RANCHING Business
Balancing Risk and Reward in Stocker Cattle Management
Pay careful attention to details in this high-risk, high-reward segment of ranching
By Lorie Woodward Cantu “I
N THE BROADEST SENSE, STOCKERS ARE BEEF ANIMALS to which producers can add value,” says Bryan Nichols, livestock consultant with the Noble
Foundation. “While different operators enlist different strategies, many people make money in the stocker business by taking small sets of cattle that have been discounted for some reason and putting them into larger, more uniform groups.” In the case of cattle destined for the terminal mar-
ket, producers generally add value by adding weight to the cattle. Cattle in the Southern Rolling Plains can graze
on cool-season forages throughout the winter. It is a competitive advantage not found in other parts of the country. “Winter forage is exceptionally nutritious and highly palatable, but it is expensive to establish,” Nichols says.
“Generally, its highest and best use is putting weight on cattle that are still growing, so producers can ben- efi t from maximized gain.” Last season, he received multiple reports of cattle gaining more than 3 pounds per day on winter pasture. While most of the operations in the region use win-
ter forage, some producers create opportunity in the warm season using crab grass, hay grazer, sorghum- sudan or millet. Another way operators add value is by imposing
higher levels of management to get cattle through high-risk, high-stress periods of life. “Freshly weaned, lightweight cattle are more sus-
ceptible to health problems and the effects of stress,” Nichols says. “It requires a particular skill set to man- age these high-risk cattle and the marketplace often rewards those people who succeed.”
Editor’s Note: This is the ninth installment in a 12-part series on “The Realized Value of Management Decisions” that was developed in conjunction with the advisors in the Producer Relations Program of the Agricultural Divi- sion of The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. The independent, non-profi t Noble Foundation, headquartered in Ardmore, Oklahoma, assists farmers and ranchers and conducts plant science research and agricultural programs to enhance agricultural productivity regionally, nationally and internationally.
MORE 66 The Cattleman September 2015
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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