Friday August 18 Cattle on Feed Report + Ag News

NEBRASKA CATTLE ON FEED DOWN 2%

Nebraska feedlots, with capacities of 1,000 or more head, contained 2.28 million cattle on feed on August 1, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. This inventory was down 2% from last year. Placements during July totaled 430,000 head, down 4% from 2022. Fed cattle marketings for the month of July totaled 465,000 head, down 5% from last year. Other disappearance during July totaled 15,000 head, up 5,000 head from last year.



IOWA CATTLE ON FEED REPORT

Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in Iowa feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 620,000 head on August 1, 2023, according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Cattle on Feed report. This was down 2 percent from July but up 2 percent from August 1, 2022. Iowa feedlots with a capacity of less than 1,000 head had 475,000 head on feed, down 10 percent from last month and down 3 percent from last year. Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in all Iowa feedlots totaled 1,095,000 head, down 5 percent from last month and down slightly from last year.

Placements of cattle and calves in Iowa feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 or more head during July 2023 totaled 51,000 head, down 15 percent from June and down 12 percent from July 2022. Feedlots with a capacity of less than 1,000 head placed 27,000 head, down 37 percent from June and down 52 percent from July 2022. Placements for all feedlots in Iowa totaled 78,000 head, down 24 percent from June and down 32 percent from July 2022.

Marketings of fed cattle from Iowa feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 or more head during July 2023 totaled 59,000 head, up 2 percent from June and up 5 percent from July 2022. Feedlots with a capacity of less than 1,000 head marketed 75,000 head, up 47 percent from June but down 10 percent from July 2022. Marketings for all feedlots in Iowa were 134,000 head, up 23 percent from June but down 4 percent from July 2022. Other disappearance from all feedlots in Iowa totaled 4,000 head.



United States Cattle on Feed Down 2 Percent

Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.0 million head on August 1, 2023. The inventory was 2 percent below August 1, 2022.

On Feed, by State  (1,000 hd - % Aug 1 '22)
Colorado ......:                980            94                  
Iowa .............:               620            102               
Kansas ..........:               2,350         100               
Nebraska ......:               2,280          98                
Texas ............:               2,720          95                

Placements in feedlots during July totaled 1.62 million head, 8 percent below 2022. Net placements were 1.55 million head. During July, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 365,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 250,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 370,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 373,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 185,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 75,000 head.

Placements by State  (1,000 hd - % July '22)
Colorado ......:                  115            74          
Iowa .............:                   51             88        
Kansas ..........:                  410            92          
Nebraska ......:                  430            96          
Texas ............:                  375            95         

Marketings of fed cattle during July totaled 1.73 million head, 5 percent below 2022. Other disappearance totaled 65,000 head during July, 16 percent above 2022.

Marketings by State  (1,000 hd - % July '22
Colorado ......:                    120            71          
Iowa .............:                    59             105        
Kansas ..........:                    450           101         
Nebraska ......:                    465            95           
Texas ............:                    360            92          



Optimize Those Last Few Irrigations
Steve Melvin - Extension Educator Irrigated Cropping Systems

Scheduling the last few irrigations of the season deserves extra attention because the goal is not only to focus on keeping the crop wet enough to produce optimal yields, but also on using up stored soil water. Leaving the field a little drier at the end of the season will save irrigation costs, decrease leaching losses, improve soil conditions for harvest traffic, and save water for future years. Growers also don’t want to miss out on capturing off-season precipitation. Lowering the soil moisture level to 40% of plant available water in the top four feet will give about 2.4 inches of off-season water storage in sandy soils and about 5.5 inches in silt loam soils without lowering yields.

University of Nebraska Extension irrigation scheduling recommendations encourage irrigators to allow the crop to continue using more and more of the stored soil water starting in August and continuing into September when the crop matures. The recommendation is to lower the soil water level from the usual summer water condition of no less than 50% plant available water in the top three feet of soil to 40% in the top four feet after the R4 stage is reached — dough for corn, and end of pod elongation for soybean. Thus, the stored soil water content should be significantly lower when the crop matures in September than earlier in August.

According to recent data, many fields are missing this opportunity to improve water use. These fields end the season with fairly wet soil with little to no storage room for off-season precipitation. Each year, the Upper Big Blue NRD requires each farmer in six high nitrate zones across the district to use soil water monitoring equipment in at least one irrigated field. The study analyzed data from the fields that used a Watermark system, which includes three sensors placed at different depths to represent the root zone of corn and soybeans, and a data logger to automatically record the data.

Using the 40% recommendation, the data shows many fields are applying more water late in the season than is needed. Some years, a significant rain can cause the soil to be wetter in September, but it is usually due to applying more irrigation water after the middle of August than needed. The data shows that in 2017, 72% of fields were over-irrigated late in the season. Even in the drought year of 2022, 36% of fields were over-irrigated late in the year.

The data did not ask about late-season decision-making, but it could be because we are all creatures of habit. The irrigation routine is set in July when the plants are transpiring at their peak, the days are long, and the temperatures are high. Then, as the daylight hours shorten (by about three hours by Aug. 20) and the temperatures get cooler in late summer, many keep irrigating at July levels even though crop water use for corn has gone from an average of two inches/week at silking to 1.25 inches/week at full dent. Other crops, including soybeans, have a similar dramatic drop in crop water use moving through August and into September.

The advantages to reducing soil water include saving money on pumping costs, leaving room to store the off-season precipitation, improving field conditions for harvest, saving water allocation, and reducing the potential for leaching nutrients like nitrate deeper into the profile. Even if your irrigation costs are only $10/ac-in, each inch reduction is worth about $1,300 for each quarter-section pivot. For example: A field of silt loam soil, if it is left at field capacity, is missing out on 5.5 inches of off-season storage, worth about $7,200 — not even accounting for the leaching loss of nutrients.

For most of Nebraska, adequate precipitation will be received from October through May to refill the soil profile on irrigated fields. The Grand Island area gets about 14.2 inches during this timeframe and even in Scottsbluff, they still receive about 8.6 inches on average. In addition, leaving the soil drier will help reduce harvest delays and compaction because of mud in wetter falls. For fields with water allocations or shallow aquifers, these water savings can be critical during multi-year droughts.

Reducing nitrate losses to groundwater is another key advantage of optimizing field management. Effective leaching reduction combines precision nutrient and water management. Residual nitrogen is at risk for loss when off-season moisture moves through the soil profile. So, the goal for each field is to match both the nitrogen and water needs for the crop.

During the heart of the irrigation season, we recommend keeping the available soil water level above 50% of plant available water. To do this, we recommend irrigating as the soil water level approaches 65% of plant available water. This will allow a few days for the irrigation to be completed before the crop experiences any stress. As we near the end of the season, we can push the threshold to 40% of plant available water.

One thing to note is that the time needed for corn to mature is dependent on growing degree days. If corn needs five inches of water to reach maturity and we receive some hot windy days in late August, the corn will still only use five inches — it will just finish up a few days quicker.

In contrast, soybean maturity is dependent on day length. Because soybeans may use more or less water than the averages listed in the table, and because it may be difficult to determine the actual correct growth stage, it is important to continue to monitor soil water until maturity.

This is where tools such as an ET gage and soil water sensors come into play. An ET gage will give you potential crop water use and the soil water sensors will give you an idea of how much water is stored in the soil profile. Then you will be able to determine how much water the crop will need in either irrigation or precipitation to finish out the year.



Soybeans for Forage
Ben Beckman - Extension Educator

With drought plaguing parts of Nebraska this year, producers may want to salvage soybeans as forage instead of for grain. Many can remember when soybeans were only used for forage many decades ago, so it can definitely be done.

Grazing, haying or ensiling can all be done with soybean plants. Grazing is very simple and has a relatively low risk of bloat; however, if there are many bean seeds themselves, high oil consumption can cause issues in cattle, especially calves. Young calves should not be allowed access to beans. We typically shoot for less than 7% of the diet as the bean. So with cows that is about 2 lb per day (that’s under “normal” situations with beans at 20% fat and we assume some of these beans may have less oil). We’re guessing cattle will pre-select pods/seeds. Allocation/limiting access is one way to handle this. Providing palatable hay or another feed may also reduce the likelihood of cattle overeating soybeans. Use strip grazing to force the use of the entire plant.

Hay from soybeans will have a similar quality to that of alfalfa. However, drying and rolling up hay is difficult with soybeans. The leaves become very fragile, while the stems can take a long time to dry. Crimp the stem heavily and resist the urge to rake the windrow unless done only one day after cutting to limit leaf shatter.

Soybean silage is easier than haying. The moisture content needs to be between 60% and 70%. In the past, soybean silage has been packing while corn silage is being packed at a ratio of one ton soybean silage to three or four tons corn silage. This improves fermentation and will make the overall silage pile have higher crude protein. If doing only soybean silage in a pile, wait until the leaves begin to turn yellow and be sure to use an inoculant. Adding a bushel of rolled corn per ton of silage can help fermentation, and as always, be sure to get a very good pack.

Using soybeans other than for grain can be done. Remember to have the soybeans released by crop insurance prior to using for forage. We’ve been told that many soybeans aren’t being released until the plants turn completely brown. If this is the case, quality greatly deteriorates because as the plant matures, the stems basically become so low quality, they are like sawdust in feed value. So using now is a good idea in situations where one can get them released.

One final important thing is not to provide access to blocks, tubs or supplements that contain urea when allowing access to raw soybeans. Raw soybeans contain urease that can rapidly turn urea into ammonia and cause ammonia toxicity.



Pillen Announces Workforce Working Group

Governor Jim Pillen has announced the membership of a new working group that will examine workforce issues in Nebraska.

“In Nebraska, we are facing a workforce shortage. Our unemployment rate remains among the lowest in the nation, creating a unique challenge for attracting great people to our state,” said Gov. Pillen. “No industry is exempt from current shortages. We need to solve this problem if we are to continue growing Nebraska.”

Group participants include:
    Governor Jim Pillen, Chair
    Members of Gov. Pillen’s Policy & Research & Budget teams
    Nebraska Department of Economic Development Director K.C. Belitz
    Senator Kathleen Kauth, District 31
    Senator Lou Ann Linehan, District 39
    Senator Tom Briese, District 41
    Bryan Health
    Buildertrend
    Chief Industries
    Concordia University, Nebraska
    First National Bank of Omaha
    Lincoln Chamber of Commerce
    Lincoln Public Schools
    Metropolitan Community College
    Mutual of Omaha
    Nebraska Community College Association
    Nebraska State Chamber of Commerce
    Omaha Chamber of Commerce
    Physicians Mutual
    ruralMed Health Cooperative
    Nebraska State College System
    Union Pacific
    University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska President Ted Carter, who will serve as a representative on the working group said he looked forward to brainstorming with the other participants and identifying effective solutions.

“I look forward to partnering with the Governor and this working group to find creative solutions to fix our growing workforce shortage in Nebraska. It will take all partners involved to come up with innovative ideas to grow our state’s workforce. The University of Nebraska and all of higher education will be key players in this effort.”



Nebraska Ethanol Board Sept. 1 board meeting to be held in Grand Island
 
The Nebraska Ethanol Board will meet in Grand Island, Nebraska, at 11:00 a.m. Friday, Sept. 1. The meeting will be at the Riverside Golf Club Clubhouse (2820 Riverside Drive) in the Grand North Ballroom. The agenda highlights include :
    Public Opportunity for Questions, Comments or Concerns
    Husker Motorsports Presentation
    Budget Report
    Fuel Retailer Update
    Nebraska Corn Board Update
    Renewable Fuels Nebraska Update
    Technical & Research Updates
    Marketing Programs
    State and Federal Legislation
    Ethanol Plant Reports

This agenda contains all items to come before the Board except those items of an emergency nature. Nebraska Ethanol Board meetings are open to the public and also published on the public calendar.

The Nebraska Ethanol Board works to ensure strong public policy and consumer support for biofuels. Since 1971, the independent state agency has designed and managed programs to expand production, market access, worker safety and technology innovation, including recruitment of producers interested in developing conventional ethanol, as well as bio-products from the ethanol platform. For more information, visit www.ethanol.nebraska.gov.