Beef Farmers Face Challenges As Weather Hits

Cattlemen across the globe are presented with growing challenges as concurrent adverse weather events aggregate, putting huge strains on grazing strategies and profit margins.

Whether due to excessive precipitation or a shortage, beef farmers are faced with an uphill struggle finishing and rearing steers to meet the healthy consumer demand picture.

This is illustrated in Queensland, Australia, which saw an east/west split between drought and torrential floods back in February. Pasture scarcity has led to feed and pasture disputes and some forced selling at some stations.

The bottom line is that producing beef is simply not profitable on many holdings.

Such concerns were at the centre of a Copa – Cogeca plea to the European Commission in Brussels this week.

Beefmeat Working Party Chairman for Copa, Piere Chevalier led the calls for action saying that a late winter and heavy rains are making the provision of feed ‘difficult’.

He added that EU farmers are being ‘squeezed’ by high production costs and low margins.

Copa Cogeca General Secretary, Pekka Pesonen said: "EU beef production is in a very fragile state and it is no longer profitable.”

Pressures also come from bilateral trade discussions which are raising ‘serious concern’ in the sector.

This combination of factors must be addressed by political decisions at an EU level to offer future protection, Copa Cogeca insisted.

When unhelpful weather limits pasture performance, supplementing forage is important and extension advisors in the US and Canada have been issuing cow-calf management advice as turnout arrives.

Drought stressed hay stands and poor pasture performance in the US mean products such as distillers dried grains (DDGs) and corn gluten feed are useful in providing cattle with sufficient phosphorous.

This is the advice of Justin Waggoner, Beef Specialist at Kansas State University to Kansas farmers.

Mr Waggoner has said that DDGs and corn gluten feed provide a high fibre/low starch energy source with the added bonus of protein and phosphorus.

This is especially useful as native grasses may be low on phosphorous this spring. Mr Waggoner added that two to three pounds of supplementation of either of the two products will provide as much phosphorous as four ounces of a 10 per cent mineral will.

This is not only good for the cow, but also good for keeping farm costs down, said Mr Waggoner concluding that Phosphorous Mineral is often the most expensive supplement to buy.