Pre-conditioned cattle sales for forage-based cow-calf management systems

摘要

Demand for preconditioned feeder cattle continues to increase in the beef industry as value-based marketing and information flow expands indicating preconditioned forage-raised calves require less management, fewer losses due to illness and deaths, and increased profitability to both buyer and seller. The goal of a preconditioning program is to increase the value of weaned cattle (Bailey, 2002). The Northeast Texas Beef Improvement Organization (NET-BIO) is comprised of commercial cow/calf and stockcr operators and various agribusinesses with the same interest. The objective of this study is to determine if prices received for preconditioned NETBIO stocker cattle increase the net income above preconditioning costs.