A Federal Court in Minneapolis has ruled the Beef Check-Off is illegal. Under the ruling, check-offs will stop being collected on July 15. Check-Off officials are seeking a temporary injunction in order to continue collections while legal appeals are pursued.
LATE BREEDING - IT DOES COST
What is the effect if cows don't breed back on time? Montana workers studied this question. To stay on a 365-day interval, a cow should breed back in an average of 83 days. In this study, groups with post-partum intervals ranging from 50 to 80 days had little difference over time in average weaning weight per cow exposed. But a 90-day interval reduced that value by 94 lb, and monetary gross margin was 19% lower. Staying on a yearly interval is important.
HEIFER REPLACEMENT - USE DOLLAR COST AVERAGING?
Trying to determine the best time during a cattle cycle to keep heifers is sort of like trying to time the stock market. If you guess right, things are great. If you guess wrong, you may lose your shirt. One technique for coping with the effects of variable prices is dollar cost averaging. In this case, that would amount to saving about the same total dollars worth of heifers every year. That way, you'd keep fewer heifers when they're expensive and more when they're cheap. Over time, this reduces the average cost of replacements. And the cheaper heifers should come into maximum production during the part of the cycle when their calves are bringing the most money.
CARCASS MATURITY VS. TEETH
USDA Carcass Standards estimate maturity from the size, shape, and ossification of bones along with color and texture of lean. In Australia and South Africa, grades for carcass maturity depend on the number of permanent teeth. Researchers at West Texas A&M examined over 12,000 cattle to compare carcass maturity indicators and dentition. They found little relationship between the two, and even 40% of cattle with eight permanent incisors were evaluated as A maturity (defined in the Standards as being less than 30 mo. of age) when they should have been at least C maturity. Dentition is much more closely related to chronological age than is carcass maturity, but what is the best predictor of palatability? In another study, these researchers found no difference in tenderness due to either dentition or maturity. This agrees with some studies, but is contradicted by others. At any rate, might we see a new position in packing plants, official mouther?
WHERE'S THE BEEF?
We often forget that beef is not just strip steaks. According to Cattle-Fax, restaurant beef servings are 75% ground beef, 10% steaks, 7% roast beef sandwiches, 4% steak sandwiches, and 4% roast beef or prime rib. At home, 63% of beef servings are ground beef, up from only 36% just 10 years ago. What has declined during that time? Steak and roast.
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