Cattle and beef markets have strengthened in October despite the uncertainty of the past couple of weeks. Feeder and fed cattle prices, along with boxed beef have all advanced compared to pre-shutdown reports with fed cattle showing the strongest relative increase. By the end of this week many of the data holes may be filled in with a clearer picture of slaughter, carcass weights and beef production.
Feeder markets continue to offer high value of gain for stocker production. Though the high absolute price levels for stocker calves is scary for buyers and their lenders, the combination of high price levels and relatively little price rollback means that the value of putting weight on feeder cattle remains very high, in fact, well above what we would expect to see longer term.
Last week, based on reported feeder prices at the Joplin Regional Stockyards, a 476-pound, medium-large frame steer could be purchased for $181.38.cwt. or $863.37/head. Or, a 567-pound steer was priced at $172.68/cwt. or $979.10/head. Notice that the additional 91 pounds of beginning weight only cost $1.27/pound., an important consideration as producers decide what weight to begin the stocker enterprise.
For dual-purpose wheat, winter stocker will be marketed in late February or early March which allows for roughly 120 days of grazing and roughly 250 pounds of gain. That takes the 476 pound steer to 726 pounds, currently at $164.95/cwt. or $1197.54/head. The difference in value per head is a $334.17 gross margin or a value of gain of $1.34/pound. By comparison, the reported price for an 823 pound steer, which is 256 pounds of gain on the 567 pound beginning weight, is $159.75/cwt. or $1314.74/head. This results in a gross margin of $334.64/head or $1.31/pound.
There are many combinations of beginning weight and total gain for either dual-purpose winter stockers or graze-out steers marketed in May. In all cases the current value of gain is in the range of $.25-$1.35/pound of gain. Dr. Derrell Peel, OSU livestock economist indicates that perhaps most important, current feeder cattle futures prices for March and May would allow hedging with expected selling prices that are at or a bit higher than these current cash prices. Regarding the purchase prices, we would typically expect to see seasonally low calf and stocker prices in the next month; however, Peel indicates that he doesn’t expect to see much seasonal weakness given the current market situation. In fact, strong feedlot and stocker demand may result in limited counter-seasonal strength in feeder cattle prices into November.
County Steer Weigh-In
All 4-H and FFA exhibitors planning to exhibit steers at the 2014 Washington County Livestock Show in Dewey next March need to enter those steers from 6-7 p.m. Oct. 28 at the fairgrounds in Dewey.
Yard and Garden Tips
Leaf color comes from pigments. Pigments are natural substances produced by leaf cells. The three pigments that color leaves are: chlorophyll (green), carotenoid (yellow, orange, and brown) and anthocyanin (red).
Chlorophyll is the most important of the three. Without the chlorophyll in leaves, trees wouldn’t be able to use sunlight to produce food.
Carotenoids create bright yellows and oranges in familiar fruits and vegetables. Corn, carrots and bananas are just a few of the many plants colored by carotenoid.
Anthocyanins add the color red to plants, including cranberries, red apples, cherries, strawberries and others.
Chlorophyll and carotenoid are in leaf cells all the time during the growing season. But the chlorophyll covers the carotenoid — that’s why summer leaves are green, not yellow or orange. Most anthocyanins are produced only in autumn and only under certain conditions. Not all trees can make anthocyanin. As we make our 365-day journey around the sun, some parts of the planet will get fewer hours of sunlight at certain times of the year. In those regions, the days become shorter and the nights get longer. The temperature slowly drops and autumn will come followed by winter. Trees respond to the decreasing amount of sunlight by producing less and less chlorophyll. Eventually, a tree stops producing chlorophyll. When that happens, the carotenoid already present in the leaves will be very visible. The leaves become a bright rainbow of color variations.
You may have noticed that in some years the red fall color seems brighter and more spectacular than in other years. The temperature and cloud cover can make a big difference in a tree’s red colors from year to year. When a number of warm, sunny autumn days and cool but not freezing nights come one after the other, it’s going to be a good year for reds. In the daytime, the leaves can produce lots of sugar, but the cool night temperatures prevent the sugar sap from flowing through the leaf veins and down into the branches and trunk. Anthocyanins then show up to rescue and forestry researchers have found out that anthocyanins are produced as a form of protection. They allow the plant to recover nutrients in the leaves before they fall off. This helps make sure that the tree will be ready for the next growing season. Anthocyanins give leaves their bright, brilliant shades of red, purple and crimson.
The yellow, gold and orange colors created by carotenoid remain fairly constant from year to year. That’s because carotenoids are always present in leaves and the amount does not change in response to weather. The amount of rain in a year also affects autumn leaf color. A severe drought can delay the arrival of fall colors by a few weeks. A warm, wet period during fall will lower the intensity, or brightness, of autumn colors. A severe frost will kill the leaves, turning them brown and causing them to drop early. The best autumn colors come when there has been: 1) a warm but yet wet spring; 2) a summer that is moderate in temperatures and 3) a fall that has warm days and cool nights.
Contact Randy Pirtle at email@example.com.