yearling-fed steers are typically fed native pasture until approximately 12 months of age and are then transitioned to a grain-based diet. One study reviewed in this white paper explored these management strategies in greater detail. Calf-fed steers reached harvest weight at 16 months of age, whereas yearling-fed steers reached similar weights at 17.5 months of age. Although slower to reach harvest weight, yearling-fed steers at the time of harvest had the same average external fat thickness and marbling score when compared to calf-fed steers. Beef from yearling-fed steers showed a greater proportion of SFA and lower proportions of MUFA, including oleic acid, which may have influenced palatability of the beef. For beef cattle, the development of marbling is more complex than the development of subcutaneous fat. The results of

the studies outlined in this white paper indicate that grain-based diets are necessary to promote

the development of marbling. Additionally, grain-based diets increase the juiciness and

flavor of beef by promoting the production of oleic acid in marbling and other fat depots.

From Page 25. - Max Marbling

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Flowing Spring Gelbvieh

6235 LEE HWY.ATKINS, VA 24311

CHARLES E. ATKINSOWNER

276-783-6100

Wyndemere Farm L.L.C.

2157 BLACK LICKRURAL RETREAT, VA 24368

JUDITH A. SWEETENREGISTERED NO. 48890

HOME 276-228-6347CELL 401- 714-6812

SOUTHFORKFARMSGELBVIEH &

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969 Little River RdGoshen, VA 24439

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James D. Bennett Paul S. Bennett434-376-7299 434-941-8245

17659 Red House RoadRed House, VA 23963Office 434-376-3567Fax 434-376-7008

Jim G. Bennett Brian R. Bennett434-664-7935 434-664-8309Dalton G. Bennett Scott Bennett434-664-7946 434-660-7268

LAST CALL GELBVIEH

Tom Lavelle, DVM2984 Peppers Ferry Rd.Wytheville, VA 24382

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Doug & Sue Hughes6916 Peppers Ferry RoadMax Meadows, VA 24360

HOME 276-637-3916OFFICE 276-637-4271

TRIPLE DRegistered Gelbvieh

Red and Black Polled Bulls13052 Ivor Rd., Sedley, Va 23878

Willie Diggs 770-591-3454Alan Diggs 757-653-0174

Milton Diggs (H) 757-859-6118Milton Diggs (C) 757-328-8459EMAIL [email protected]

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Treble W RanchRegistered Gelbvieh Cattle

17462 Fenton DriveAbingdon. VA 24210

Dr. Daryl Wilson / Tyler Wilson276-676-2242

Joe & Gwen Wilson276-628-4163

[email protected]

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Stephen, Vivian, Megan &Caltlin Fanning

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Rita Jane Gabbett, MeatingplaceMcDonald’s is currently working with the beef and pork industries on an approach to antibiotics use in cattle and hog production that at this point would not take a “never ever” approach, according to Justin Ransom, senior director of quality systems for McDonald’s USA. “We know some of our competitors have come out and said ‘no antibiotics ever.’ We don’t necessarily think that is possible in the short term. It is really more about how we can challenge people to find better ways to raise animals so that they don’t need antibiotics to begin with,” Ransom told Meatingplace on the sidelines of the North American Meat Institute’s management conference. Ransom’s comments come a year after the Oak Brook-based fast-food giant announced plans to eventually only buy chickens from suppliers whose flocks have been raised without antibiotics important

to human medicine. Ransom said McDonald’s is working with some of the industry’s best scientists to try to develop a global vision for antimicrobial stewardship. “We are in

conversations right now with the beef industry. I met with beef industry representatives in Colorado last week and we are meeting with industry representatives in the [pork

industry] to understand what are the things that are working, where do we have opportunities to reduce the use, where do we have opportunities to mitigate the need for use,” said Ransom.

He emphasized the company’s interest in understanding this complex issue, and coming up with strategies beef and pork producers can achieve. “Our

McDonald’s On Antibiotics Use In Beef & Pork


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goal is to come out with a commitment we know industry can move toward. It may be a stretch goal, but it is one of those things where we really want industry’s engagement on how we can do things differently,” he said. Ransom’s comments came after a presentation to conference attendees during which he emphasized the impact of social media and importance of answering consumers’ questions. Through its recent campaign, “Our Food. Your questions.” McDonald’s answered 50,000 questions

over a 90-day period through social media. Even though McDonald’s advertising since 1967 has consistently included “100 percent beef” in its messaging, Ransom said the No. 1 question the company still gets from consumers is: “What is in the beef?” He said social media has changed what constitutes successful food product messaging and efforts going forward must include more one-on-one engagement with consumers.

From . - McDonald’s

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The extended McCall and Moore families after their bull sale on April 2, 2016 -Photo by Hannah Cox

Troy Marshall, BEEF MagazineThe two political parties are being sent a pretty loud message from their bases. People are fed up, disappointed and want change. The Democrats, to their credit, are still focused solely on winning the election. They made sure there were no serious challengers to Hillary in the primaries, and even though Bernie has won more states than Hillary at this point, they had the foresight with their super delegate system to make sure that even if the unthinkable happened and Bernie won more delegates or received more votes than Hillary, she would still easily win the nomination. The Republican establishment might be focused on winning the general election as well, but they got caught by surprise with the anti-establishment movement and are finding themselves with two options that they despise and a front-runner who is universally considered to be unelectable in a general election. Both parties were fooled by their success. Obama won election and re-election easily after declaring that he wanted to fundamentally change America. He delivered on his promise, and despite the resounding defeat in the 2010 and 2012 elections that gave Republican majorities in both houses of

Congress and overwhelming disapproval of the direction of the country, prospects for the Democrats look good for 2016. The political environment of today is a contrarian’s utopia. Nothing makes sense. Clinton is essentially running to continue the Obama agenda that is widely viewed as a failure on the domestic, economic and foreign policy front. The Republicans either won or increased their majorities in Congress, as the electorate revolted against the Obama agenda and the direction of the country. Yet, they didn’t deliver on their promises and actually enjoy lower ratings than Obama. Their policies, too, are viewed as failures or Republicans are viewed as failures for their inability to get those policies implemented. The Republican establishment missed the populist movement and discontent among their base and now are finding themselves in danger of losing the control they enjoyed over the party. What should have been a slam-dunk election is now looking like an uphill battle.What does this have to do with NCBA? Nothing directly, but NCBA, in my opinion, is a little like the Democrat and Republican parties; they believe in what they are doing, they see their successes and yet they

are missing that all-important frustration in the country, that undertone that should be raising red flags. Parties and trade associations are similar in that they must be seen as representing the ideals and views of their base, and be seen as fighting for them on a daily basis. The Republican Party became beholding to the big donors and neglected the heart and soul of the party; the blue collar worker who was struggling. The workers who didn’t believe free trade was making their lives better, and who see illegal i m m i g r a t i o n as a societal, economic, and security threat. Donald Trump sensed these openings and discontent and is now poised to change the party forever as a result.NCBA may not have big-money donors per se, but the cattle feeding segment pays a tremendous amount of dues and

wields considerable influence, and producers are well aware of the shift that has created. Trade associations and parties are driven by two thing—the passion, excitement and commitment of their members, and dollars. The latter—money—is so vital that it has a way of becoming a priority over the agenda of the base. From my perspective, I believe the leadership (establishment) understands and believes in what NCBA is doing, but that

the rank-and-file member (base) does not feel like NCBA is really responsive to their needs or fighting as hard for them as they would like. I’ve always been an establishment guy. They are the ones who tend to get things done, and revolutions are far rarer than incremental, slow, grinding change when it comes to politics. Revolutionaries occasionally become heroes but more often than not they are

NCBA Should Take Heed From The Political Parties


Beef Council UpdateEnhancing consumer preference for beef &

sustaining Virginia families.

Do Your Part To Promote May Beef Month

By: Valerie Van Dyke

Beef Month is here! This is an exciting time for the Virginia Beef Council and producers alike. Along with an official proclamation of May Beef Month by our governor, we also host a stout line up of awareness campaigns, educational tools, and outreach to “beef up” peo-ple’s interactions and knowledge of our industry. While we do projects year-round, we like to emphasize one month above the others to give things a kick-start for grilling season.

Here is just a sampling of our beef dish-es on deck for this month:

30 Day Protein Challenge: You may remember this campaign, which has been ongoing since May 2015. The Protein Challenge encourages con-sumers to include 30 grams of protein at every meal and feel the difference in their lives: more energy, less snacking, maintain or lose weight. Tools include protein source tables, recipes, journal tools, etc. in a daily or (new feature!) weekly email. While we promote this Challenge year-round, we have put some extra dollars behind digital adver-tisements in our Mid-Size metropolitan areas (Roanoke, Lynchburg, Charlot-tesville) from May-September. We’re working in tandem with the national Checkoff, which will be putting dollars towards our Large-Size cities such as VA Beach and DC.

Local Beef Directory: In case you

missed January’s article, our Virginia Beef Directory will be launching May 1. The main purpose of this directory is to start conversation about consum-er’s plentiful beef purchasing options in Virginia. The directory includes a listing of local producers, butchers, etc., but it also includes tools and resources about grocery chain purchasing, food safety and handling, and various production methods and labeling definitions. See more at www.vabeef.org/localbeefdirec-tory.aspx

Facebook Promotions: We are bulk-ing up our Facebook post schedule for the month of May to include posts about recipes, producer spotlights, Team BEEF, beef purchasing options, the local beef directory, production facts, and more!

Chef Outreach: Virginia Beef Council has partnered with Northeast Beef Pro-motion Initiative to bring Virginia chefs on a beef immersion event on May 4th. Chefs will do a modified progressive dinner through some of DC’s restau-

rants and learn, through guided discus-sion, how to think creatively for beef when they develop new menu items.

Much, much more: There are still opportunities we are exploring to raise the steaks on Beef Month. We still have radio spots available if producers would like to run a beef ad in their advertise-ment mix. For more information, con-tact Valerie at [email protected] or 540-992-1992.

May is Beef Month in Virginia


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labeled as traitors or terrorists and are defeated and discarded. But when the establishment loses the support of its base, they find, to their disbelief, that their ability to effect change quickly disappears. The Republican Party has the support of their donor class but is losing its members. In a similar fashion, NCBA, in order to be effective, must have the passion and commitment from its core constituency—the cow-calf producer. The saying goes, “follow the money.” We all see that in politics with the celebrity dinners, the Super Pacs, the labor unions, Wall Street, et al. Whether it be political parties or trade associations, money is always number two on the priority list but often number one on the to-do list. And that is a recipe for disaster. Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have proven that by saying what a lot of people think, but were afraid to say in our politically-correct world. I’d rather just end this commentary here and go back to work. I get uneasy saying what some people whisper among themselves but are afraid to utter in public, but here goes. While nobody believes the firewall between the policy side and checkoff side has ever been breached, many feel there is little doubt that the checkoff side has consumed a high percentage of the time and focus and limits the effectiveness of the policy side of NCBA. The checkoff enjoys incredibly high and widespread support, but it has increasingly become a government program and not an industry program and its effectiveness diminishes in accordance with government intrusion into the program. NCBA is no different from the political parties; money is critical to success, but fighting for its base must always be the priority, and if the money gets in the way of preventing one to fight for its membership, maybe it is time to wean oneself from the money.

From Page 32. - NCBA


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If you don’t know, I’ll tell you, brother

In this world, there’s not another

Woman like a cowboy’s mother

And the way she lives her life.

Making men from rowdy boys

Enduring their foolishness and noise

In a role that also employs

Her to be a cowboy’s wife,

Facing challenges every day

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To know the right words to say

To soothe a broken heart

Or to help her cowboy mate

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Has put on his shoulders so much weight

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Muddy clothes on the kitchen floor,

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Through all this, and so much more

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Tentative Program Agenda 12:30 - 1:45pm: Check-in and

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1:45 - 2:00pm: Opening Remarks

2:00 - 3:15 : Dr. Temple Grandin, DVM

“Less stress cattle handling practices.”

3:15 - 3:30pm: Break / Trade Show

3:30 - 4:00pm: Dr. Robert Gentry, DVM

“Strategic Mineral Supplementa-tion in Beef Cattle using Multi-

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4:00 - 4:30pm: Jason Carter, Virginia Cattlemen’s

Association

“Regulatory and legislative topics affecting livestock producers.”

4:30 - 4:45pm: Break / Trade Show

4:45 - 5:45pm: Dr. Mary Tomlinson, DVM

“Replacement Heifers Manage-ment: Stategies for building a

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5:45 - 7:00pm: Steak Dinner / Trade Show

7:00 - 8:00pm: Speaker Panel-Ag Issues & Q/A

session from participants

8:00pm - Evaluations & Wrap-up /

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Hunters kill enormous 800-pound alligator that was feasting on farm cattleTwo Florida hunters said they bagged a nearly 800-pound alligator that had been feasting on their farm cattle. Lee Lightsey, who owns the hunting business Outwest Farms in Okeechobee, spotted the nearly 15-foot alligator over the weekend in a cattle pond while

on a gator hunt with his guide, Blake Godwin, according to news reports. “Although this animal is huge, I was not that surprised it existed,” Lightsey told BBC News. “We have come across lots over the last 20 years that have been only a little smaller.“But what really drew our attention to this animal was the fact that it seems to have been

feasting on the cattle on my farm, because mutilated body parts were found in the water. It was a monster which needed to be removed.” Godwin told a Fox affiliate that the giant gator came to the surface about 20 feet in front of them and Lightsey shot it. The alligator was so enormous, Godwin said, the hunters had to use a farm tractor to pull it from the cattle

pond.

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INTERNATIONAL BEEF TRADE – AN UPDATE FOR CATTLEMEN

REGISTER TODAY @ WWW. BEEFUSA.ORG

MAY 12, 20167PM CENTRAL

Beef trade has long been an important component of the cattle industry and often a confusing topic for cattlemen. Trade issues have made recent headlines in ag media and in the popular press’ coverage of the current election season. The upcoming webinar will feature the insights of industry experts; Kent Bacus, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Director of International Trade and Market Access; and Dan Halstrom, U.S. Meat Export Federation Senior Vice President of Global Marketing. Join the free webinar to hear an update on the current state of beef trade, policy issues that are effecting beef trade today and what the experts see in the future for beef trade. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions immediately following the presentations. Visit beefusa.org for additional information and to register.

WEBINAR SERIESCattlemen’sWEBINAR SERIESCattlemen’s

CME Livestock UpdateFeeding cattle is an intricate and detailed combination of science, technology, and having an “eye” for it. On the science and technology side, some factors that impact cattle feeding decisions and performance include: cattle genetics, weather, diet formulation, and growth promotants. On the management side, there is nothing that can be substituted for that eye for feeding cattle, developed from hard work and experience. Here, we will review cattle feeding data from Kansas, as it relates to current market dynamics. February numbers reinforce the knowledge that we are still feeding cattle longer to heavier weights. There are several reasons for this, but some of the most influential reasons are cost of gain is relatively cheap and fat cattle prices versus feeder cattle prices are still incentivizing cattle feeders to put more weight on the animals in the yard. For days on feed, the report says steers were on feed an average of 169 days during February of 2016, 2 days longer than February of 2015 and 15 days longer than the previous five year average. This translated to steers that weighed 1431 pounds (live) in February when they were sent from the feedlot to the packing plant. This was 41 pounds heavier than the same time last year, and 74 pounds heavier than the five year average. While steers are on feed longer, and fed to heavier weights, an important aspect in the feeding world is productivity. Terms used to discuss this productivity

are average daily gain (ADG) and pounds of feed per pound of gain. First, ADG is calculated by the difference of in weight upon arrival at the feedlot and out weight when shipped to the packer, divided by the days the steer was fed in the feedlot. At the risk of oversimplifying, it becomes less efficient to put more weight on a steer the longer the animal is on feed. Pounds of feed (on a dry basis) per pound of gain gives the conversion (efficiency) of feed to weight added to the animal. The general rule for cattle is 6:1 or 6 pounds of feed are required for the steer to gain 1 pound. Again, this conversion usually becomes less efficient (i.e. more pounds of feed required per pound of gain) for an animal after it surpasses a certain weight level and time on feed. February numbers for steers show an ADG of 3.61 pounds. This is up from 3.52 pounds per day a year ago and combined with steers being on feed an average of 5 days longer compared to last year, their gain was more productive year-to-year. Pounds of feed (dry matter) per pound of gain for steers during February was 6.19 pounds. This is down from 6.32 pounds in 2015, and also indicates feedlots being more feed efficient as less feed was required per pound of gain, year-over-year. The increase in days on feed, combined with a higher ADG and less feed required per pound of gain, all helps feedlot margins. There are many factors affecting how these dynamics play out, one we can point to is February was fairly mild from

a weather standpoint, favorable for weight gain when feeding cattle.These relationships all combine with the cost of feed and value

of the fed animal when sold to the packer, to determine feedlot margins. Cost of gain for steers in February was at $81.06 per cwt. compared to $89.29 per

cwt. a year ago. This is rooted in lower corn prices, which although are forecast to stay low through the year, could be upended by weather events.

Survey Assesses Cattle Feeding Performance

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7AN417 SPOTLITE17689665 // Tehama 944 R525 x EXAR 263CExciting Outcross Performance Choice—super spread bull with added phenotype CE: 17 BW: -3.0 WW: 64 YW: 117 $W: 75.60 $B: 161.94From A & B Cattle, NE

7AN432 BANKROLL18036327 // Cash x Efficient Cash son with stunning good looks and amazing performance projectionsCE: 13 BW: -0.9 WW: 64 YW: 129 $W: 66.88 $B: 162.48From Barstow Angus, NE; David Dockter, ND and Hart Farms, SD

7AN418 PATRIOT+17577916 // Capitalist x UpwardRoyally-bred Capitalist son who excels for a lengthy list of important traitsCE: 18 BW: -0.8 WW: 69 YW: 117 $W: 85.72 $B: 146.77From Deer Valley Farm and Taylor Angus Farms, TN

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