NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North
Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
February 12, 1998
[Editors: This is the first in a series of articles on bull buying.]
If calf producers want hints on the best bulls to buy, they don't need to look any further than their dinner plates, a North Dakota State University beef specialist says.
Beef marketing is evolving, says Greg Lardy of the NDSU Extension Service. That evolution means calves that will bring top prices are the ones that produce the kinds of meat products consumers want. And that entire process starts with the bull selection.
"Down the road, not buying the right bull may mean not having access to the best markets," Lardy explains. "We're seeing a lot of alliances forming that include everyone from seedstock producers to the packers. The goal is to make sure the cattle produced have the characteristics customers are looking for. If your cattle don't meet those specifications, you won't have access to those markets."
Although the formation of alliances among sectors of the beef industry is relatively new, Lardy says some of the region's purebred breeders are already helping their customers join. As a result, the cattle producers can expect improved returns for their calves.
Right now, cattle are priced on the assumption that they're all average in terms of muscling, leanness and eating characteristics such as juiciness, flavor and tenderness. Producers aren't typically paid premiums if their cattle have superior characteristics or charged large discounts if their cattle are below average. The trend toward alliances is placing more emphasis on discounts and premiums—a shift that will intensify in the next five to 10 years, Lardy says.
The trend means that the region's calf producers may need to look for feedback from the far end of the marketing chain, Lardy says. "Nationwide, we don't have a lot of carcass data that flows all the way back to the commercial cow-calf producer or the seedstock producer. One of the strengths of alliances is that they gather and distribute that information."
Research at the NDSU Dickinson Research Extension Center indicates that having that information to select bulls can make a big bottom-line difference. In the center's Dataline study, scientists track health and performance data with electronic ear tags from birth to packing plant. Bulls that produced offspring with the best meat-producing characteristics increased return by more than $100 per calf over bulls in the herd that produced offspring with the worst characteristics. The bulls on both ends of the performance spectrum were fairly typical of those found in many North Dakota herds, Lardy notes.
"Bulls still need the traditional strengths that we've always looked for," Lardy says. Research in the United States indicates that commercial producers need to continue to look for traits that are important to cow and calf productivity. According to the research, 47 percent of the value of a bull lies in reproductive performance. Another 23 percent of its value is attributed to the growth characteristics that it imparts to offspring. The remaining 30 percent of the value is in the quality of the meat products from the offspring.
"The bottom line is that producers need to have live calves and those calves need to be healthy and grow well. If we can have those factors and can add characteristics for good consumer products, it's an opportunity to add value to our herds," Lardy says.
"We're going to need to begin paying more attention to the genetics that have an impact on the carcass and eating quality. To do that we're going to need more carcass information that we can use to judge the performance of our bulls."
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Source: Greg Lardy (701) 231-7660
Editor:Tom Jirik (701) 231-9629