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ARS Home » Northeast Area » University Park, Pennsylvania » Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #344831
Title: Caracteristics of beef cattle operations in the west

Author
item Rotz, Clarence - Al
item Asem-Hiablie, Senorpe
item Stout, Robert
item FISHER, KATHLEEN - National Cattlemen'S Beef Association (NCBA)

Submitted to: National Cattlemens Beef Association Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/8/2017
Publication Date: 10/1/2017
Citation: Rotz, C.A., Asem-Hiablie, S., Stout, R.C., Fisher, K. 2017. Caracteristics of beef cattle operations in the west. National Cattlemens Beef Association Annual Meeting. Centennial, Colorado.P.1.

Interpretive Summary: No interpretive summary is required. JLB.

Technical Abstract: In 2011, the Beef Checkoff’s U.S. Beef Industry Sustainability Assessment was launched to benchmark environmental, social and economic aspects of beef industry sustainability. The assessment includes data gathered from seven cattle-producing regions across the country to ensure that opportunities unique to each region are identified. This factsheet reports production information obtained via online surveys and on-site visits to ranches and feedlots in two regions: the Northwest (Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming) and the Southwest (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah). Ranches consisted of cow-calf only, cow-calf and stocker or backgrounding, cow-calf – to – finish, and stocker – to – finish operations. The number of cows represented in our surveys and visits was approximately 3.2% of the beef cow inventory in the Northwest and 2.7% for the Southwest. Feedlot sizes were similar in the two regions with average capacities around 30,000 cattle and maximum capacities around 150,000. About 20% of the lots only backgrounded cattle, 20% only finished cattle, and 60% both backgrounded and finished cattle. Holsteins culled from dairies represented about 5% of the cattle finished in the Northwest and 33% of those finished in the Southwest. The number of Holstein cattle fed in the Southwest was very high compared to other regions due to the large dairy industry in this region. These regional data are being used to develop representative cattle production systems for a sustainability assessment through life cycle assessment.