Producer demographics

Ownership of the US beef cow herd is nearly evenly split between herds with fewer than 100 head of breeding age females and those with inventories greater than 100 (Fig. 1). However, there is significant divergence in enterprise numbers within these categories with 90% of cow–calf enterprises having less than 100 cows (45% of the national inventory), whereas 10% of the herds have greater than 100 head (55% of the national inventory). Herds with greater than 500 head comprise less than 1% of the enterprises but hold nearly 17% of the inventory (USDA, 2013). As herd size increases, producer commitment of time to the enterprise increases as does reliance on the cow–calf enterprise as a primary income source (Table 1).

Fig. 1.

Percent of enterprises and cow inventory accounted for by various sized cow–calf herds.

Table 1.

Key demographic factors related to size of cow–calf enterprises. Adapted from NAHMS Cow–Calf Studies (USDA 2010, 2011)

Cow–calf enterprises are widely distributed across all 50 states with the greatest concentration of production in the Northern and Southern Great Plains. The average herd size for the western region of the USA is 155 head, for the Northern and Southern Plains 105 and 75 head, respectively, whereas the North Central region has average herd sizes of 56 head and the Southeast average is 59 head (USDA, 2013).

The age of agricultural producers is not normally distributed given that 18% are younger than 45, 40% are between the ages of 45 and 59, and 42% are 60 years of age of older (19% are older than 70) (USDA, 2013).

Enterprise categories

Cow–calf enterprises are highly heterogeneous with differences arising from factors such as percent of income derived from cow–calf production, level of profit motivation, lifestyle factors, and resource limitations (time, labor, capital, and expertise). One approach to categorize cow–calf producers is as follows:

• • Professional cattlemen – information driven, value creation and capture focus, innovation friendly;

• • Professional cattlemen – tradition driven, commodity focus, change resistant;

• • Professional farmer – cattle as a by-product of land ownership or as alternative marketing option for grain production (significant variation in level of passion for the cattle enterprise);

• • Professional in other industry – cattle as a secondary source of income;

• • Recreational cattle producer – lifestyle is primary focus – income from cattle not the critical factor due to other income streams;

• • ‘Cattle as cash’ producer – margin operators, cattle marketing to meet specific needs of the family. (Field et al., Reference Field, Lemenager, Long, Suttee and Gardiner2007)

These categories were formed from a qualitative approach and have not been quantified. However, they have been presented to numerous audiences and almost without exception have been received as an appropriate approach to defining the various categories of beef cow owners.

Externalities

Cattle producers across segments and categories face an increasingly chaotic business environment where volatility has become the norm due to economy, social movements, regulations, consumer preferences, and market forces. Lawrence and Minert (Reference Lawrence and Minert2011) examined the Porter Competitive Forces model applied to the beef industry and determined that barriers to entry, substitute product availability, and technology were the most likely factors to impact beef producers in the short run. These three forces coupled with regulatory actions focused on markets (country of origin labeling [COOL], trade agreements), environment (water and air quality, threatened, and endangered species), energy policy (ethanol, wind energy), and labor (immigration, wages) will exert substantial pressure on producers (Field, Reference Field2000, Reference Field2010; Field et al., Reference Field, Lemenager, Long, Suttee and Gardiner2007; Lawrence and Minert, Reference Lawrence and Minert2011).

The influence of any one of these forces has the potential to affect the decision of an individual enterprise manager, but taken in total, the combined impact of these forces creates a burden of accumulated aggravation that contributes to the search for low-risk strategies, rising frustration levels that may lead to producers exiting the industry as well as decisions by the next generation not to enter the beef business.

Producer priorities and behaviors

In a study conducted in 2006, leading cow–calf producers (n = 130) and industry specialists/advisors (n = 87) quantified their management priorities. The pooled results ranked herd nutrition, pasture and range management, herd health, financial management marketing, production management, and genetics as the top seven categories in order of priority from a listing of fifteen (Field, Reference Field2006). Clearly, successful producers viewed herd health as a critical step in assuring the sustainability of their enterprises. Furthermore, results from the study showed that maintaining herd health costs at below industry average levels was not a priority.

The NAHMS Beef survey conducted by USDA Veterinary Service in 2007–08 showed that herd size has a dramatic impact on whether or not veterinary consultation was utilized. Forty-three percent, 63, 76, and 82% of herds less than 50 head, 50–99 head, 100–199 head, and greater than 200 head, respectively, utilized veterinary service in the year previous to the study (USDA, 2009a). The primary use of veterinary consultation was to prevent or treat disease. However, as herd size increased, veterinary consultation broadened to incorporate nutritional management and production practices not related to disease. Furthermore, as herd size increased, the likelihood that any vaccinations were administered increased (Table 1). Regional variation in vaccination protocols were also demonstrated in the NAHMS study with 91, 76, and 60% of central, western, and southeastern herds vaccinating at least one animal, respectively (USDA, 2009b).

Specific to respiratory disease, producers with larger herds were significantly more likely to administer vaccines against respiratory disease to calves either once or on multiple occasions (Table 1). Enterprises in the Southeastern USA were least likely to vaccinate against respiratory disease (73% – no vaccination) while enterprises centrally were most likely to utilize preventative protocols (67% – one or more vaccinations). In total, 69% of the US calves sold by cow–calf producers have received at least one vaccination against respiratory disease (USDA, 2010).

Technology

Technology adoption varies widely across beef cattle enterprises. Factors such as size of enterprise, marketing strategy, and regional location help to describe differences (Tables 2 and 3); however, variation in technology and best practice protocol adaptation varies considerably within these categories. Clearly, not all producers pursue the same goals or are motivated by the same influences. Furthermore, individual enterprises within and across geographic regions do not share the same resource constraints.

Table 2.

Demographic and production practice implementation differences by cow–calf enterprises marketing calves following weaning, stocker backgrounding, or finishing. Data from McBride and Mathews (Reference McBride and Mathews2011)

Table 3.

Demographic and production practice implementation differences in cow–calf enterprises across geographical regions of the USA. Data from McBride and Mathews (Reference McBride and Mathews2011)

^a IA and MO.

^b VA, TN, KY, AR, MS, GA, AL, FL.

^c KS, NE, SD, ND.

^d OK, TX.

^e MT, WY, CO, NM, CA, OR.

Ward et al. (Reference Ward, Vestal, Dye and Lalman2008) evaluated factors affecting production practice adoption rates by Oklahoma cow–calf producers and determined that labor reduction, dependence on the cow–calf enterprise for family income, age and educational level of producers, and herd size were the significant influencers. For example, as producer age increases, resistance to labor intensive protocols rises. Conversely, new practices and technologies (even if they require more time and labor) are typically more appealing to younger, better educated producers who depend on the cow–calf enterprise as a primary income source.

In practice, cow–calf producers evaluate new protocols or technologies from a partial budgeting perspective where either directly or intuitively the expected benefit is weighed against the cost of implementation. Furthermore, producers compare novel, innovative practices as to their anticipated utility. Thus both cost: benefit analysis as well as assessment of functionality and convenience of the proposed technology are brought to bear on the decision-making process. In light of this model, beneficial innovations may be rejected if they are viewed as too labor and time intensive or if they excessively disrupt established routines and logistics of the enterprise.

Cow–calf enterprise managers are diverse and make decisions based upon a variety of motivating factors. One size fits all strategies are unlikely to be effective. However, management protocols designed with sufficient flexibility to allow alignment with the goals, resources, human capacity, and labor availability of a particular enterprise are more likely to find acceptance.