Working Ranch Blog

This post is from June 16. Sorry about posting it later, but that kind of happens without regular internet access.

It has been raining here in West Texas. Yes, the hot, dry Panhandle has been soaked this week. I should be more careful for what I ask. Last week everyone was complaining about the dust on these High Plains, now we are spending our days wading around in wonderful mud. I am truly enjoying my new job at the cattle feedlot. I had the opportunity to travel to the three other feedyards in the Panhandle area. I was surprised at the difference between the yards, from the rangeland of Oklahoma to the flat cropland around Dalhart. Such contrast in landscape and water availability results in a contrast in management styles. Today I felt like a big kid playing in the mud. After a few inches of rain this morning, things never slowed and I barely found time for dinner, never mind completing my paperwork in the office. After being covered from head to toe in mud and the four-wheeler turning from red to brown, I might as well had just laid down in the mud. It is such a great feeling to be exhausted, have the day’s work complete, my desk clean, and know that I had fun that day. These are the days that make me PROUD to be a part of the cattle industry.

After a rain, I am sure you have taken note of the hoof tracks through the muddy lots, left from cattle passing. Have you ever wondered where these tracks have been and where they are going? Last week, a girl from California asked from where our feedlot cattle came. Really, not such a silly question. I have known several producers that have an idea of the general concept of the cattle industry, but never really know where their cattle go after leaving the auction ring. Do you know where your cattle go after you sell the calf crop? Or do you run stocker cattle and just assume they run off to a feedlot somewhere in the great beyond?

For some reason, I imagine those outside of the cattle industry driving by a feedlot and wishing those cattle in the pens had the life of those in the lush green pastures. Reality is, although many consumers do not realize this, those cattle in the feedlot were those cattle on the green pastures. And those cattle in the green pastures may one day be the cattle in the feedlot. It is the cycle of the cattle industry. Cattle are born on ranches, large or small, on the High Plains in the basins of the Rockies or the Deep South. Some are born in calving barns or lots to protect them from winter weather, but most all beef cattle are raised on pastures. The calves are then weaned at or shortly before puberty and placed in backgrounding or stocker programs. Here they are grown on pastures or balanced rations consisting of forages and smaller amounts of grains, and those not kept for replacements in cattle herds are placed in feedlots of the Plains regions. It is in the feedlots where these cattle are fed balanced rations of high energy for efficient gains. When fed to a chosen carcass maturity, we have the harvest process, and all of a sudden, we have this steak on our plate.

Stocker and Feeder cattle do lots of traveling in the US. I read a study once from a professor at Oklahoma State that estimated this annual movement between states and regions. Generally, cattle move to the Plains of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas and all of the meat flows back to the East and West coasts. The cattle population of these states drastically increases in the winter and spring as calf crops are weaned. Inversely the cattle populations of states like Montana, Wyoming, and Washington drastically decreases as weaned cattle are sent to milder climates for winter-feeding. I could go on for pages about how the stocker industry acts as a buffer for feeder cattle supplies and is used to grow cattle before feedlot placement. I find it an interesting topic.

Back to the cattle tracks that I mentioned earlier. Do you realize the complexity of the cattle industry? Do you have a general idea of where your cattle end up after you market them? It may be interesting to find out a little more about the movement of stocker and feeder cattle. I know when I see cattle come into our feedlot from New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, or other parts of Texas, I think about where those cattle come from. I know those tracks will lead to the harvest plant after their time in the feedlot, but the trip does not end until you have that steak on your plate. So next time you sit down to enjoy that Ribeye or Sirloin, take a moment to consider the tracks the cattle made on that journey.

This should be an initiative to educate yourself, or better yet consumers, about the cattle industry. We have a great story to tell. How do you share with others your part in food production? Let me know and you may hear about it in later posts. Shoot me an email (rjlgoodman@hotmail.com) or find me on Facebook and Twitter. Until next time –ARranchhand

CattleFact: The cycle of the cattle industry is all about cycles. The stocker/backgrounding phases have the largest impact on feeder supplies in the cattle industry. Because of the ability to lengthen the interval between weaning and the finishing phase of cattle, the stocker cattle industry does its part to help provide a year-round global beef supply.