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Enjoying the benefits of beef
By Trent Loos As a regular attendee at professional meetings and conventions, I can honestly say that I have never been a part of any like the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention that just concluded in Nashville, Tenn. I have to say that while farmers and ranchers are typically some of the most optimistic critters you will find, (what else would keep up in this dance for the long haul?) this year was unlike any other. While there was a near euphoric atmosphere present, I also detected an air of caution with regard to the new level of money changing hands. The record prices are wonderful for the moment but certainly cause most of us to stop for a moment and think about the infrastructure of beef production. Yes, when you have a downward trend in domestic beef consumption and prices rising to new levels, it should cause all of us to stop and think. We lost nearly one full pound of beef consumed per person in 2011 and we are projected to lose one more in 2012. The first thing that is crystal clear is that input expenses for cattlemen are not going to relax any time soon. I found myself in many discussions about improving efficiency in the cow/calf sector. In reality, pork and poultry have made phenomenal strides in producing significantly more product with the same breeding animals while reducing the input requirements. Now I will be the first to tell you that the feedlot sector of beef production has held its own in terms of efficiency with other animal species but the same cannot be said for the mother cow. Who in the Great Plains today cannot tell the story of native grasses being plowed up and sections of pasture being turned into crop production? Land values have surged beyond the ability of a cow, in the traditional methods of grazing, to generate a positive return. I truly believe the largest shift we will see in the beef industry in the next five years is that the beef cow will be managed more like the dairy cow. Let me remind you that the dairy cow produces the same gallon of milk that it did in 1945 by using only 10 percent of the land mass that was required back then. Now is when the truest traditional-minded cowboys will spout off with, "but you don't get the production from a beef cow that you do from a dairy cow." My point exactly! Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that all beef cows will move to freestyle barns and be fed every day. What I am saying is that I believe the amazing cow, that fermentation vat that converts natural resources of all types into food, fiber, pharmaceuticals and fuel, will be fed in dry lot conditions more often than she is now. For my friends in the West that graze Federal Lands, I recognize that this is not going to work out there but again that is the amazing thing about this bovine critter. The cow can walk a marathon to find the next black sage brush in the Nevada desert or she can be in a combination of dry lot feeding and pasture grazing in Minnesota or Florida and at the end of the day she can still produce the same food needed to feed our world. One final thought I wish to share is simply a reminder to all cattlemen, or rather all food producers. Record high prices that have been come about because of the lack of supply rather than an increased demand are dangerous. Yes, we are enjoying some tremendous times in exporting beef around the globe again but we are much better served if we can increase the amount of beef produced and hold it at current prices. A run in high prices simply as a result of fewer cattle to be found is called an erosion of the infrastructure. Yes, there was a jubilant attitude with cattlemen in Nashville but the convention also had an undertone of concern and discussions regarding the thoughts that I have shared here today. Just as in other segments of food production, the really strange part of the whole scenario is that higher cattle prices will lead to a greater increase in consolidation in the beef industry. Are you positioned to continue to enjoy the benefits of beef? Editor's note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.FacesOfAg.com, or email Trent at trent@loostales.com.
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