Cowchip - September 27, 2017

COWCHIP

DATES TO REMEMBER:

October

13 Deadline to order bulk feed

21 Last Day to pick up seed

21 Acadiana Cattle Producers Field Day, UL Lafayette Cade Farm, 8:00 a.m. (Flyer Enclosed)

November

3 Bulk Feed Delivery

WINTER PASTURE:

The use of winter annual grasses and cool-season legumes should be considered to help provide high-quality nutrition during the winter and spring for cows nursing calves and developing heifers. Even with the high cost of feed, it may be more economical to use hay and supplement than growing ryegrass for dry cows. If you’re short on hay, then you may not have a better choice than ryegrass.

LSU budgets estimate costs of ryegrass production at $121.16 per acre for a prepared seedbed and $103.36 per acre for sod seeding. (The budgets are enclosed and can be altered to fit your program. Adjustments to fuel and fertilizer and seed costs may be needed.) If we get 80 days of actual grazing between December 1 and March 31 and we plant an acre per cow, then it would cost $1.29 per head per day for sod-seeded grass and $1.51 per head per day for prepared seeded grass. Dry cows would require about 4 pounds of cubes per day to supplement average hay and would eat about 25 pounds of hay per day. If you are paying $400 per ton of cubes and $60 per ton or $30 a bale for hay, then per-day cost for hay + supplement is $1.55. Lactating cows would need almost twice the levels of supplement, so ryegrass would be the far cheaper alternative. Also, first-calf heifers and weanling heifers you’re keeping would need the extra nutrients supplied by ryegrass.

If you need help in making winter feeding decisions, don’t hesitate to call. Yield data for ryegrass varieties is enclosed.

BULK FEED:

Due to continued high feed prices, we will again offer a group bulk feed purchasing program. We will use Distillers Dried Grains (DDGs). Distillers Dried Grains (DDGs) contains 25% CP and 83% TDN. Price should be about $205 per ton delivered to Abbeville. We are taking orders for a delivery date of November 3. We will need at least a truckload of 25 tons to make the program work. This product would be an excellent supplement for poor-quality hay and is often used in growing rations for calves. It would not be appropriate for use in a self-feeder due to its high fat and low fiber content.

Here is the outline of the program.

  • Purchaser provides a super bag or portable container.
  • Delivery will be for the week of November 3. Pickup must take place by the end of that week.
  • Orders for feed are due by October 13 and must be in multiples of 1 ton.
  • A deposit of $50/ton is required. Deposits are not refundable once the order is placed.
  • The group must order at least 25 tons and in multiples of 25 tons above the minimum. A truckload is about 25 tons. We will return your deposit if your order is part of an unfilled truck.

If you are interested in ordering Distillers Dried Grains, fill out the enclosed order form and return it with proper deposit by October 13.

ACADIANA CATTLE PRODUCERS FIELD DAY:

Our Fall Acadiana Cattle Producers Field Day is scheduled for Saturday, October 21. Lots of interesting and useful topics will be on the agenda. A flyer is enclosed. We hope to see you there.

LATEST USDA SUPPLY AND DEMAND ESTIMATES LOWER U.S. BEEF PRODUCTION:

The USDA released its monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) on Tuesday morning, which should prove to be neutral to slightly bullish. U.S. beef production for 2017 was lowered by 140 million pounds from 26.699 billion pounds to 26.559 billion pounds while 2018 production was lowered by 85 million pounds to 27.275 billion pounds. There are likely a few things driving this reduction in beef production. One driver is lower than expected fed cattle marketing as reflected in the last Cattle on Feed Report, although we know those cattle are still out there and will end up coming to market at some point in the future. For many of those cattle, it is more of a matter of when they go to market rather than if the will go to market. Probably the biggest driver is reduced slaughter weights. Total slaughter numbers have been trending at or above last year's numbers most of the year; however, slaughter weights have been trending well below year-ago levels. When those two are put together, the lower slaughter weights outweigh the increase in the number of head, leading to lower production numbers.

On the demand side, minimal changes were made. Exports remained the same as last month, as did ending stocks. However, per capita use for 2017 was lowered from 57.9 pounds per person to 57.6 pounds per person. Lower production with no changes in exports means that there is less beef per person available.

What impact will the WASDE have on the markets? So far, not much. While both feeder cattle and fed cattle futures are down on the day, there was little movement in the intraday prices around the time the report came out. In other words, traders were not surprised by what they saw in the report, and outside factors are more important in driving the market at this point in time. Looking forward into the fall and winter, as feedlot profitability turns negative we may see an uptick in the slaughter weights relative to where we have been trending most of the year, which could boost production numbers again in future reports. A big part of the reason for the decline in slaughter weights over the last year was that positive feeding returns provided an incentive for feedlots to fill their pens and run more total cattle through while feeder for a shorter period of time. Now that profits are turning negative, that incentive is gone, and instead, feedlots will likely shift toward trying to squeeze as much gain out of each animal as possible. If that does indeed happen, look for the uptick in slaughter weights to shift total beef production higher in the coming months.

2017 FOOD AND HEALTH SURVEY:

Recently, information from the 2017 Food and Health Survey revealed details of the different types of consumers and analyzed how shoppers make purchasing decisions at the grocery store.

The survey identified six different types of shoppers, including:

1. Diligent searchers - According to the survey, these individuals take everything into account, valuing all product and brand characteristics.

2. Product selectors - These folks focus on the product itself; its brand is meaningful, but the brand’s values are not. Price and convenience matter nearly as much as taste. READ: Retail suggest stronger beef demand

3. Pleasure shoppers - The survey showed that these shoppers strictly evaluate the imminent impact on themselves: taste, price, and convenience. All other attributes are considered unimportant.

4. Foodies - Foodies are willing to sacrifice convenience and cost in search of a quality product, particularly one that is tasty, healthy and made in a way they approve of.

5. Unbiased buyers - These shoppers consider exclusively what is on the inside; the product’s packaging is unimportant, and its brand is even less so.

6. Indifferent consumers - These folks do not find any individual attribute to be especially important or unimportant.

PORTABLE PENS:

The Vermilion Parish Cattlemen’s Association Board of Directors approved the purchase of a new portable pen. This makes available the used pen. The old pen was purchased in 2007 and is a Diamond W Brand with 80 pair capacity. The board approved raffling it off using a 100 square board. Squares are $50 each and can be purchased at the County Agent’s Office located at 401 S. St. Charles St.

Sincerely,

Andrew Granger

County Agent

Vermilion Parish

It is the policy of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the grounds of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, or disability.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

PLEASE RETURN BY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13 TO ANDREW GRANGER, 1105 W. PORT ST., ABBEVILLE, LA 70510

NAME ____________________________________

ADDRESS __________________________________ CITY ___________________ ZIP _________________

PHONE ______________________________ CELL _____________________________

Tons of Bulk Feed __________ x $50/Ton

Amount of Deposit _______________


Table 23.A Estimated Costs per Acre, Sodseeded Winter Pastures, Louisiana, 2017.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

ITEM UNIT PRICE QUANTITY AMOUNT YOUR FARM

DOLLARS DOLLARS_______________

DIRECT EXPENSES

FERTILIZER

Nitrogen lbs. 0.43 101.0000 43.43 __________

Phosphate lbs. 0.54 29.0000 15.66 __________

Potash lbs. 0.35 35.0000 12.25 __________

SEED

Ryegrass seed lbs. 0.68 40.0000 27.20 __________

OPERATOR LABOR

Tractors hour 10 .18 0.1200 1.22 __________

DIESEL FUEL

Tractors gal 2.00 0.3088 0.61 __________

REPAIR & MAINTENANCE

Tractors acre 0.06 1.0000 0.06 __________

INTEREST ON OP. CAP. acre 2.52 1.0000 2.52 __________

TOTAL DIRECT EXPENSES 102.95 __________

FIXED EXPENSES

Implements acre 0.00 1.0000 0.00 __________

Tractors acre 0.41 1.0000 0.41 __________

TOTAL FIXED EXPENSES 0.41 __________

TOTAL SPECIFIED EXPENSES 103.36 __________

________________________________________________________________________________________

Table 24.A Estimated Costs per Acre, Temporary Winter Pastures, Prepared Seedbed, Louisiana, 2017.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

ITEM UNIT PRICE QUANTITY AMOUNT YOUR FARM

DOLLARS DOLLARS_______________

DIRECT EXPENSES

FERTILIZER

Nitrogen lbs. 0.43 101.0000 43.43 __________

Phosphate lbs. 0.54 29.0000 15.66 __________

Potash lbs. 0.35 35.0000 12.25 __________

SEED

Ryegrass seed lbs. 0.68 35.0000 23.80 __________

OPERATOR LABOR

Tractors hour 10.18 0.6006 6.11 __________

DIESEL FUEL

Tractors gal 2.00 2.3186 4.63 __________

REPAIR & MAINTENANCE

Implements acre 2.05 1.0000 2.05 __________

Tractors acre 0.89 1.0000 0.89 __________

INTEREST ON OP. CAP. acre 3.15 1.0000 3.15 __________

TOTAL DIRECT EXPENSES 111.97 __________

FIXED EXPENSES

Implements acre 4.16 1.0000 4.16 __________

Tractors acre 5.38 1.0000 5.38 __________

TOTAL FIXED EXPENSES 9.54 __________

TOTAL SPECIFIED EXPENSES 121.51 __________

________________________________________________________________________________________


ACADIANA CATTLE PRODUCERS FALL FIELD DAY

DATE: Saturday, OCTOBER 21, 2017

TIME: 8:30 A.M. – 1:30 P.M.

PLACE: UL LAFAYETTE CADE FARM

(1178 W J Bernard Rd, St. Martinville, LA 70582)

REGISTRATION STARTS AT 8:00 AM

Approved for Master Farmer Phase II credit

INDOOR PROGRAM

¨ Dealing with Abnormalities in Newborn Calves - Dr. Stuart Gauthier & Dr. Clare Skully

¨ Hay Production – Quality vs. Quantity - Mr. Blair Hebert & Dr. Guillermo Scaglia

¨ Cattle Market Update - Dr. Kurt Guidry

¨ Master Farmer Program Update - Mr. Allen Hogan

OUTDOOR PROGRAM

¨ Understanding Impacts of Management on Shrink in Weanling Beef Calves – Mr. Stan Dutile & Mr. Andrew Granger

¨ Bermuda Grass Planting Methods Demo - Dr. Ed Twidwell

¨ Bulrush (needle grass) Control in Pastures - Dr. Ron Strahan

¨ Smutgrass Control Demonstration - Mr. Mark Simon & Mr. Brian Kibbee

¨ Avoiding Spontaneous Combustion in Your Hay – S. Gauthier & S. Dutile

LUNCH PROVIDED— DOOR PRIZES—VENDOR EXHIBITS

CONTACTS: LCA District VIII Vice President‐James Leleux (337‐893‐8334); Iberia‐Blair Hebert (337‐369‐4441); Iberia Research Station‐Guillermo Scaglia (337‐276‐5527); St. Martin‐Stuart Gauthier (337‐332‐2181); Lafayette & W. St. Mary ‐Stan Dutile (337‐291‐7090); Vermilion & Acadia‐Andrew Granger (337‐898‐4335); Louisiana Forage and Grassland Council‐Ed Twidwell (225‐578‐4564)

10/5/2017 6:41:01 PM
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