Beef marketing seminar to address new market demands
ZAPATA -- The demands of the beef industry are changing, leaving South Texas cattle producers with less profits than they could be making, according to a Texas AgriLife Extension Service expert.
(Media-Newswire.com) - ZAPATA -- The demands of the beef industry are changing, leaving South Texas cattle producers with less profits than they could be making, according to a Texas AgriLife Extension Service expert.
To help them better understand the new demands, a beef marketing seminar will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on July 16 at the Oswaldo and Juanita Ramirez Exhibit Hall in Zapata, according to Caleb Eaton, an AgriLife Extension agent in Zapata County.
The exhibit hall is located near the intersection of Glenn and 24th streets, three blocks east of U.S. Highway 83.
"The historical trend in Zapata County and most of South Texas is to produce cattle with lots of Brahman genetic influence," Eaton said. "But the beef industry now demands cattle with more English influence so producers here are making less money than they could."
Cattle with Brahman genetic makeup of a fourth or more are getting less money for their livestock than producers who sell cattle with no Brahman influence, he said.
"The difference in price between high quality calves and lower quality calves is increasing," Eaton said. "In the old days all a rancher had to do was set a few bulls loose with his cows, sell the calves and make money. It's not that easy anymore."
Short of swapping out their entire herds, there are some steps producers can take to increase their profitability, since Brahman-influenced breeding cows are still needed to survive in the subtropical brush country and the coastal areas of Texas, Eaton said.
"They could, for example, sell at a different time of year or they could sell value-added cattle by vaccinating their animals before they are sold," he said.
The beef marketing seminar, "Pasture to Plate," is designed to help producers better understand a market that is constantly changing and help them improve their profitability, Eaton said.
The Brahman breed of cattle, distinguishable by large humps over their shoulders, was imported to the U.S. in the early 1900s from India. Fortified by centuries of exposure to little food and an abundance of insect pests, parasites, diseases and the harsh weather of tropical India, they showed remarkable adaption to South Texas, he said.
"But their meat quality is not as highly desirable as it once was," Eaton said. "The market today demands a more moderate-sized animal and a more uniform calf in size and appearance. Genetic improvement is just one way producers can improve their ranch's profitability; many other improvements will be discussed at the seminar."
Speakers and their topics include Dr. Joe Paschal, an AgriLife Extension beef specialist in Corpus Christi, who will discuss "Raising Marketable Beef Cattle in South Texas."
Omar Montemayor and Ronnie Zamora, AgriLife Extension agents in Starr County, will discuss sale barn trends.
After a complimentary lunch provided by Texas Farm Bureau Insurance, Mike Risica, of Rio Beef Feedyard in Linn, will talk about feedlot industry preferences.
The final speaker will be Dr. Tanner Machado, a professor of meat science at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, whose talk is titled "Meat Industry and Consumer Demands."
"We've gathered the most knowledgeable beef cattle experts so that producers will hopefully walk away with a better understanding of the beef industry process and how they as producers can alter management of their operations to make them more profitable," Eaton said.
The "Pasture to Plate" beef marketing seminar is sponsored by AgriLife Extension and the Zapata County Agriculture/Natural Resources program area committee and is a part of the 2010 Beef Improvement Program series.
Those wishing to attend are asked to RSVP by July 1 by calling the AgriLife Extension office in Zapata County at 956-765-9967.
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