A Publication of:
OSU Extension - Fairfield County
831 College Ave., Suite D, Lancaster, OH 43130
and the
BEEF Cattle questions may be directed to the OSU Extension BEEF Team through Stephen Boyles or Stan Smith, Editor
You may subscribe to this weekly BEEF Cattle letter by sending a blank e-mail to beef-cattle-on@ag.osu.edu
Previous issues of the BEEF Cattle letter
Issue # 499
August 9, 2006
Recent Diet Trends: Implications for Red Meat Consumption - Brian Roe, Associate Professor, OSU Dept. AED Economics
The rapid spread of low-carbohydrate diets during the early 2000's caught many in the red meat industry off guard as the demand for protein sparked by these dieters heightened demand for red meat. While the popularity of low-carb diets has diminished, the fad looks to have permanently altered Americans view of red meat from the 'this stuff will kill you' attitudes of the late 1980's and 1990's to a more moderate view that red meat can be a part of healthy diets.
While the Atkins-inspired low-carb diet was a bit of a surprise to much of the red meat industry, the growth of the popularity of the diet could be traced to level of sales for the books that promoted the diet. This suggests an avenue for forecasting if there are any new dietary movements that might impact red meat consumption in the upcoming year. In this issue I will browse recent best-seller lists for the most popular diet and food books and see if any new trends appear to be emerging that could shake up red meat demand.
The South Beach Diet remains a stalwart among recent dieting trends. The book is ranked as the 4th best selling soft-cover advice book on the New York Times best-seller list and sits at #76 on USA Today's list of best selling books (USA Today does not have a separate list for categories like the New York Times list). This is not much of a demise from its position on these lists last summer, suggesting that this diet has retained its appeal with the American population. This is considered a 'low-carb' diet, though this diet puts more emphasis on eating the 'right' carbs rather than 'fewer' carbs. The South Beach Diet serves as a transition from the low-carb era in dieting to the emerging 'smart carb' and 'low glycemic' era, which focuses on avoiding foods that make blood sugar levels surge. Lean meats still enjoy an important place in these diets, but adherents are not likely to be mistaken for Atkins-era carnivores.
Three other diets with similar themes - the Fat Smash Diet (#5 New York Times best seller among hardcover advice books), the Sonoma Diet (#7 on the same list) and Ultrametabolism (#13 on the same list) - are gaining popularity. These diets feature several 'waves' of dieting and an emphasis on lifestyle and exercise choices. The first wave of each diet is meant to purge bad eating habits and bad food choices. The second wave of each diet is designed to transition the dieter to slower, more gradual weight loss and the final wave is that of maintenance. Each diet has room for limited amounts of 'lean meats' in each wave, though the initial waves in each call for less than later waves. Furthermore, most example recipes included with each diet feature fish or poultry examples rather than beef or pork. So, while none of these is explicitly hostile toward meat, both view lean cuts of red meat as an occasional item rather than a staple.
The other book that might shake up demand for red meat is called "The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals" by Michael Pollin. It is currently #15 on the New York Times hard cover non-fiction list and has been on the list for about 10 weeks. The author meticulously documents every step of four meals, including lunch at McDonalds and a dinner prepared at an organic food store, from the field to the fork. For the non-agricultural population (and even for some former farm kids), this journey up the supply chain stirs up many issues, including what many in the agricultural community may view as a anti-corn bias. The bottom line for the meat sector is that the popularity of this book may provide the next source of demand for process and source verification in the meat sector, with potential boosts for the organic, free-range, grass-fed, and natural monikers that now accompany many meat products in high-end supermarkets.
So, in short, the dieting trends of recent best sellers suggests there is no emerging fad that will boost red meat demand. The most popular and emerging diets are not outright dismissive of red meat, but often view a limited role for beef and pork in dieters' meals, particularly during initial phases of the diet. Furthermore, Pollin's book, if it should spike in popularity, could provide a boost for those out there wishing to differentiate their beef and pork along the lines of organic, grass-fed, free-range or natural labels.
Don't Forget the Salt and Minerals - Mark Landefeld, OSU Extension Educator, Monroe County
Salt is an item commonly used in livestock feed rations and because it's used so regularly it is easy to forget the importance of it in the diet. Salt is the best source of both sodium and chloride, which all farm animals need. Sodium constitutes a very high percentage of the basic mineral elements contained in blood, it is required for muscle contraction, nerve impulse transmission and other required functions within the body. Chloride too is very important in the blood stream and is necessary for production of hydrochloric acid used for digestion of nutrients in feedstuff.
The sodium requirement for beef cattle is the primary factor determining how much salt should be fed. Generally, it is thought the sodium requirement is approximately 0.08% for growing cattle and 0.10% for lactating cattle. If the sodium is supplied from salt, this would be equivalent to 0.2% for growing cattle and 0.25% salt for lactating cattle (3-4 ounces per day/1000lb. animal). Sodium requirements increase during lactation because cows milk contains sodium. The amount of sodium livestock need also increases when cattle are fed lush forages because the amount of water in fecal excretion is higher.
Heat stress increases the need too! Certain minerals, including sodium, are excreted in sweat and urine in higher amounts during periods of extreme heat and humidity. Water consumption may double the normal daily intake causing more minerals to be lost thru sweating and excretion.
Various studies of beef, dairy, sheep and other livestock have consistently documented negative effects in production when salt was removed or reduced below minimum recommended levels in the diet. Producers may incur significant production loss before observable deficiency symptoms occur. Most operations feeding high amounts of concentrates add sufficient salt in the ration to accommodate the animal's needs, but grazing dairy herds, as well as beef, sheep and goat graziers, need to monitor their livestock's salt consumption on a regular basis. Free choice, loose salt should be provided to insure animals have opportunity to meet their sodium needs.
Proper salt placement, within a pasture, can help distribute grazing activity in some pastures. If you have paddocks which are not uniformly grazed because livestock tend to stay closer to the water or shade source, placing the salt nearer the under-grazed area may promote better utilization of the forages.
High temperatures and humidity have really stressed livestock some days this summer. Make sure to keep plenty of clean fresh water accessible to them to reduce stress as much as possible and don't forget to check the salt and minerals.
Heat Stress and Beef Cattle - Stephen Boyles, OSU Extension Beef Specialist
High temperatures raise the concern of heat stress on cattle. Heat stress is hard on livestock, especially in combination with high humidity. Hot weather and high humidity can reduce breeding efficiency, milk production, feed intake, weight gains, and sometimes cause death. Livestock should be observed frequently and producers should take precautions when hot and humid weather is forecast. Work cattle early in the morning to decrease the risk of heat stress. A danger sign in cattle is panting. The panting mechanism in cattle does not appear to work as well as the one dogs' have.
Major management options are providing shade, improved ventilation and a sufficient quantity of water. Shade for livestock can be provided by trees, buildings or sunshades. The temperature can be further reduced by spraying cool water across the roofs of buildings where animals are housed. Ventilation can be provided for air movement by fans and windows. Sunshades should be high enough to allow air movement.
Providing an adequate source of cool, clean drinking water is essential to help keep animal's internal body temperature within normal limits. It is thought that water temperature affects rumen temperature and thus blood temperature which affects brain centers that control feed consumption. Above-ground water lines should be provided shade by having taller grass cover them. Run lines in fields that are not be currently grazed to water troughs that are in fields being grazed. The manager should at least check the water temperature in the water trough. Temperature increases from 70oF to 95oF can increase total water requirements by about 2.5 times.
Producers using management intensive grazing might consider several options. One option is to rotate through fields at a more rapid rate. Taller grass tends to be a cooler surface to maintain cattle on than pastures with shorter grass stands. Another option is rotate cattle in the evening rather than the morning. The assumption is that the grass will be consumed in the evening and hopefully the "heat of fermentation" or digestion is mostly dissipated by mid-morning, thereby reducing the heat load produced by the animal. Another possible option is to graze paddocks that allow access to barns (shade) or trees during the heat of the day. This will reduce equal distribution of manure throughout the paddock but might be a suitable compromise during excessively hot weather.
A similar recommendation of feeding feedlot cattle in the evening rather than the morning may apply. Conversely, cattle may eat more during the night than during the day in hot weather. Cattle that look hot in the morning will not eat much that day. Any shift in feeding feedlot cattle needs to be done gradually. Keep in mind that concrete is hotter than dirt so you may need to check cattle more frequently that are predominantly on concrete than on dirt. However this situation is less of concern in Ohio where most feedlot cattle have access to some shade.
Producers sometimes talk about "hot" feeds and "cool" feeds. We must discern whether the discussion is about energy content or actual heat production. Corn and other concentrates are sometimes called "hot" feeds. This is in reference to their higher energy content compared to hay or straw (cool feeds). However, corn and other concentrates contribute less to the heat of fermentation or digestion than hay. Therefore cattle actually produce less actual heat when consuming corn than when consuming hay. Further increasing the concentrate portion of a feedlot finishing diet may lead to acidosis problems. One option is to feed more frequently so as to keep the feed fresher (especially silage) and to feed a greater part the diet in the evening rather than in the morning. Similarly high quality forage produces less heat of fermentation than low quality forage. This might be another argument for moving cattle to higher quality pasture or moving more frequently through paddocks.
An excessive level of protein during heat stress may be detrimental. The excess nitrogen supplied by the protein must be detoxified and prepared for excretion (via urine). This is a biochemical pathway that is very high in energy demands.
Increased water consumption will increase excretion of urine. This will also increase the loss of certain minerals, such as sodium (a part of salt), potassium, and magnesium. Free choice trace mineral salt should be provide in a location that the animals will consume it. Loose salt will be more readily consumed than block salt.
And to add to the fun, this hot spell could cause some areas to become "droughty." Livestock not only eat less during hot days, but high temperatures and dry weather reduce the amount of pasture grasses available for grazing, which can lead to inadequate feed intake or illness from consuming toxic plants and weeds that may be the only "greens" available for animals to consume.
The weather service issues special forecasts during extremely hot weather to alert livestock producers of dangerous weather. The warnings are based on a temperature-humidity index, which increases as the temperature and humidity increase. The danger level is indicated by an index value of 79, which is reached in various combinations of temperatures above 85 degrees in combination with high humidity. As temperatures increase, slightly lower humidity can still create dangerous and emergency conditions.
The emergency levels begin at an index level of 84 and occurs at temperatures in the 90 and 100 degree range, increasing in danger as the humidity level increases.
Livestock producers should listen to local radio and television weather reports early in the day for warnings that heat stress may become a problem.
Forage Focus: Be Prepared for Fall Forage Harvest
The fall forage harvesting season is upon us. There are always seasonal questions that arise relating to forage harvesting and storage. Dr. Maurice Eastridge and other OSU Extension dairy and forage specialists have posted several articles available on the web site http://dairy.osu.edu in a Special Forage Edition page that address most of the issues that will arise over the next several weeks. Articles include:
Weekly Roberts Agricultural Commodity Market Report - Mike Roberts, Commodity Marketing Agent, Virginia Tech
LIVE CATTLE in Chicago (CME) closed up on Monday amid additional support from actively traded cash cattle at higher prices, rising retail beef prices, and the renewal of exports to Japan, floor sources said. August has a tendency to gain on the October while the October usually loses ground to other months at this time of year. The AUG'06LC contract finished at $85.425/cwt, up $0.60/cwt from the previous close and $1.70/cwt higher than last week at this time. The OCT'06LC contract closed up $0.40/cwt at $89.90/cwt. Both the August and the October posted one-months highs while the APR'07LC and the AUG'07LC contracts showed fresh contract highs. Cash cattle were bid up another $1-$3/cwt this week amid expectations of growing demand. Improved packer margins and rising beef prices could push prices higher still. The average beef plant margin for Monday was estimated at a positive $8.25/head, up $2.29/head from Friday according to HedgersEdge.com. USDA put the choice beef cutout at $143.55/cwt, up $1.69/cwt and the highest it's been since July 19. Exports to Japan and supermarket buying ahead of Labor Day are pushing the market. Traders expected exports to start slower due to continued Japanese resistance to U.S. beef but quick shipments indicate better-than-expected price levels may be in order. Cash sellers should continue to sell live cattle as soon as they can at the heaviest possible weights. Corn users should not consider pricing more corn needs at this time.
FEEDER CATTLE at the CME ended with the AUG'06FC closing at $116.00/cwt, up $0.875/cwt and the SEPT'06FC contract closing up $0.625/cwt at $115.875/cwt. Feeders followed live cattle higher. Lower feed costs and rising cash feeder prices proved bullish as funds rolled contracts. A rising CME feeder cattle index also provided key support to feeder cattle. The CME feeder cattle index for August 3 was up $1.54 higher at $115.22/cwt on steady demand. Demand for heavy-weight feeders was very strong at the Oklahoma City feeder auction amid a tight supply for those types. Cattle feeders may want to slow cash marketings carrying feeders to heavier weights while still hedging incoming cattle. Forward pricing of feed inputs can hold off for now.
Visit the OSU Beef Team calendar of meetings and upcoming events
BEEF Cattle is a weekly publication of Ohio State University Extension in Fairfield County and the OSU Beef Team. Contributors include members of the Beef Team and other beef cattle specialists and economists from across the U.S.
All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status. Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Admin. and Director, OSU Extension. TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868
Fairfield County Agriculture and Natural Resources
