Long Term Comparison of Alternative Range Livestock Management Strategies Across Extended Droughts and Cyclical Prices

Variable precipitation, more importantly drought, impacts profitability for livestock management. Financial outcomes from management decisions related to forage shortages can be exacerbated by price variability. This research examines alternative management strategies to determine the potential prof...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers pp. 244 - 253
Main Authors Ritten, John P., Bastian, Christopher T., Paisley, Steven I., Smith, Michael A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Denver American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA) 01.01.2010
American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers
Subjects
Animal husbandry
Calves
Calving
Drought
Early weaning
Forage
Herds
Livestock
Precipitation
Yearlings
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Summary:Variable precipitation, more importantly drought, impacts profitability for livestock management. Financial outcomes from management decisions related to forage shortages can be exacerbated by price variability. This research examines alternative management strategies to determine the potential profitability and riskiness over a long-term horizon and across various drought event scenarios. Results indicate that late calving can be a promising strategy, but it also can result in higher variability in profits as compared to some of the other strategies analyzed. Retaining ownership of steer calves over the winter, with the option to sell if forage supplies become scarce, outperforms both partial liquidation and summer feeding, and it results in less profit variability than late calving or early weaning.
ISSN:0003-116X