Saturday, July 28, 2007

Tough cattle industry has bright future

Argen Duncan El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

Cattle ranching is a tough business, but things look bright for the industry in the Socorro area, a rancher and a cattle feeder have said.

Rancher E.B. Armijo said raising beef cattle is tough like any other business. However, he is optimistic about current conditions in Socorro County.

"Cattle prices are pretty fair right now," he said. "What it will be later on, we don't know, but at the present, they're pretty fair."

Orville Moore, owner of Southwest Cattle Feeders in Lemitar, said the past two or three years have seen a good demand for beef.

"Our numbers are down, beef consumption is up, the market is up and things are looking brighter now than in years," he said.

Cattle numbers in an area depend on conditions. Because of drought the past few years, many ranchers sold cattle due to lack of feed.

"So the cattle numbers are probably down from what they normally would be on average years," Armijo said.

Armijo said low supply often, but not always, means better cattle prices. That trend must occur nationwide to have an effect.

With a lot of corn going to ethanol production, Moore said, the price of feeding cattle to get them to slaughter weight and quality of meat is increasing. The price of beef rises as a result.

"There's only a certain point people will go, and then they stop buying it," Moore continued.

Except for the ethanol pressure, he is optimistic about the outlook for the local beef industry. The picture will be "super good" if it rains, Moore said.

Last July and winter, the drought broke, Moore said, and although the range is a little dry now, the feed is good.

Armijo said many cows are having their calves later in the year than ranchers want because of a dry spring in 2006. In dry weather, cows often don't breed until the range gets greener.

Their nine-month gestation then leaves them having calves late, so many young ones aren't ready for market at the usual time in the fall. Ranchers will wait to sell the smaller calves until next year, but others will be ready for market, Armijo said.

Another monetary aspect, inputs to operate like feed and fuel, gets more expensive every year, Armijo continued. This situation sometimes keeps cattle prices from offsetting input costs.

"All those have an effect on the ranching community," Armijo said.

As with any ranching area, he said, the Socorro County's biggest difficulty in raising cattle is drought.

"But that's something that you learn to live with," he said.

Armijo doesn't expect cattle ranching to leave the county any time in the future.

"I would assume that we'll always be raising cattle here in Socorro County because of some of the conditions that we have," he said.

Armijo said cattle put some of the county's land to the best use. He also believes ranchers are some of the best land stewards because their livelihood depends on it. Wildlife benefit from minerals put out for cattle and water sources ranchers develop.

In addition, Armijo said the livestock industry is an economic shot in Socorro County.

Raising beef begins with providing bulls to the herd of cows. Armijo said ranchers expect every cow to have a calf each year, but that doesn't always happen.

"Most of the time, you do get rid of a cow that doesn't produce a calf every year," he said.

However, in extenuating circumstances such as drought, ranchers give the cow another chance.

Armijo said ranchers try to breed cattle with the best genetics they can.

"And if they have those genes in them, they do a lot better, both in weight gain and in grade," Armijo said. "So you always try to improve the genetics in your herd, as much as you can."

Cattle raisers usually try to have cows calve in March or April so the young are big enough, 450-600 pounds, to sell in the fall. Sometimes ranchers may wait to sell older calves the following spring.

"But the bulk of them probably go out in the fall," Armijo said.

After leaving the ranch, he said, calves likely go to wheat fields, usually until they reach 700-800 pounds, and then head to feedlots. Some calves may go to a preconditioning lot like the one Moore owns.

Although he presently doesn't have any calves because of having back surgery, Moore normally weans calves, vaccinates them and feeds them until they weigh 600 pounds.

Then, Moore sends the calves to a feedlot closer to a source of food, in the Texas Panhandle or Colorado, for example. Because of distance, getting cattle feed to Lemitar is expensive.

When feedlot cattle reach a particular weight and quality of meat, determined by amount of fat, they go to the meatpacking plant. Armijo said the weight depends on the breed and desired size of carcass, but feedlot operators probably aim for 1,000-1,200 pounds.

For the consumer, beef offers nine essential nutrients, including protein, zinc, iron and vitamins B12 and B6, according to the Cattlemen's Beef Board and National Cattlemen's Beef Association Web site. The leanest cuts of beef have 1 gram more of saturated fat per 3-ounce serving than a skinless chicken breast, according to the Web site.

aduncan@dchieftain.com

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