On the sidelines of the American Angus Convention in Ft. Worth, Texas, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays spoke with Nevil Speer, a beef industry consultant and influential columnist. They discussed herd rebuilding and increased carcass weights and the positive side of extended drought.
“It is definitely not your granddad’s cows anymore,” Speer said. “That is probably what is holding up herd rebuilding.”
He ticked off regulatory uncertainty, challenging interest rates, the cost of labor, and skyrocketing equipment costs as other reasons for producers to hesitate to increase their herds.
“Carcass weights have increased five to seven pounds per year,” he said. “Steer carcass weights last year were 960 pounds, and at one time, that was the upper limit. We know how to make cattle bigger through genetics, management and knowledge. I’m not sure we are going to turn that back down very far.”
He admitted that while some cuts have outgrown normal packaging, productivity and throughput are major positives.
While herd reductions due to drought aren’t helping, producers repetitively hauling their lesser quality cows to the sale has allowed the better genetics to shine.
“No one wants to wish for a drought,” Speer said. “But ultimately, it is also a reason to fill the gooseneck with the ten worse cows that you have. When you begin to do that on a macro perspective, you begin to make a big jump in genetics and quality.”
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