  BeefTalk:
The World’s Best Beef Is Made in the Northern Great Plains
By Kris Ringwall, Extension Beef Specialist,
NDSU Extension Service
The weeks keep moving on. The calves are growing. The cows are synchronized. The
bulls are turned out. The purchased semen has been used. And cows are grazing on
the cool season grasses.
Last week was a busy week. The replacement heifers received the final shot of
prostaglandin on May 12, the final step in our breeding synchronization program.
The heifers started cycling the next day, and they were artificially bred
throughout the first part of the week. The majority of the cows received the
final prostaglandin injection on May 18. The cows started cycling on the 20th
and were all bred on the 21st. Some of the cows were synchronized and bred
naturally, but the majority were time bred through artificial breeding. Now we
play the waiting game. The cow is busy raising this year’s calf and hopefully
carrying next year’s calf.
As producers, the cycle continues, but as managers, how do we know what we
are doing is right? As is often the case, these discussions occur frequently and
generally without much action. Another marketing year is already here. It is
best to formulate those plans now, if you have not already done so.
When I was down in Bowman last week and picked up nine Hereford yearling
bulls, I had the opportunity to visit with State Senator Bill Bowman concerning
value added agriculture. No matter which activity is discussed, beef producers
are faced year in and year out with some common concerns.
Enhanced value starts at the ranch with good herd health programs, solid
record keeping and permanent lifetime identification.
- How many producers today identify calves with the intention of the ID
number being with that calf for its entire life?
- How many producers effectively record the needed data that documents the
performance and profitability of that calf?
- How many producers can recall, effectively, every product administered to
each calf?
The documentation starts at the ranch. Once those three basic principles are
adhered to, and only then, can each producer start the value added chain.
Tracking cattle performance by retained ownership or data retention programs can
return information back to the producer for subsequent evaluation. The system is
extensive. The producer, feeder, packer, retailer and consumer all impact the
beef cattle chain. It is a consortium, if you will, and all are important links.
Spring is here and with it comes the eternal optimism of new growth. The seed
is planted and, yes, opportunity for a bumper crop still remains. So does the
opportunity to add value to this year’s calf crop. Dream a little and do your
part to offer to the market 100,000 Northern Great Plains calves that are not
just ordinary calves. Rather, offer a package of genetic calves that were tagged
at birth, fed on mom’s milk and mixed grass prairies, and have received no
antibiotics, hormones or stimulants other than the pollen of native flowers,
grass and sedges. Implement a health program that has been vigorously followed.
Develop preconditioning and feedlot rations that smell of fresh steam flaked
corn and the aroma of sweet ensiled haylage as fresh as the country meadow that
produced it.
No, this is not a dream. These are the calves that are produced in the
Northern Great Plains every year. Why do we sell them into a commodity based
marketing system to have their identity forever lost? As producers of beef, we
don’t need to stand up and be counted, we simply need to have faith in the
product we raise. Let’s corral those 100,000 head, insist that our peers and
fellow producers document what they do, and market them as the top quality beef
we know we produce.
May you find all your ear tags.
Your comments are always welcome at www.BeefTalk.com
For more information, contact the North Dakota Beef Cattle Improvement
Association, 1133 State Avenue, Dickinson, ND 58601 or go to www.CHAPS2000.COM
on the Internet. In correspondence about this column, refer to BT0040.
###
Source: Kris Ringwall, (701) 483-2045, kringwal@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Click here for a printable PDF version of this graphic.
(6KB b&w graph)
Click here for a printable EPS version of this graphic.
(76KB b&w graph)
Click here for a EPS file of the BeefTalk logo suitable for
printing.
(100KB b&w logo)
|
