February - Feedlot Magazine

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The Time Has ComeDNA technology — practical for all segments of the industryThe beef industry has known foryears that marketing fed cattle ona live basis leaves much efficiencyto be gained. Now it is possible togain inside information throughFeeding mixed groups of cattle leads toinefficiencies, but with IGENITY and markerassistedmanagement, cattle can be sorted anddirected to a more economical endpointDNA technology for a growing listof traits of economic importance.A new era of beef production hasindeed arrived.The process of applying this informationto managementsituations is called markerassistedmanagement.John Pollak, the executivedirector of the NBCEC, anorganization committed toresearch related to the geneticevaluation of beef cattle,says this is a tool thatcan have immediate implicationsfor the feeding segmentof the industry.“Using DNA technology,through marker-assistedmanagement, is an opportunityfor feedlots and operationswhere producersare retaining ownership tosort cattle toward specificendpoints based on their potentialto hit certain grids,” Pollak says.A powerful toolOne feedyard that understandsthe importance of this advancedtechnology is Decatur County FeedYard, Inc., in Oberlin, Kan. This38,000-head operation has alwaysbeen ahead of the game when itcomes to marketing cattle andmaximizing performance. The yardhas specialized in retained ownershipsince 1981, and has been sortingcattle based on ultrasound datafor nearly 20 years.Dan Dorn is involved in supplydevelopment for Decatur CountyFeed Yard and he says DNAtechnology is a tool to use to complementtraditional managementpractices. (see article Feedstuffsdated 1/8/2007 ‘Test MarketDesirable Genes or go to feedstuffsfoodlink.com)“We already manage cattle to aneconomic or genetic endpoint,”Dorn says. “Having the ability toknow more information about anindividual animal through DNAtechnology allows us to better marketthat animal to a specific target.”One study showed how the valueof a pen of cattle would increaseby $5,381, or $28.81 per head, ifheavy carcasses, yield grade 4and 5 carcasses, and standardcarcasses were eliminated andthe percentage of select carcasseswas reduced from 21 percent to10 percent.These benchmarks are all withinreach with the comprehensiveIGENITY ® profile, which includesanalysis for carcass traits such astenderness potential, fat thickness,ribeye area, yield grade and hotcarcass weight along with parentagein multiple-sire settings.Management and selection gohand in handWorking with producers is somethingDecatur County Feed Yardsees as contributing greatly to thesuccess of this technology. Dornsays the process of getting producersinvolved has become easier asthe technology is now more cost-effectiveand user-friendly. ♦Circle No. 122 on Reply20 FEED•LOT <strong>February</strong> 2007
Treason, Heresy and Seditionby Ann BarnhardtWell, if that title doesn’t piqueyour interest, nothing will!Here goes:We are in the CATTLE business.We are NOT in the beefbusiness.Allow me to explain myself beforeyou gather the wood to burnme at the stake. The beef market isa totally separate market that haslittle-to-nothing to do with the profitabilityof cattle PRODUCERS. Iknow this is contrary to everythingyou are being told. I know this iscompletely counter-cultural. Staywith me. We sell CATTLE. We buyCATTLE. That is the market thatwe should be preoccupied with.We do not need to know what theSelect chuck market is doing. Wehave no need to research the 90-10ground beef market. What the hideand offal markets are doing haveno bearing on us or our ability tobe profitable.None. Let the packers and retailersworry about those things.Those are THEIR markets, notours. We are the lucky ones. We getto worry about the glorious, profit-ladenCATTLE markets. Do notrebuff this blessing!This concept meshes with theneed to carefully and objectivelysort our daily tasks into true, productiveWORK, and non-productivebusywork. Eliminate the latter.What good is it to sit in front of acomputer screen in the evenings,desperately engaged in the daily intrigueof the beef market . . . a marketin which we have essentially noparticipation? When was the lasttime you sold a brisket? When wasthe last time you sold a flank or sirloin?What purpose does it serve toruminate over the Choice rib market. . . and have no idea how to calculatethe return on the gain? Howcan it be “wise” to endlessly wringone’s hands over the cutout . . . andhave no clue what our cost of gainis? I see these conditions almostHOURLY. We are barking up thewrong tree.Aggregate demand for beef dictatesONLY how BIG the cattle industrycan be. As demandincreases, more cattle can exist,We sell CATTLE.We buy CATTLE.That is the marketthat we should bepreoccupied with.and therefore more cattle producerscan exist. As demand shrinks,marginal producers will find themselvesbeing squeezed out. The trulyskilled marketers already exist inthe upper-echelons of this industry(you may be surprised who I considerthe “upper-echelon” - it maybe your neighbor who hauls cattlearound in a bumper trailer!), andneed not be overly concerned withdemand contraction, and the resultingattrition. Marketing skillmakes your place in this industrysecure. Lack of marketing skillleaves you vulnerable, whether youare a 100,000 head feedlot or aweekend warrior with 20 head inthe back pasture.♦There are no guarantees. Nothing iscertain. You are solely responsible foryour decisions. Information containedherein is believed to be reliable, but noindependent verification has been madeand there are no guarantees as to its accuracyor completeness. The risk of lossin trading futures and options can besubstantial, and investors should verycarefully consider the inherent risks.Visit Ann at www.Barnhardt.biz.Circle No. 123 on ReplyFEED•LOT <strong>February</strong> 2007 21
Page 2 and 3: Circle No. 100 on Reply
Page 4 and 5: Editor’s DeskQuality Audit Report
Page 8 and 9: Retail Beef Prices To Hold Steady i
Page 10 and 11: Determining “Fair Pay”Sometimes
Page 12 and 13: Getting a Handle on GradeFeeding se
Page 14 and 15: Searching For Yield Signs — Onlin
Page 16 and 17: Understanding Vaccines — Vaccinat
Page 18 and 19: Feeding Efficiency - Change in the
Page 25 and 26: Where Are Corn Prices Headed?by Dr.
Page 27 and 28: Table 1SALE BARN CALVESDISTANCE HAU
Page 31 and 32: However, cows grazing in pastureswi
Page 33 and 34: Top Quality Beef Starts With Potent
Page 35 and 36: ®the Panhandle will produce 600 mi
Page 37 and 38: Ferrell-RossFlaking Mills24 x 56 Du
Page 39 and 40: PROCESSING, SORTING and SHIPPING LA
Page 41 and 42: CONCRETE INDUSTRIES“The bunks are

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