From The Desk Of Jeffrey Reed Chief Operating Officer, Central Livestock
Albany (800) 733-6828 • Zumbrota (877) 732-7305 • Sioux Falls (800) 733-3640 • West Fargo (800) 733-4620CenTRAl liveSTOCk • www.centrallivestock.com • Rock Creek (320) 629-1122 • South St. Paul (800) 733-1844
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Marketingsreetings from Central Livestock Association. So far, 2009 has brought increased marketing of
feeder cattle at the Central Livestock markets, along with good volumes of cows and fed cattle. We observed ranchers delaying feeder cattle marketing in the last three months of 2008, for a variety of reasons. As of this writing, all cattle and hog prices remain under pressure. Some evidence of a general economic recovery would probably help stage a price recovery in all of the meats, as total U.S. supply is clearly well below what has historically been consumed by domestic and international consumers. The meat complex often sees price improvements very early in a recovery, so we could see better prices just around the corner.
Thanks to all who have completed and returned their Country of Origin Affidavit. The final rules have now been published, and we as producers and marketing organizations are expected to accurately track and declare the country of origin of every head of livestock we market. Packers are making decisions on what livestock they choose to purchase and process, and we need to provide accurate information for those decisions. If you have not submitted an affidavit, please complete one and drop it off at one of our markets. If you have any questions, please let us know. Thank you for choosing Central Livestock Association, your member-owned cooperative, to market your livestock. n
Enter the 5th Annual Central Livestock PhOTO COnTeSTThe contest is open to all Central Livestock members/customers and their immediate family members who wish to enter. Entries must be received by June 15, 2009. The photos will be judged on focus, content, color tone, composition and overall appeal. The winner in each category will receive a prize and could be featured in the 2010 Central Livestock calendar and a future issue of Marketings.
entry Rules •Entries become the property of Central Livestock and will not be returned. •All photos must be in color. •Entries may be digital or printed on photo quality paper. Prints must be 5” x 7” or 8” X 10”. Digital entries should be taken at the highest resolution possible. The camera should be a least 2.5 mega pixels or higher. Images should be saved as EPS, TIF, or JPG formats and e-mailed to [email protected] by June 15, 2009.
each photo entry must select one of the following categories: Livestock Scenes Country Scenery Kids & Livestock
Entries are limited to three photos per Central Livestock member/customer. Photos may be entered into different categories. Entries should not be mounted or framed. Include the following information with each entry: •Title of Photo, Photographer’s Name and Address, Category, Phone Number, E-mail Address, Location and Date of Photo.
Please mail photos and entry info by June 15, 2009 to: Central Livestock Photo Contest, Central Livestock Association 953 Concord St. S., PO Box 419, South St. Paul, MN 55075
In this IssueSTePS TO BUilDinG vAlUe-ADDeD CATTle 2 — Off and Running
3 — What Does “naturally Raised” Mean and What Steps Must Producers Take to Qualify?
4 — Stairway to Marketing value-Added Feeder Cattle
5 — looking for Opportunities?
5 — Age and Source verified
6 — Get everyone Certified
7 — Sale and Auction Schedule
editor: Jena SwansonContributing Writers: Jeffrey Reed, Jena Swanson, Jessica Johnson-DeGroot, Dr. Roger Weigle and Trudy Wastweet Graphics Manager: Kay KristofSend comments or suggestions to: [email protected]
Board of DirectorsRichard Creaser, President, Menomonie, Wis.
Bill Bertram, 1st vice President Valley City, N.D.
Brian Brix, 2nd vice President, Albany, Minn.
David krueger, Secretary Hastings, Minn.
Morris Carlson, Sandstone, Minn.
keith Johnson, Sharon, N.D. Mark leGare, Lafayette, Minn. Darrel Sogn, Hudson, S.D. larry Traun, Durand, Wis.
FIRST QUARTER – MARCH 2009To educate, inform and connect with members, patrons and supporters.
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Postmaster send address changes to: Central Livestock Marketings Central Livestock Association PO Box 419 South St. Paul, MN 55075
Conveniently located at Central Livestock’s market
Call (507) 732-7860
AlBAny (800) 733-6828
Monday 7:00 AM-Noon Hogs and Sheep
Tuesday 7:00 AM-10:00 AM Hogs 10:30 AM Fed Cattle, Slaughter Cows and Bulls Wednesday 7:00 AM-Noon HogsThursday 7:00 AM-10:00 AM Hogs 10:30 AM Fed Cattle, Slaughter Cows and Bulls, Baby and Started Calves Special Feeder Sales: 2nd Wednesday of each monthSpecial Dairy Sales: 1st Wednesday and 3rd Friday of each month
WeST FARGO MARkeT (800) 733-4620
Wednesday 9:00 AM Feeder Cattle, Slaughter Cows and Bulls, Fed Cattle, Hogs and Sheep
ROCk CReek MARkeT (320) 629-1122
Receiving hours Sunday 1:00-9:00 PM
Monday 6:00 AM Open 9:00 AM Market Cows, Fed Cattle, Feeder Cattle, Baby Calves 12:00-4:00 PM Hogs, Sheep and Goats
Wednesday 7:00 AM-Noon Hogs, Sheep and GoatsSpecial Feeder and Bred Cow Sales: 3rd Wednesday of the month
ZUMBROTA MARkeT (877) 732-7305
yard hours Sunday Noon-10:00 PM Monday thru Thursday 6:00 AM-Midnight Friday 6:00 AM-2:00 PM Saturday 8:00 AM-NoonMonday 8:00 AM Overnight Market Cows/Bulls, Fed Cattle, Market Cows/Bulls 4:00 PM Baby Calves (Arena 2)Tuesday 9:00 AM Sheep and Goats, followed by Feeder Pigs Noon Dairy Cattle (2nd and 4th Tuesday), followed by Market Cows/BullsWednesday 10:00 AM Fed Cattle, Market Cows/Bulls Thursday 9:00 AM-10:00 AM Market Cows/Bulls 10:00 AM Feeder Cattle, followed by Stock Cows, Breeding Bulls Monday thru Thursday 8:00 AM-1:00 PM Market Hogs, Sows and Boars Friday 8:00 AM-Noon Market Hogs, Sows and BoarsMonday thru Thursday 8:00 AM-1:00 PM Sheep Friday 8:00 AM-Noon Sheep
SiOUx FAllS MARkeT (800) 733-3640
Tuesday 9:00 AM Market Sheep and GoatsWednesday 8:00 AM Fed Cattle, Market Cows and BullsThursday 9:30 AM Feeder Cattle
7CenTRAl liveSTOCk ASSOCiATiOn • www.centrallivestock.com • South St. Paul (800) 733-1844
xCenTRAl liveSTOCk • www.centrallivestock.com • Rock Creek (320) 629-1122 • South St. Paul (800) 733-1844
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Central livestock Association Sale and Auction Schedule
Off and RunningBy Roger E. Weigle, DVM, Associate Vice President, Animal Health, Genex Cooperative, Inc., Shawano, WI
nce again, calving time draws near; when our perseverance, optimism, and plain hard work
start to pay off. Although its more work, you know the delight of seeing a cow and new calf pairing up or you wouldn’t be in the business. What I’d like to do today is remind you that it is a business; you work too hard for it to be a hobby. Let’s look at some of the ways you can get through the calving process with a vigorous calf, ready to take off and grow. Calving in a beef animal is a natural process that usually requires no intervention on our part. True, heifers have a higher dystocia (difficult calving) rate, but in general, if we have made sound breeding decisions, good bull choices, and have fed the herd appropriately for growth, maintenance, and pregnancy, problems should be uncommon. We do not have space here to discuss procedures for correction of calving problems, but Genex/CRI has a good video on Obstetrics available as part of the Dairy Herdsman series that covers all of the common malpresen-tations and shows how to correct them. Trust me; even though it has “dairy” in the title, the techniques used are identical in beef. Let’s start our discussion with the calf just born and getting mothered up by the cow. Obviously, any work we do to the calf at this point must be accomplished pretty quickly (they get hard to catch in a few hours), and must be done with our own safety in mind. If you work the calf in its first few hours of life, put the calf into the back of a pickup while working it, to keep the cow out of the way. (But I did have a cow get in the truck once; be careful). What do we need to do at this point? First is to iodine the navel of the calf. Use strong tincture of iodine, the 7% stuff that stains everything it touches. Put it in a flip top
plastic squeeze bottle and liberally soak the stump of the navel and the surrounding area. This will help prevent navel infections and the joint problems that result from that type of infection. Now is also the time to get the birth weight of the calf. I use a small rope strap made into a circle. Dally a loop around the rear legs and a front leg, and boost them up with a spring scale fitted with a short pipe handle through the top ring. If you tattoo the animals, do it now, and pop an ear tag in the calf next. All of the stuff you use to process a calf fits easily in a bucket, and keeps the equipment in one place. What you do next depends on the disease and vaccination status of your herd, where you are located, and how the herd is managed. If the herd has some respiratory issues, you should consider using an intranasal respiratory vaccine while you process the calf. Should we inject the calf with Vitamin E and selenium? How about an iron dextran injection? Scour treatments? Probiotics? It depends on where you are located, and how you are managing the cow herd. Talk to your Veterinarian about these issues, and follow his recommendations. Always remember the most important factor in the survival of a calf is getting enough good colostrum into it in the first few hours of life. If a calf gets a gallon of colostrum during its first day, it should get enough immunity from the cow to fight off most challenges. If not, it will be a poor doing critter that is susceptible to all sorts of things. Watch
the herd. If you have a heifer that is having trouble figuring out what motherhood is all about, consider tubing her calf with colostrum. If you have a dairy herd in the neighborhood, consider asking them for some good quality colostrum, and then save and freeze it in gallon Ziploc® bags. When you need it, thaw it in a microwave, but pour off the liquid every 15 seconds as it thaws, or you will cook the colostrum and damage the immunoglobulin that you are trying to get into the calf. Never use colostrum from an animal that was not tested for both bovine Leukosis virus and Johnes disease, as these diseases may be spread in colostrum. Pay for the tests yourself if you must, but never use colostrum from untested animals, or you can import some diseases from your neighbors that you really don’t want. There are a number of colostrum supplements on the market that may have a place in your operation. Again, visit with your Veterinarian and follow his/her recommendations. Calving season is a wonderful time; full of work, but with great rewards and satisfaction. Careful steps taken at this time will result in a healthier calf crop and a larger paycheck when the calves go to market. n
O
StepS to Building
imes are changing for pork producers. We have entered an era where farming decisions
are heavily affected by policy makers and voters. We live in a society that has more access to news, politics and advertising but where people know less than ever about the sources of their food. Public voter initiatives and damaging Internet videos jeopardize the autonomy of livestock producers. We know the best care, comfort and health of our hogs every day makes our businesses productive and profitable. Pork producers are now being asked to prove their commitment to good animal care through all-inclusive participation in quality assurance programs. Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA Plus) is a training program that focuses on good production practices for safe, wholesome pork products. Trained advisors deliver the PQA Plus content in a workshop-style setting, resulting in PQA Plus individual certification. This certification is valid for three years; workshops are generally offered at no cost. Get everyone certified — PQA Plus individual certification is relevant for pig owners, barn employees, production managers, and contract production partners. An added feature of the PQA Plus program is an on-farm assessment. This assessment process—which results in PQA Plus Site Status for each location—involves a trained PQA Plus advisor evaluating a farm’s
records, facilities and animals. The advisor makes observations and offers suggestions for enhancing or improving physical facilities, recordkeeping practices or pig care. Site Status is valid for three years. Costs of these on-farm assessments will vary by advisor. The Transport Quality Assurance (TQA) program provides very practical training in pig behavior. TQA discusses how environmental
factors such as light, flooring, noise, or drafts affect pig movement; it also covers biosecurity, trucking regulations, weather affects, pigs’ range of vision, and more. TQA certification is valid for three years. Get everyone certified — TQA training is ideal for loading crews, all animal caretakers, and pig transporters. The Minnesota Pork Board and University of Minnesota Extension are delivering monthly quality assurance training events for the PQA Plus and TQA programs. For the latest details on these free training events, go to www.mnpork.com. Consumers want to trust the people who provide their food—but they want proof of the animal care that was part of the process. Get everyone certified and demonstrate your farm’s commitment to doing the right thing every day. n
CenTRAl liveSTOCk • www.centrallivestock.com • Rock Creek (320) 629-1122 • South St. Paul (800) 733-1844
or some time now, the livestock industry has debated the terms “naturally raised.” To most producers
and consumers the terms “naturally raised” mean the product meets some vague standards. Often times, the term gets grouped into the niche market, along with organic, grass-fed, and most recently humanely raised and handled. With this vague standard in place, it seemed almost any product could be marketed or labeled as “naturally raised.” Typically, beef that is minimally processed, or from cattle that were never fed animal by-products could qualify as natural. Producers or consumers searching for a definition to the natural claim have finally gotten their answers from the USDA. The USDA released the final Naturally Raised Marketing Claim Standards in late January. The new claim and standard is as follows:naturally Raised – Livestock used for the production of meat and meat products raised entirely without growth promotants, antibiotics (except for ionophores used as coccidiostats for parasite control), and have never been fed animal (mammalian, avian, or aquatic) by-products derived from the slaughter/harvest processes, including meat and fat, animal waste materials (e.g., manure and litter), and aquatic by-products (e.g., fish meal and fish oil). All products labeled with a naturally raised marketing claim must incorporate information explicitly stating animals raised in a manner meeting the following conditions: 1) no growth promotants were administered to the animals; 2) no antibiotics (other than ionophores used to prevent parasitism) were administered to the animal; and 3) no animal by-products were fed to the animals. If ionophores used only to prevent
parasitism were administered to the animals, they may be labeled with the naturally raised marketing claims if that fact is explicitly noted. According to the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, “the segment of the marketplace that includes specific animal raising claims has experienced exponential growth in the past five years. Use of a naturally raised marketing claim standard has the potential to increase the available supply of U.S. meat products eligible for niche marketing programs in the United States, the European Union, and other export markets that require livestock to be raised without the administration of growth promotants.” Although several producers and consumers are happy the USDA has finally issued clear naturally raised claim standards, the issue is still a very controversial topic. Some are concerned it still does not meet the organic programs’ standard, which includes a federal certification process, and is verified by government and international inspectors. Others argue that the naturally raised claim standards do not address environmental
impacts or animal husbandry practices. To further improve the niche marketability of their product, some packers have taken on the issue of animal husbandry practices, and developed protocol for sustainable and humane certification.
Protocol includes: • Feeding facilities are maintained to ensure the health and safety of the cattle. Pens and shelters are designed to take into account the natural behavior of the animals so as not to bring on unnecessary stress to the animals.• If possible, cattle are housed with their natural social group (animals born and raised together). • Kept in pens with adequate room to move naturally. At minimum, there must be between 150-300 square feet/head, and at least one foot of bunk space/head. • Bedding needs to be provided when appropriate. Shade and sprinklers for cooling and minimizing dust are recommended. • Clean water always available, and high quality, balanced ration.• Animals must be handled to avoid undue stress. Cattle are treated humanely, with dignity and respect. Central Livestock Association recognizes “naturally raised” as a growing niche market for producers. Several of our customers and members are currently following a naturally raised regimen for marketing either feeders or finished cattle. If you would like to market your cattle as naturally raised, you need to fill out a natural cattle affidavit. Affidavits are available on the Web site www.centrallivestock.com or at any branch location. Please contact your branch or field representative if you are interested in marketing your cattle as “naturally raised.” n
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What Does “naturally Raised” Mean and What Steps Must Producers Take to Qualify?By Jena Swanson, TEAM Marketing and Administration Manager
VALUE-ADDED CATTLE T
Get everyone CertifiedSubmitted By Trudy Wastweet, Assistant Executive Director, Minnesota Pork Producers Association
What do i need to do to
AGe and SOURCe
veRiFymy cattle? Cattle must be traceable to live animal production records. Verification activities for age requirements must be conducted at the slaughter, feedlot, and producer levels as required by the submitted Process Verified Program (PVP) program. Individual Animal Age Verification: •Animals must have a unique individual identification. •Records must be sufficient to trace the individual animal back to ranch records. •Records must indicate the actual date of birth of the animal and must accompany each animal through the process.
Group Age Verification: •All animals within a group and born during the same birthing season must be individually identified. •Records must indicate the actual date of birth of the first calf of the birthing season. •The age of all calves within a group must be derived from the actual date of birth of the first calf born within the group.
Please carefully review the other qualifications needed for the specific PVP you are enrolling in. n
o many cow/calf producers, the terms “value-added” and “premium” are used often and sometimes
out of context in the cattle industry. To add to the confusion, some feeder cattle are discounted, leaving some cow/calf producers wondering what they did wrong. To help clarify what exactly “value added” means, Central Livestock has developed an easy guide called the Stairway to Marketing value-Added Feeder Cattle. The key to successfully marketing value-added feeder cattle is to fully complete each step before moving onto the next.
Step 1 - Right Off the Cow: This is the first step in the stairway to marketing feeder cattle. The calf is simply taken right off the cow and sent to the auction market. No vaccination or back grounding is performed on the calf.
Step 2 - Dehorned, Castrated, viP shots: The calf is dehorned, castrated, preferably by knife, and given one round of VIP shots. VIP
stands for Vaccination Identification Program, Central’s recommendations for preconditioning. Recommended shots include: A combination virus vaccination for IBR, BVD, PI3, BRSV; Clostridials, typically a seven way, may contain Haemophilus; and the Pasteurellas. Dewormer, injectable or pour on, is also recommended.
Step 3 - viP Plus: The third step is really where the completion of previous steps start coming into play. To qualify for VIP Plus, the calf must be boostered at least three weeks prior to sale date with a virus, Clostridial and Pasteurella product. Along with that, the VIP report card can either be certified by the producer or the veterinarian. The calf can also be Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certified.
Step 4 - Bunk Broke, Weaned: The calf has been dehorned, castrated, dewormed, given two rounds of shots and is now completely weaned from the cow. There are various types of weaning, and it is the producer’s discretion to choose which type. Now that the calf is
completely segregated from the cow, the calf eats a ration on its own from a bunk. Once the calf is fully eating this ration, the calf is considered bunk broke.
Step 5 - Weaned 45 Days: The calf has been dehorned, castrated, dewormed, given two rounds of shots, bunk broke and is now completely weaned from the cow for 45 days.
Step 6 - Age and Source verified, with Tags: The calf has been dehorned, castrated, dewormed, given two rounds of shots, bunk broke and is now completely weaned from the cow for 45 days. The producer selects an age and source program, also referred to as an USDA Process Verified Program (PVP). Common PVP providers include: AgInfoLink, IMI Global and Micro Beef Technologies. The producer must comply with all of the guidelines, paper work and proper tagging of the particular PVP. This PVP information MUST be sent with the cattle on sale day. If all of the qualifications are not met properly, the calf will not qualify for the PVP. Furthermore, the producer cannot say, the calf can qualify for a PVP. When sale day comes, the calf either is or is not age and source verified. As a producer, it is important to remember each step needs to be completed before moving on to the next step to maximize your added value potential. In preparation for calving season, and throughout the year to marketing time, keep this Stairway to Marketing value-Added Feeder Cattle in mind. Also contact your Central Livestock field representative to help you develop a solid marketing strategy. n
Right Off the Cow
Dehorned, Castrated, VIP Shots
VIP Plus
Bunk, Broke, Weaned
Weaned 45 Days
Age and Source Verified, with Tags
Increased Value
$ $ $
T
Stairway to Marketing value-Added Feeder CattleBy Jena Swanson, TEAM Marketing and Administration Manager
CenTRAl liveSTOCk • www.centrallivestock.com • Rock Creek (320) 629-1122 • South St. Paul (800) 733-1844
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ou have the feed and you have the facilities, but what are your options when it comes to putting
cattle into those facilities? During these hard economic times and fluctuating cattle and grain markets, banks may be reluctant to lend money for cattle. Fewer people are interested in custom feeding cattle due to losses they took last year. So what are your options? Central Livestock’s, Livestock Feeding Program (LFP) might be the option you are looking for. The LFP is an alternative option to traditional bank financing for livestock. Central Livestock will purchase and deliver cattle to feedlots that have entered into a livestock feeding agreement with Central Livestock. The producer will be responsible for all costs related to caring for and feeding of the livestock. The Producer will be entitled to any net sales proceeds form the sales of livestock, minus placement costs and associated fees. The LFP is flexible and can be tailored to assist most livestock operations. It has allowed many
producers to expand there operations. Central Livestock’s’ experienced staff work closely with its participants sourcing, price protecting and marketing cattle. All marketing and price protection decisions are made between the livestock feeder and Central Livestock. In order to qualify for the program, a Central Livestock representative will first visit the producer and evaluate their potential for participation. The producer will be asked to complete application forms and supply financial information about their operation.
If the producer is approved for the program they will be asked to complete a Livestock Feeding Agreement and a UCC filing will be put in place. Any required subordination agreement for lien holders must also be in place before delivery of livestock will occur. If you are interested in applying for the LFP or if you would just like more information on the program, contact Jessica Johnson-DeGroot at 1-800-733-1844 or at [email protected]. You can also find an application on our Web site at www.centrallivestock.com. n
Ylooking for Opportunities? By Jessica Johnson-DeGroot, LFP Manager
