By Heather Smith Thomas
Since 1980 we have produced more beef with fewer cows. In fact, cow numbers have dropped about 25%, while beef production has increased 27%, said Justin Gleghorn, former director of cattle risk management with Cactus Feeders. Now with Smith Cattle Co. in Texas, Gleghorn presented the feeder perspective on the ramifications of more days on feed at the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management’s 22nd Annual Symposium on Excellence in Ranch Management.
Have we made that increase in beef production by adding days on feed?
“Not necessarily. I think it’s largely driven by improvement in the genetics we’ve invested into our beef herds, especially over the last 30 years. These cattle are getting bigger through selection,” he said.
“Normally, with increased days on feed, the animals become less efficient from a live basis because they have so many maintenance requirements; more of the calories they consume are diverted towards maintenance. Yet from a carcass gain standpoint, these cattle are more efficient the heavier they get,” said Gleghorn.
“It’s not uncommon for a steer, if he’s gaining about 2.2 pounds (lb.) of live weight per day, to transfer about 90% of that live weight gain into sellable carcass gain. This changes the math on how you can buy cattle, and your decisions on feeding them if you plan to sell live weight versus carcass weight,” he said.
Some of the cattle held during COVID were about 80 days beyond their projected days on feed, and we learned more about these animals.
“Before that, we never were forced to add days,” said Gleghorn, noting he was concerned about what those extra days would mean in terms of animal welfare, mobility and structural soundness. “They handled it extremely well — so much that, today, we’re making cattle even bigger, and we have confidence to do it.”
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