THEE Hot Barn Report!
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Welcome to America’s Hot Barn Report now heard coast to coast and border to border
It is official, we have just confirmed our 12th reporting barn for the big fall run. We now blanket the great Northern beef belt from Motely, Minnesota to Torrington, Wyoming.
The “Bigger” seem to be going “Broke-r” in The Beef State! Thanks for tuning in to this special Friday edition of The Hot Barn Report!
Recently, the University of Nebraska Beef Extension Specialists (UN-L) revealed what we have not wanted to admit to anyone except our banker and accountant.
UN-L released their Summary of the Beef Heifer Replacement Forecast for 2023 based on their UNL Cow Herd Budget. The Cow Herd Budget was a collection of financial information from a variety of real cattle operations dispersed throughout six different regions in Nebraska. I commend the operators that kept and submitted their financial records for this study. One had to swallow some pride to do it.
They captured data from such a diverse array of operations, from a 50- head herd in southeast Nebraska to a 600- head herd in central Nebraska. That also lead to a diverse array of outcomes, unfortunately the unifying thread was that not a single cow/calf operation in the study was profitable. That is a tough pill to swallow in “The Beef State.”
The 50- head operation in southeast Nebraska lost $171 per calf raised, while the 600- head unit in central NE lost $296 per calf raised. Que 2019 Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue telling us to “get big or get out.” Looks like the big may be forced out too.
What is the magic number of cows that a kid starting out must run to be profitable? 700 head? 1000 head? I know my husband and I have grown our herd to the max, based on our #1 limiting factor, LABOR. The key word being “energy” and I’m not talking about the cow’s. I’m talking about our own. At some point you can’t get around anymore fence, you can’t put up any more hay, you cannot calve anymore cows because you have maxed out your own energy resources. It would be great to add some hired help, but who are we kidding, we can’t even afford to pay ourselves.
The bottom line is the bottom line of the cash flow sheet, either in the red or black! You are either making money or you are not. Judging by the prices that consumers are paying in the grocery store, someone in the supply chain IS making money, but it is not us.
The conclusion from the study is the bigger the operation, the more off-ranch income there better be because, after all, more than our cows gotta eat . . . our kids do too. Without aggressive cattle market reforms, no one will be surprised at a continually contracting domestic cowherd. We can’t lose money, working this hard forever. Maybe if we add “the American Rancher” to the endangered species list we can get Washington’s attention?
Let’s give a shout out to These Diamond Dozen Hot Barns that power this program: Stockmens Livestock, Lemmon Livestock, North Platte Stockyards, St. Onge/Newell, Platte Livestock Market, Tri County Stockyards, Torrington Livestock, Creighton Livestock Market, Bassett Livestock Auction, Mobridge Livestock, Ogallala Livestock Auction Market, and Presho Livestock. Catch them all on CattleUSA.com.
BREAKING NEWS
U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), a longtime member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) reintroduced the American Beef Labeling Act, legislation that would reinstate mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef. [READ MORE]
Get the latest beef industry facts, statistics and stories showcasing the real ways your Checkoff dollars drive demand for beef here at home and around the globe. Visit drivingdemandforbeef.com
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