Opinion
The story seems to repeat year after year. There’s always something to question. This year cow-calf producers face higher feed costs and extended drought in some areas which will likely raise questions about preconditioning expenses. Wesley Tucker shares his perspectives on investing in preconditioning protocols. His tips can help cattle producers sharpen their pencils as they wean 2021’s fall calves.
The best products you can buy won’t account for poor management decisions.” – Anonymous
Tucker shares USDA survey data that reveals other factors affecting this annual conundrum. It indicates more than 70 percent of U.S. beef producers wean calves fewer than the recommended 45 days before sale date, and 43 percent of producers wean calves in the trailer on the way to town.
Source: BEEF, April 25, 2022. Link. Tucker advocates the following:
- Know the market
- Do the math
- Find your secret weapon
- Sharpen your pencil
Whatever secret weapon is chosen for leverage, use it wisely to give the market what it wants . . . more gain outside of the feedlot.” – Wesley Tucker
Also see: Search Results for: preconditioning, AHD. Link.
INSIGHTS: Working calves in the rain is poor planning, right? But driving north from the Kansas City, Missouri, area in the rain last week it was apparent that working cattle was the activity of the day. With mud flying off trucks and trailers, it was sadly comical to witness the frenzied efforts in northern Missouri and southern Iowa.
Tell you what . . . it’s too wet to farm . . . let’s work cattle today!”