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Fed cattle profitability is determined by complicated dynamic processes of body growth, carcass development, and seasonal prices. A structural model is constructed to contend with all these dynamic processes to predict optimal market timing. Informed simulations are conducted and compared to those observed in the data, as well as to a previous model ignoring the evolution of carcass value. The results indicate that significant improvements to profitability are attainable with the new method. The results also indicate the opportunity cost of not accounting for carcass value, even with error, is more severe than when these dynamics are ignored.

The dominant market where information is discovered plays the role of price leader providing substantial market information to other markets. This study investigates the dynamic relationships of 30 cattle markets across regions, cattle types, and cash/futures markets. The comparison of many markets, using an error correction model, is accomplished with the introduction of a tournament with a hierarchical cluster analysis, which allows us to conclude that the leading price for the U.S. cattle markets is discovered in the futures markets for both feeder and fed cattle.

Beef cattle producers in the North America have a variety of production and marketing options and must choose the best production system for their situation. This review describes considerations involved in choosing between feeding cattle conventionally versus feeding them in programs that prohibit the use of certain technologies. Data from peer-reviewed journals, extension publications, nutritional consultants, governmental organizations, and feed companies were used to construct this review. Most cattle in North America are fed in conventional production systems. Conventional beef production systems typically use steroidal implants, ionophores, and beta-adrenergic agonists to improve animal productivity; as well as feed grade and injectable antimicrobials to control, treat or prevent disease and improve animal health. These technologies have been shown to lower the cost of production, allowing for beef to be competitive in the global protein market. Some consumers have expressed a preference for beef produced without these technologies. These “All-natural” (AN) cattle may bring a premium price in the market. The economic impact of differing productions systems can be described in relation to 1) cost of production, 2) operating costs of the feedlot, 3) price paid for feeder calves, and 4) price received for fed cattle. Conventional production provides the most favorable outcome for factors 1, 2, and 3, while AN production provides the most favorable outcome for item 4. There are also industry wide and societal aspects related to differing beef production systems related to health and safety of beef, land use, and cost of production allowing for a greater share of the global protein market. Technologies used in conventional production are critical tools to North American beef production. Differences in efficiencies between each type of non-conventional production systems must be re-captured in added premiums when cattle are marketed and sold. Premiums for AN cattle are enticing, but the true differences in the cost of production between the AN and conventional cattle must be evaluated in order for a producer to make the correct decision for their operation.

Heart disease, specifically congestive heart failure, has become of increased interest to geneticists and cattle feeders. Data on cohort associations of risk factors related to heart disease and when heart disease deaths occur in U.S. feedlot cattle are limited. The study objectives were to 1) determine potential associations between feedlot cohort demographics and the risk of at least one noninfectious heart disease (NIHD) death occurrence and 2) determine potential association between feedlot cohort demographics and the timing of NIHD deaths during the feeding phase. Data were downloaded from commercial feedyard software and analyzed by constructing a generalized linear mixed model for both analyses. A binomial and Gaussian distributions for risk of NIHD death and timing of NIHD were utilized as link functions for their respective models. Our study population consisted of 28,950 cohorts (representing 4,596,205 cattle) that were placed in 22 U.S. commercial feedlots from January 01, 2016, to January 01, 2019. There were 3,282 cases of NIHD deaths from a population of 75,963 cattle that died during the 3-yr study period. Average cohort arrival weight’s effect on NIHD probability was influenced by arrival quarter and arrival year of placement (P < 0.01). Cohorts with steers were associated with a greater probability of at least one NIHD death (2.38%) compared with heifers (1.95%; P < 0.01). Increasing cohort size was associated with an increased probability of a cohort having at least one NIHD death (P < 0.01). The probability of a cohort having at least one NIHD death increased with increasing DOF categories from 1.51% in cattle fed 100 to 175 d, to 2.12% in cattle fed 176 to 250 d, and 2.87% for cattle fed 251 to 326 d. Cattle > 326 DOF were no different in the probability of a NIHD death compared with the other feeding categories. Timing of a NIHD death had a mean and median occurrence of 110 DOF with an interquartile range of 64 to 153 DOF. The effect of arrival weight on days at death was influenced by year placed with heavier cattle generally decreasing the model adjusted means of DOF at NIHD death. Arrival quarter was influenced by year placed on model adjusted means on the timing of a NIHD death. Steers with NIHD died later compared with heifers (P < 0.01) diagnosed with NIHD. In conclusion, multiple factors are associated with the probability and timing of a NIHD death. Probability of having at least one NIHD death within a cohort was low, and half of the deaths occurred before 110 DOF.

Despite its importance in many decisions throughout agriculture, limited empirical work has quantified how changes in primary demand impact producers operating at different levels of vertically‐connected industries. A structural system of equations was estimated to quantify the impacts of U.S. retail and export beef demand on fed and feeder cattle demand and supply. Increases in retail and export demand positively impact both feeder and fed cattle producers. The estimated transmission elasticities suggest that shifts in retail and export demand, whether positive or negative, accrue proportionally more to feeder cattle producers than fed cattle producers. Using estimates from previous literature of the effect of generic advertising on beef demand, simulation results suggest feeder and fed cattle producers would benefit from increasing beef checkoff assessments from $1 to $2. Furthermore, an increase in export demand of more than 3.5% from observed values would cover aggregate costs of implementing source and age verification. While primary suppliers are often not directly involved in primary demand activities in vertically‐connected industries, this study highlights the key economic value for primary suppliers to support demand enhancing activities.

Medicinal leeches are one of the neglected organisms in animal reproduction studies. In this study, the effects of feeding two different types of blood, mammalian (cattle blood) and poultry (chicken blood), on the reproductive efficiency, growth performance and survival of the southern medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana, were investigated. The type of blood fed did not have a significant effect on the growth performance and survival of leeches, but the leeches fed chicken blood had a 2.5-fold greater performance compared to those fed cattle blood in terms of the gravidity process and reproductive efficiency. The final weight and survival for the cattle group was 10.79 ± 4.80 g and 87% and for the chicken group was 10.12 ± 5.26 g and 85%. Gravidity was initiated in the 7th month in both groups; however, while all gravidities in the leeches fed with chicken blood occurred in 1-month period, the gravidity of the leeches fed cattle blood occurred in a 3-month period. The cocoon efficiencies were 6.67 ± 1.50 cocoons/broodstock and 2.67 ± 3.37 cocoons/broodstock in the chicken and cattle groups, respectively. There were larger cocoons in the chicken compared to the cattle group. The offspring efficiencies were 12.59 ± 4.17 offspring/cocoon and 9.81 ± 3.67 offspring/cocoon in the chicken and cattle groups, respectively. The results of this study indicate poultry blood can be used in the management of broodstock with greater reproductive efficiency in medicinal leech aquaculture.

The COVID-19 pandemic had significant consequences on cattle slaughter capacity in the United States. Although industry stakeholders implemented strategies to minimize cattle welfare impacts of increased weights, days on feed (DOF), and increasing temperatures, there were concerns that mobility challenges would be observed at slaughter facilities. The objectives of this study were to characterize mobility in fed cattle during this recovery period and to identify factors impacting mobility. A total of 158 groups of cattle (15,388 animals) from one slaughter facility were included in the study. A 4-point mobility scoring system was used to assess cattle mobility. Cattle at the facility with normal mobility scores were reduced from the historical average of 96.19% to 74.55%. No increase in highly elevated mobility scores was observed. Mobility was impacted by weight, temperature humidity index (THI), distance hauled, sex, and DOF, with results differing by mobility category. Weather was a key contributor to mobility challenges, the relative risk of observing an elevated mobility score was 45.76% greater when the THI changed from No Stress to Mild Stress. Despite the challenges that the industry faced during this period, efforts to minimize negative effects on cattle welfare by enhanced focus on low-stress handling were effective.

The purpose of this presentation is to summarize state of the art data related to our understanding of feedlot cattle mineral requirements. To date, mineral requirements of cattle have been estimated based on historical research, some conducted as early as the 1930s and 40s. In comparison to earlier editions of the beef cattle nutritional requirements, relatively few alterations in mineral feeding recommendations were noted in NASEM (2016). However, consultants working in the industry commonly report feeding minerals far in excess of the NASEM (2016) recommendations. In addition, an abundance of mineral supplementation strategies has contributed to misunderstandings associated with cattle mineral requirements. Trace minerals, in particular, are available in a variety of chemical forms that affect site of solubility, potential bioavailability and may allow supplementation via various routes (dietary, injection, bolus, oral drench). Published and unpublished data comparing national vs. industry recommendations of trace minerals on beef cattle performance and data pertaining to source comparisons in fed cattle will be presented.

Non-infectious heart disease sporadically affects fed cattle and is commonly thought to cause death late in the feeding period. Data relating days on feed to heart disease deaths in US feedyards are limited. The study objective was to evaluate days on feed when heart deaths occurred during the feeding period, and potential effects of cohort demographics related to heart disease death timing., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2020

There is consumer pressure on the US beef cattle industry to minimize antibiotic use (ABU) in order to aid in the global antimicrobial resistance mitigation efforts. Our objective was to estimate the economic costs of ABU constraints in a conceptual US integrated beef supply chain (IBSC) to aid the beef industry in mitigating the ever-increasing risk of antimicrobial resistance, by reducing their ABU. An IBSC network model was developed and differentiated into 37 different nodes of production. Each node could only raise a specific type of animals, differentiated based on the production technique and animal health status. The cost, as well as the weight gain coefficient, was estimated for each node, using an IBSC cost of production model. Linear programming solutions to this network model provided the least cost path of beef supply through the system, under various ABU constraints. The cost as well as weight gain coefficient of the 37 nodes, initial supply of 28.5 million calves weighing 0.65 million metric tons, and final demand of 16.14 million metric tons of slaughter-ready fed cattle were used as inputs/constraints to the three different linear programming scenarios, with different ABU constraints. Our first scenario, which placed no constraint on ABU, estimated that the minimum total economic cost to meet the final beef demand was $38.6 billion. The optimal solution was to use only the high health status calves for beef production. Because low health calves occur in the beef system, our second scenario required all the calves irrespective of their health status to be used, which increased the system cost to $41.5 billion. Thus, the value of only producing high health status calves is $2.9 billion. Our third scenario, which restricted feedlots from using antibiotics even for low health calves, incurred a total cost of $41.9 billion for antibiotic-free beef production. We concluded that the additional cost of $367 million for implementing antibiotic-free beef production is relatively low, ~0.90% of the minimum cost incurred for the conventional beef supply chain (model 2 cost of $41.5 billion). However, a much higher cost savings is obtained by producing only high health status calves.

Animal welfare within the U.S. slaughter industry continues to prevail as one of the top priorities for livestock producers, businesses, and consumers alike. There are federal regulations that enforce the humane transport, handling, and slaughter of cattle. The journey that cattle must make to the slaughter facility is comprised of many environmental and human factors that can positively or negatively affect animal welfare. Cattle may be exposed to multiple stressors, such as noise, unfamiliar animals and humans, temperature extremes, temporary food/water deprivation, variable transport distances and experiences, and new pen conditions. The animal caretakers involved in these processes attempt to minimize stress and discomfort for the animals, but research is needed to focus on the gaps in knowledge and to support the implementation of strategies known to enhance the human–animal interactions that occur from farm to slaughter. This literature review will provide a summary of fed cattle welfare topics, research, and industry tools that span across the beef animal’s journey from the farm/feedlot through the slaughter process. In addition, areas that have had little research focus are identified to highlight the need for future work and development of industry tools. Some of these topics include examining trailer design, the use of trailer slats during weather extremes, the welfare aspects of cattle destined for salvage slaughter, multiple preslaughter factors and interactions, abnormal mobility and nonambulatory cattle, lairage environmental conditions, new stunning methods, and the impact of a well-trained, motivated, and stable workforce on cattle and people welfare. The authors conducted a survey at the 2019 North American Meat Institute Animal Care and Handling Conference, which comprised of stakeholders within the meat packing industry, packing plant employees, and food company employees, educators, and auditors. The survey responses identified training/education and communication as areas of need in animal welfare, whereas the majority of survey responses focused on the aspects of the human–animal interaction as the top challenges for the industry. By continuously identifying, measuring, monitoring, and managing animal welfare challenges within the beef cattle slaughter industry, prioritization and execution of programs and training that improve the welfare of cattle can be achieved as animals move through this final stage of the meat production system.

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of captive bolt length and breed type on post-stun leg activity in cattle. A total of 2850 Holstein (HOL) and non-Holstein British/Continental bred (NHOL) steers and heifers were observed post-stunning at a large commercial slaughter facility. A pneumatically powered penetrating captive bolt stunner was used with three different bolt lengths: CON, 15.24 cm; MED, 16.51 cm; and LON, 17.78 cm. Hind limb kicking, forelimb activity, take away belt stops, carcass swing and number of knife sticks during exsanguination were recorded for each animal from video recording. Hind limb and forelimb kicks observed ranged from 0 to 25 and 0 to 8, respectively. Analysis of post-stun hind limb and forelimb activity indicated that increasing pneumatically powered penetrating captive bolt length does not decrease post-stun leg activity. There was a higher percentage of cattle experiencing take away belt stops and carcass swing in HOL as compared with NHOL.

The effect of animal characteristics and placement decisions on retained ownership profitability of Tennessee cattle from 2005 to 2015 was determined using a mixed model regression. Ex post simulation analysis examined retained ownership profitability by placement season under different animal characteristic and corn price scenarios. Regression results indicate that placement weight, placement season, days on feed, animal health, and animal sex affect retained ownership profitability. Simulation results indicate that winter placement of cattle in feedlots had the highest expected retained ownership profits. Results provide risk-averse producers information regarding the profitability of retained ownership.

The accurate quantification of antimicrobial use (AMU) in production animals is critical for monitoring trends in exposure to antimicrobial drugs (AMD) over time and examining potential associations with antimicrobial resistance in bacteria. In this study, a census sample of cattle was used to quantify individually-dosed and in-feed AMU as both numbers of animal daily doses (nADD) and total grams of AMD (gAMD) used in cattle placed in 36 western Canadian feedlots between 1-November, 2008 and 31-October, 2012; representing about 21.5% of fed cattle in Canada during that time period. Of the approximately 2.6 million cattle placed during the 48-month period, 45% were calves, 63% were male, 62% arrived in the fall or winter, and 39% were assessed as high risk for developing bovine respiratory disease (BRD). The proportion of cattle categorized as high risk (HR) for developing BRD was consistent over the 4 years of placement cohorts. Use of medically important AMU and ionophore use was also summarized but was not combined with medically important AMU. A decrease in AMU was observed over the study period, both as nADD and total gAMD, which was primarily driven by a decline in the in-feed administration of tetracyclines. Most in-feed AMU was directed toward prevention and control of liver abscesses. The majority of individually dosed AMU was administered as metaphylaxis to address BRD risks, with category III AMDs (medium importance to human medicine as categorized by Health Canada Veterinary Drugs Directorate) used most frequently. Not surprisingly, risk level for developing BRD influenced parenteral AMD exposures, with 95% of cattle categorized as being HR for developing BRD receiving individually dosed AMDs compared to 59% of cattle categorized as being low risk (LR) for developing BRD. Cattle categorized as HR for developing BRD were more likely to receive macrolides for BRD metaphylaxis compared to cattle categorized as LR for developing BRD, and cattle categorized as LR for developing BRD were more likely to receive tetracycline for the same purpose. In summary, these data provide an unprecedented representation of AMU in fed cattle in western Canada and direction for future monitoring of AMU in fed cattle.

On May 25, 1999, a storm producing hail approximately 1 ¾ to 3¾ inches in diameter crossed over a feed yard. On four occasions following the storm, 409 carcasses from six pens were observed at an abattoir. On day 1, 29 carcasses were examined at the abattoir and in the grading cooler. On days 10, 15, and 49, additional cattle (n = 117, 173, and 90, respectively) were examined at the abattoir only. On day 16 following the first storm, a second storm, producing approximately 1 ¾-inch-diameter hail, crossed over the feed yard. Bruises were classified into three size categories, into short- and long-duration categories, and location was recorded. One hundred, 85, 54, and 44% of the carcasses exhibited bruises on days 1, 10, 15, and 49, respectively. On days 1, 10, 15, and 49, 100, 98, 65, and 27% of bruises were classified as short-duration. Multiple bruises were observed on 100, 75, 42, and 16% of carcasses on days 1, 10, 15, and 49, respectively. Storms producing hail approximately 3¾ inches in diameter have the potential to cause extensive bruising in cattle in open feed yards. Cattle sold within 15 days of such storms may experience significant hail-associated carcass trim loss, but by day 49 bruising appears to return to baseline levels., The Bovine Practitioner, Vol. 34, No. 1 (2000 January)

Insufficient acidification results in dark, firm, and dry beef. While this defect is often indicative of a stress event antemortem, muscle tissue may change in response to feeding regime. Longissimus dorsi muscle samples from 10 grain-fed and 10 grass-fed market weight, angus-crossbred beef cattle were collected postmortem. Lower (P

Objective Use United States cattle slaughter condemnation data as an animal health indicator for early detection of health events and to characterize trends in condemnation reasons. Introduction Data collected at livestock slaughter can be a useful source of non-specific health indicators including clinical signs, symptoms and proxy measures 1 . When monitored in near real-time, this data can enable the detection of both livestock and human health threats 1 . In the United States (US), the Federal Meat Inspection Act requires ante-mortem inspection of animals and post-mortem inspection of carcasses by veterinarians to ensure the meat product will be fit for human consumption 2 . Inspections are carried out by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) and results are recorded in the Public Health Information System (PHIS), including the reason for condemnation if the animal or carcass is deemed unfit. Since April 2016 the USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services (VS) has used data from the PHIS to monitor changes in the weekly count/rate of cattle condemnations for three cattle types, beef cows, dairy cows, and fed cattle (steers and heifers), and for selected condemnation reasons (central nervous system (CNS), dead, emaciation, mastitis, moribund, pneumonia, pyrexia, and septicemia). These eight reasons were chosen from 45 potential reasons recorded at condemnation as likely to identify clinical signs associated with foreign animal diseases of interest and to monitor trends in important animal health issues such as pneumonia and mastitis. Methods PHIS slaughter and condemnation data is downloaded weekly and stored and analyzed in an Access database. Tableau visualization software is used for mapping and time series signaling charts (example basin chart Figure 1). Only establishments slaughtering more than 600 cattle/week are included in analysis because smaller establishments may not operate weekly and many have very low slaughter volumes. With the small establishments excluded, our monitoring covers 93%, 90%, and 85% of slaughtered beef, dairy, and fed cattle, respectively. Weekly analysis is conducted by cattle type for each included establishment and for establishments grouped into geographic based catchment basins. The basins were created to identify signals occurring over a region, even if at the establishment level the increase is not large enough to produce a signal. Another purpose for basins is to allow sharing of results at a summary level that does not identify an individual establishment. Weekly normalized condemnation counts are created by dividing the actual condemn counts by the total number destined for slaughter that week, and then multiplying by the average number destined for slaughter per week for the past year. The Early Aberration Reporting System (EARS C3) time series alerting algorithm is used to identify unusual increases (signals) in these weekly normalized condemnation counts. An analyst characterizes establishment and basin signals as unremarkable, notable or needing follow up with FSIS. An unremarkable signal is defined as at least one previous signal or normalized count of similar magnitude in the past 12 months and no signal for that establishment the previous week. A notable signal is defined as no previous signal or normalized count of similar magnitude in the past 12 months or two or more signals occurring over sequential weeks. Basin signals are researched to determine which establishments are responsible for the signal. An analyst determines which highly notable basin and establishment signals need follow up with FSIS. Results are summarized in a weekly report for VS cattle commodity staff about any noteworthy increases in condemnations which could indicate the emergence of disease and may warrant further investigation. In addition a 2017 annual report was completed to describe, visualize, summarize and compare condemnations from 2015-17 by cattle type and condemnation reason. Results In 2017 the percentage of beef, dairy and fed cattle condemned for the eight monitored reasons out of all cattle presented for slaughter at the monitored establishments was 0.375%, 1.651%, and 0.022%, respectively. For beef cows the three most frequent reasons were pneumonia, dead and septicemia, accounting for 84.3% of monitored condemnations. Cows that either arrive at the establishment dead or die at the establishment prior to slaughter are included in the dead condemnation count. For dairy cows the three most frequent reasons were dead, septicemia and pneumonia, accounting for 93.6% of condemnations. For fed cattle the three most frequent reasons were pneumonia, dead, and septicemia, accounting for 98.2% of condemnations. Beef cow condemnations exhibited consistent seasonal trends for dead, emaciation, mastitis and pneumonia. Dairy cow condemnations exhibited consistent seasonal trends for dead, emaciation and pyrexia. Fed cattle condemnations were less influenced by seasonal trends with only dead and septicemia showing some consistent seasonality. During 2017 three notable establishment signals required follow up with FSIS: CNS in dairy cows, septicemia in fed cattle, and dead in beef cows. For 2018 (through August) 5 notable establishment signals required follow up: septicemia in both beef and dairy cows, emaciation and CNS in beef cows, and dead in dairy cows. Signals were attributed to various reasons including: changes in establishment protocol (CNS), relief inspectors classifying condemns differently and animals not responding to treatment on the farm (septicemia), a holiday effect with sick animals held longer in holding pens before slaughter (dead), a decrease in the quality of cattle purchased by the establishment (emaciation), and extremely hot weather (dead). Conclusions A higher percentage of dairy cattle were condemned overall and were more likely to be condemned for being dead on arrival or just prior to slaughter compared to beef or fed cattle. Culled dairy cows tend to be older than beef or fed cattle and are maintained in an intense production system, therefore they are more likely to develop age related problems or chronic diseases 3 . In addition to timely identification of potential animal health issues, cattle producers could use this information to help focus on management practices which may decrease condemnations and result in improved animal health and revenue for producers 2 . Some limitations to this work are that trends described only apply to the cattle population slaughtered at FSIS inspected facilities and included in our monitoring. Condemnations are determined by FSIS inspectors at each individual slaughter establishment resulting in the potential for inspector bias to affect the data. References 1. Dupuy C, Morignat E, Dorea F, Cucrot C, Calavas D, Gay E. (2015) Pilot simulation study using meat inspection data for syndromic surveillance: use of whole carcass condemnation of adult cattle to assess the performance of several algorithms for outbreak detection. Epidemiol Infect 2015 Sep;143(12):2559-69. 2. White T, Moore D. (2009) Reasons for whole carcass condemnations of cattle in the United States and implications for producer education and veterinary intervention. JAVMA Oct;235(8). 3. Haredasht S, Vidal G, Edmondson A, Moore D, Silva-del-Rio N, Martinez-Lopez B. (2018) Characterization of the temporal trends in the rate of cattle carcass condemnation in the US and dynamic modeling of the condemnation reasons in California with a seasonal component. Front Vet Sci Jun;5(87).

Globally, forests play an important role in supporting livelihoods of local communities that surround them. However, livestock rearing is hardly considered an important livelihood activity supported by forests. Forests can be a source of pastures which are key feed resources for livestock especially ruminants. There is little information on how a forest reserve affects livestock production especially in sedentary systems. In the current study, the status of livestock production in and around Mabira forest reserve, Uganda, was studied, to characterize the livestock production systems and determine the level of reliance on the forest for forages. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire, and a total of 80 households were interviewed. Results revealed that over 70% of the respondent farms had more than one livestock type. Cattle (71%), pigs (49%), chickens (47%) and goats (40%) were the most frequently kept livestock types. Most respondents fed cattle (54%) and pigs (81%) under the stall-feeding system, while 68% of the farms tethered goats. Chickens are mainly fed under free ranging feeding system (66%). Firewood, water, poles for construction and forages were the four forest products of significance importance to households rearing livestock around Mabira forest. Among the key determinants of level of reliance on forages from Mabira forest was negatively and significam, household’s distance to Mabira forest (P

Many try to eat sustainably but reliable information is lacking, and environmental impact often prioritises over nutritional quality. Here we consider beneficial fatty acid profiles in steaks from 4 UK systems: non-organic, organic, certified pasture-fed and conservation cattle. Most individual fatty acids and ratios considered beneficial for health (individual and total omega 3, vaccenic acid and CLA) followed a gradient, against assumed intensity of production. Ratios for linoleic acid: α-linolenic acid, omega-6:omega-3 and SFA:PUFA in pasture-fed sirloins were only 27%, 55% and 70% (respectively) of those in non-organic beef. Intramuscular fat from pasture-fed meat had twice as much omega-3 and 1.9x the long chain omega-3 concentrations compared with non-organic meat, with a ratio of omega-6:omega-3 only 38% of that in non-organic meat. Meat from 100% pasture-fed and conservation grazing offer public good, matching dietary guidelines better than meat from mainstream systems and qualifying as a source of long chain omega-3 fatty acids.

Context BREEDPLAN reports estimated breeding values (EBVs) for many traits, but there are few EBVs specifically for the inputs into the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) index for producers, so as to make genetic progress. It is not known how selection on current BREEDPLAN EBVs influences the MSA index and whether these relationships are the same for different market end-points. Aims The aim of the present study was to examine the extent to which the MSA index of commercial animals is related to sire EBVs. Methods Data from 12 industry or research datasets (6997 animals) from four breeds (Angus, Charolais, Hereford and Limousin), three feeding regimes (pasture-, short- and long-fed) and 433 sires have been included for analysis. Carcass traits (intramuscular fat (IMF), MSA marbling, eye-muscle area, MSA index, rib, ossification and hot standard carcass weight) were regressed on BREEDPLAN sire EBVs (IMF EBV, eye-muscle area EBV, 600-day weight EBV, rib EBV). Sire ariance components were estimated for each of the 12 datasets, to determine whether the genetic variance in the MSA index and its indicator traits changed with carcass weight. Key results Sire variation in carcass traits changed with market end-point (or feeding regime) for all carcass traits except ossification, where there was no difference between long- and pasture-finished systems. One of the biggest differences between market end-points was observed in marbling where there was a 5.5-fold increase in the sire standard deviation for a long-feedlot finish system relative to pasture (1619 long vs 352 pasture finish). The sire EBV that had the greatest effect on the MSA index was IMF. A 1-unit increase in IMF EBV was associated with an improvement in the MSA index by only 0.34 units for long-fed cattle or 0.12 units for cattle finished on pasture. Furthermore, the regression coefficient between carcass traits and the sire EBV for the same trait was significantly lower for pasture-finished than for long-fed cattle. Conclusions and implications This means that commercial producers are unlikely to be receiving the full benefits of purchasing superior eating-quality sires unless they receive a premium from the finishing or wholesale meat sectors where the benefits are captured or they retain ownership through to heavier finish weights.

Variance components were estimated and relative economic importance of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) was derived from 3 yr of performance, morbidity, and mortality data collected from a single beef cattle finishing operation. One thousand one hundred eighty nine of 12,812 Charolais-sired calves were treated for BRD during the finishing period. Weaning weight (WW), DMI, days to harvest (D2H), HCW, yield grade (YG), and marbling score determined by image analysis (MARB) were collected to quantify the economic impact associated with treatment for BRD. Observed means and (co)variances for carcass and production traits were used to simulate populations of 10,000 healthy and 10,000 BRD treated calves. A bio-economic model was developed to derive the economic value associated with the incidence and number of treatments for BRD during the finishing period. Carcasses from healthy calves were worth $58.28 more on average compared to calves treated at least once for BRD. Heritability estimates for BRD were 0.15 when the trait was measured as number of treatments (0 to 4), and 0.14 when measured as incidence (0 or 1). The model indicated that D2H had the lowest relative economic importance in this system, with a cost of $1.91 per head for each additional day on feed. Furthermore, the relative economic value of BRD morbidity was approximately 10.65 greater than D2H when recording the BRD phenotype as the number of BRD treatments. The economic values of HCW, WW, and DMI were 11.47, 5.15, and 3.61 times more important than D2H, respectively. This indicates BRD morbidity has the second greatest relative economic value in this system, with a one percent increase in morbidity associated with an average loss of $2.08 per head. These results indicate that BRD morbidity can have an equal or greater economic importance when compared to carcass and production traits during the finishing period. Further, this indicates the opportunity exists to increase the genetic merit for profitability during the finishing period by incorporating BRD incidence into terminal-sire selection indexes.

Spatial market integration ensures price discovery, market efficiency and market competition. Price integration in fed cattle markets is a significant subject of research due to perishable nature of fed cattle, geographical distance between production and consumptions areas, and considerable transportation cost. This study examines United States fed cattle market integration using weekly price series of live steer and heifer for five major fed cattle markets in the era of Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting Act. Results indicate that all markets are cointegrated with sharing a common stochastic trend suggesting the Law of One Price. Causal relationship was found among most of the regional markets in case of steer prices, while the relationship was absent among most of the markets for heifer prices.

This study compares price transmission behaviors between pre- and post-EPA (Energy Policy Act) periods to investigate the impact of increased production of corn ethanol on price transmission behaviors between five regional fed cattle markets in the United States: Colorado, Iowa-Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas-Oklahoma. Econometric models used in this study consider potential nonlinearity and asymmetry in price transmissions using threshold autoregression and threshold error correction methods, and generalized impulse response functions. Overall, the surge of corn ethanol production after the EPA enactment appears to lead lower integration and slower price adjustment between markets, particularly between noncorn-belt and corn-belt markets. Our analysis also finds strong evidence of the existence of threshold effects and limited evidence of asymmetric price responses in the short and long run for both pre- and post-EPA periods. [EconLit citations: C32, Q13].

Consumer preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for beef sirloin steaks with differing production, physical, and credence attributes related to the use of postextraction algal residue (PEAR), a novel feed ingredient, were estimated. Ninety-six consumers participated in a sensory tasting panel before completing a choice set survey; 127 consumers completed only the choice set survey without sampling products. Steaks from grain- and PEAR-fed steers had similar Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) scores (1.89 kg and 2.01 kg, respectively; = 0.77) and had lower WBSF scores than steaks from grass-fed steers (3.37 kg;0.05). Eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5) was not different among steaks from grain- and PEAR-fed steers ( = 0.39) but was greater compared with steaks from grass-fed cattle ( ≤ 0.03). Panelists in the sensory portion of the study evaluated beef samples for like/dislike of overall sample, overall flavor, beefy flavor, and juiciness. Panelist rating of overall like, overall flavor like, and beefy flavor like were not different between the PEAR- and grain-fed treatments (0.26). Panelists rated the juiciness like/dislike of steaks from PEAR-fed cattle the highest (0.01) among the 3 samples. Sensory tasting of the products was observed to alter the preferences of consumers. Consumers who completed only the survey negatively perceived beef from PEAR-fed cattle compared with beef from grain-fed cattle, with a WTP discount of -US$1.17/kg. However, with sensory tasting, the WTP for beef from PEAR-fed cattle was not discounted relative to beef from grain-fed cattle ( = 0.21). The nontasting consumers had much higher stated WTP values for credence attributes. Factors that influence the eating experience (tenderness and quality grade) dominated as the most important attributes on WTP among the tasting group. The use of no hormones and no antibiotics in production had a premium of $2.34/kg among the nontasting group, but with tasting, the premium was $1.19/kg. If PEAR-fed beef came to market, there would be no need to differentiate it from grain-fed beef unless retailers wanted to market it as a differentiated product. If it were marketed as a differentiated product, retailers would need to hold promotional tastings to change consumer's preconceived notions about the product.