There’s always been a lot of attention to supplement cost.Some will argue it’s more true now than ever with higher input cost for beef production, but I don’t recall a time ever in the past when feed and supplement cost was NOT a factor.Earlier bog topics the past several months by my colleagues and I have addressed many cost and value topics pertaining to feed and beef production.
Beef production critical control points and cow supplementation
I recently had the good fortune to attend a company-sponsored conference on Beef Production Critical Control Points. Just the title/topic of this conference would open up a long list of subjects one would expect to learn. Nutritionists, veterinarians, economists, ranchers, feedlot operators and anyone else would come up with a long list or perhaps their own specific list. In fact, many surveys by various organizations and institutions exist with a near endless list of production management categories. (See chart below).
Supplement cost and supplement value: There’s a difference
While it’s true that Agriculture is enjoying some record or near record dollar receipts for commodity goods, input costs are rising and thus need to be managed. Everything costs more these days. From fuel to food, no one can escape all the rising costs.In this economy, we should all be challenged to find what the best buy is for the dollar and match purchases to our needs, goals and objectives.
High cattle and high feed cost? Good supplement programs pay
I recently had a visit with a 20+ year veteran of the livestock premix business. He told me his customers seem to be just as profitable, or more so, when feed costs are high. I’m sure that statement would open up a lot of argument, but there may be some interesting perspectives before jumping to any conclusions. One of which may be that fine tuning and optimizing nutrition for the best return on investment would make sense when profit opportunities are highest (high market value of cattle) or when managing overall high input costs.
