A4o—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 7,1981 Berks, Lebanon beef feeders hear market outlook BY LAUREL SCHAEFFER Staff Correspondent MIDWAY At present, the chances of feeding cattle, or any other livestock, for meat purposes profitably seems bleak. That was the outlook conveyed during the Berks-Lebanon Beef Feeders Meeting, held at the! Midway Diner. Lou Moore, Penn State Ex tension economist listed eleven "scary thoughts for beef producers” and discussed the present and past agricultural production records concerning beef feeders. Moore explained how little retail meat prices have risen in the past year as compared to general food prices and disposable income. The latter two climbing about ten percent per year compared to approximately three percent in meat prices. Per capita beef consumption has also dropped from a high in 1976 of 129 pounds to 106 pounds in 1980. "We eat all of the meat we produce in this country,” Moore explained. “We ration what we produce with price ” Illustrating this point, the economist noted consumption of beef in this period dropped 23 percent while beef prices rose 59 percent Beef producers are also com peting with more pork and poultry producers because of the price spread between the different kinds of meat, Moore said. When pork was priced only a few cents less than beef, consumers bought a larger portion of beef But, as the price spread increased to about one dollar, consumers were more apt to substitute more pork in their diets for beef Mentioning the cattle cycle, Moore stated under normal con ditions, beef producers should be making a profit as cattle numbers are beginning to expand Last year numbers increased 1 percent to 111 million head. This year cattle numbers are expected to increase Louis Moore 3 percent to 115 million head This expansion has not happened however, Moore stated, mamly because the price of gram has remained high and other production costs also have risen dramatically. In looking at the prospects for feeding cattle profitably, Moore listed the following trends- the number of cattle on feed is drop ping; the feeder supply is in creasing; competitive meat production is dropping; production costs are rising, and prices are rising Whether these factors could raise the price of fat cattle enough to be profitable, was not predicted by Moore, but he said it didn’t look good Les Burdette, Penn State Ex tension beef specialist, discussed alternative feeds and least cost rations for fattening cattle. The beef specialist explained the average Pennsylvania beef producer is also a farmer who doesn’t always think about least cost rations as much as the large Midwest feedlot operators do. Feedlot operators usually don’t keep large feed inventories on hand and can use computers to Lester Burdette calculate which rations are cheapest for them to feed, he ob served Least cost rations provide the lowest total cost per unit of gam, Burdette explamed. They should also meet the nutrient needs of the animal and keep them healthy. The beef specialist gave com parative feeding value for several alternative feeds On a weight basis barley has 95 percent of the feeding value of corn. Oats have 65 percent of corn’s feeding value but is always over priced for fattening cattle, Burdette remarked. Mid bloom alfalfa has 32 percent of corn’s feeding value, wheat has 100 percent, and molasses has 70 percent Burdette recommended selling raw harvested soybeans and buymg supplement rather than feeding the beans He also advised coarsely ground feed, noting there is a larger problem with feed intake in finely ground gram because of dust, etc Even though farmers don’t want to see corn kernels in cattle manure, it doesn’t mean finely ground corn isn’t there too, he commented LONG JOHN BALMER INSULATION 643 Penryn Rd Manherm PA ' (717)665-4132 ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SYSTEMS ~sss& Estimate Call 717-354-0412 Burdette remarked how the teed additive Rumensin increases teed efficiency about ten percent by decreasing feed intake of cattle without reducing weight gains. This growth stimulator, marketed by Lanco, is a methane inhibitor producing a more desirable fer mentation in the rumen of a steer. He recommended it’s use in fattening cattle over 500 pounds and cautioned beef feeders not to be alarmed if they notice their cattle ieduced men teed inlaKe oO pei cent the tnstday "It’s an unpalatible product and it takes cattle awhile to adjust to it,” he explamed. Burdette also advised beef feeders not to start cattle on Rumensin if they are closer then 90 to market Implants, antibiotics, vitamins, and minerals were recommended by the beef specialist On an average, most Pennsylvania farmers are deficient in at least one of these items, ’ ’ he noted Discussing alternate feeds, Burdette listed several energy sources which can be utilized such as potatoes, apples, brewer’s grains; bakery wastes, candy, gram dust, damaged grams, fat and wood fines, which are wood fibers so short they can’t be used for paper manufacturing. The beef specialist recom mended limiting the fat content of a ration to four percent and told the beef feeders present that potato chips usually contain between 30 and 35 percent fat Other recommendations in cluded. limiting the energy by products to between 20 and 40 percent of a ration, mixing them well with other ration ingredients; bemg careful of the “keeping qualities” of the ingredients; limiting the fat as noted above; and mixing dusty materials with Insulation For Life Of Structure • Fully Insured • Free Estimates We Can Do The Job Now When your new home is five years old, what fuel will be available to heat it? moist feeds Burdette cautioned the feeders that cattle fed high bulk and high moisture products may require a drying out period near the end of their feeding period of about 30 days so they lose their pot bellies, and look more appealing to cattle buyers The beef specialist discussed protein alternatives and recom mended the use of urea or other non-protein-mtrogen products for cattle over 600 pounds He told the area beef producers that urea added to corn silage will increase the bunk life of the silage by four or five hours in summer. If added to gram, it should be mixed well, he added. Other nitrogen sources cited were, anhydrous ammonia; brewer’s and distiller’s grams; milk by-products; and poultry litter. Addressing the area beef producers were Kenny Ranck and Gerald Bowman, beef feeders using alternative feed ingredients. Ranck, of Reading, is feeding apple pumice to replacement heifers supplemented with five pounds of hay and five pounds of gram per day He noted he has been pleased with the cattle per formance and recorded an average of 1.78 pounds of gain per day. It was noted other feeders using apple pumice found it hard mi equipment, and storagability was very poor. Burdette commented apple pumice has a TON value ot about 65 percent. If costs are below twenty dollars per ton, including hauling, it would have a place as a feed alternative, he said But costs above twenty dollars would make silage a better choice. Burdette warned apple pumice sup plemented with NPN should not be fed to brood cows because ab (Turn to Page A4l) tnasmm OVER 59 VARIETIES of New ( Used Trailers Under 20 000 Lb GVWR (for hauling, utility cycle auto luggage wood small equipment building supplies household goods snowmobiles) Hitches Inspections Repairs Accessaries Custom Work DEALERS: MEUOIT BROS. MR. SALES MRS RETAIL SALES R D 2 (Rt 272 N ) R D 3 (Near Zinn s Diner) Willow Street (*a Denver Pa 717(464 2311 215(267 7528 WHITE OAK LAWK I LEISURE 329 W High St Manhetm Pa 717/665*4627 Conventional hearing systems tie you to a single hid In these times of uncertain pnee and supply, that's a risky situation _—— for _ centra} heating , boms wood/ coat ofl, or gas, and can as wdL When you're not burning sobd Monatic controls twitch to the backup fuel of your JraNttaj tn HS Tam Typr OT boitor In your new home wffl givey