COW/CALF CORNER
The Newsletter
From the
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
May 11, 2015
In this Issue:
North American
cattle trade impacts U.S. cattle supplies
Derrell S. Peel,
Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist
Look back at the
spring calving season and start to make improvements now
Glenn Selk,
Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist
North American
cattle trade impacts U.S. cattle supplies
Derrell S. Peel,
Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist
Canada
and Mexico have been a source of feeder and slaughter cattle for many
years. This is in addition to bilateral trade in beef, with both
countries among the major markets for U.S. beef exports as well as major
sources of beef imports. In 2014, U.S. imports of Canadian slaughter
steers and heifers represented 1.7 percent of total U.S. steer and heifer
slaughter. These yearling slaughter cattle imports were up 13.9 percent
from 2013 and included a 24 percent increase in slaughter heifers compared to a
7.4 percent year over year increase in slaughter steer imports. With the
latest trade data for March, year to date slaughter steer and heifer imports
from Canada are down 40.6 percent from last year based on a 49.5 percent
decrease in slaughter steer imports and a 27.4 percent decrease in slaughter
heifer imports.
Total
feeder cattle imports from Mexico and Canada in 2014 amounted to 4.8 percent of
the total 2014 U.S. calf crop. This was the largest relative contribution
of Canadian and Mexican feeder cattle to U.S. feeder supplies in data back to
1992. U.S. imports of feeder cattle from Canada are up 11.7 percent year
over year from January to March. This follows a 37.8 percent year over
year increase in Canadian feeder cattle imports in 2014. Canadian feeder
imports in 2014 consisted of a 60 percent increase in feeder heifers from the
previous year. However, year to date imports of Canadian feeder heifers
are down 10 percent compared to the January to March period one year ago.
In contrast, feeder steer imports are up 57.1 percent so far this year. The
weight of Canadian feeder cattle imports is also quite different this year compared
to last. For the year to date, imports of Canadian feeder cattle over 700
pounds are up 58.0 percent from last year while imports of Canadian feeder
cattle less than 700 pounds are down 10.6 percent.
Virtually
all U.S. imports of Mexican cattle are feeder cattle. Imports of Mexican
feeder cattle are up 7.5 percent in the first three months of 2015 compared to
last year. This follows a 12.8 percent annual increase in Mexican feeder
imports in 2014. Similar to Canada, 2014 Mexican feeder imports included
more heifers, up 23.3 percent year over year compared to a 10.4 percent
increase in Mexican feeder steer imports. However, year to date in 2015,
imports of Mexican feeder heifers are down 17.3 percent while steer imports are
up 13.1 percent. Mexican feeder cattle are generally lighter in
weight than Canadian feeder cattle with most Mexican feeders split between the
450 to 700 pound category and those under 450 pounds. Few Mexican feeder
cattle imports weigh more than 700 pounds. Compared to last year, year to
date imports of Mexican feeder cattle between 450 and 700 pounds are up 30.7
percent while imports of feeder cattle under 450 pounds are down 20.3
percent.
Several
implications are indicated from these trade flows. First, fewer heifers
are being imported from Canada and Mexico suggesting that domestic herd
expansion may be beginning in 2015 in both countries. Second, fewer
heifers and generally tight cattle inventories in both Mexico and Canada may
limit total cattle imports additionally later in the year. Feeder cattle
imports may total close to year ago levels and could end up smaller if monthly
imports drop sharply later this year. Finally, imports so far this year
from both Canada and Mexico have included fewer lightweight animals than is
typical in each market. This suggests that imports are somewhat
“front-loaded” with respect to weight, which will have some implications for
total U.S feeder supplies later in the year.
Look back at the
spring calving season and start to make improvements now
Glenn Selk,
Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist
Only
1 to 2 months ago the spring calving cows were calving, the temperature was
cold and some of the calving pastures were muddy. Experience would say that you
do not want to ask cow calf operators how “calving” is then, because the
response would be less than objective, reflecting bone-chilling cold and not
enough sleep. However if you wait too long, perhaps until this fall, time will
have mellowed most of the events and one soon has difficulty matching a calving
season with particular problems. Now is perhaps the best time to make a few
notes on what to change for next year.
The
first step is to list the dead calves. Hopefully, your cattle are in a record
system that will provide that information. If not, grab a piece of paper and
pencil and list the calves. Your calving notebook should have the dead calves
checked off and a brief notation on what happened to each. Until all the calves
are listed, the shock of lost opportunities has not had its full impact.
Can
you identify a pattern of problems?
Was
most of the death loss right at delivery and involved two-year old
heifers? This could indicate that sire selection needs to be done more
carefully, with attention being paid to low birth weight EPD sires for
heifers. Perhaps the heifers were underdeveloped. This could
contribute to more calving difficulty than necessary. Do you provide
assistance to heifers after they have been in stage II of labor for one hour?
Longer deliveries result in stress on both calf and cow.
Was
the death loss more prevalent after the calves had reached 10 days to 2 weeks
of age? This of course often means that calf diarrhea (or scours) is a
major concern. Calf scours will be more likely to occur to calves from
first calf heifers. Calves that receive inadequate amounts of colostrum
within the first 6 hours of life are 5 to 6 times more likely to die from calf
scours. Calves that are born to thin heifers are weakened at birth and receive
less colostrum which compounds their likelihood of scours. Often, these
same calves were born via a difficult delivery and adds to the chances of
getting sick and dying. All of this means that we need to reassess the
bred heifer growing program to assure that the heifers were in a body condition
score of 6 (moderate flesh) at calving time.
Did
you introduce a baby calf from another herd during the calving season? A
calf may have been purchased from a neighbor or at a livestock market.
Perhaps the new calf was brought home to foster on to a cow that lost her
calf. This has been shown to introduce new pathogens into a herd even
though the purchased calf appeared healthy. Placing the new calf and
foster mother in a separate pen for at least 30 days should greatly reduce the
risk of introduction of new diseases into the rest of the calves.
Do
you use the same trap or pasture each year for calving? There may be a
buildup of bacteria or viruses that contribute to calf diarrhea in that
pasture. This particular calving pasture may need a rest for the upcoming
calving season. Plus it is always a good idea to get new calves and their
mothers out of the calving pasture as soon as they can be moved comfortably to
a new pasture to get them away from other potential calf scour
organisms. A complicated, but effective method of curtailing calf
diarrhea outbreaks in larger herds is the “Nebraska Sandhill Calving
System”. Read more about this at the following website: https://beef.unl.edu/beefreports/symp-2007-17-xx.shtml
Pre-calving
scours vaccines (to the cows) may be recommended by your veterinarian for next
winter and spring. This should be considered an important short-term plan
to reduce the incidence of calf diarrhea. The above suggestions are more
long-term solutions to the problem.
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