MFA's Health Track program is growing. Producers and buyers see value in low-shrink, healthy calves and the increasing importance of traceability.

As the numbers came in from the December 2, 2004, Health Track sale in Joplin, Mo., it was obvious once again that the program pays.

Health Track’s uniform health and feed protocol meant that keeping the animals on farm for 45 days generated additional income compared to selling at weaning. Increased income per head ranged from about $4.50 to $118, the exception being heavy-weaned, 850-weight heifers, which would have sold higher at weaning.

Those sale prices are computed using the actual price per animal at the Health Track sale compared to regular Monday sale information that corresponds with the wean dates of the Health Track cattle. It’s the proverbial apple-to-apple comparison.

But additional numbers show that in the buyer’s mind, comparing Health Track and other Vac-45 programs may be like comparing apples and oranges. Comparing the Dec. 2 Health Track sale to the Joplin Regional Stockyards’ value-added sale on Dec. 9, which consisted of other Vac-45 cattle, Health Track is at an obvious advantage. Health Track sales on Dec. 2 earned from about $14.50 to more than $56 per head over other Vac-45 animals.

Health Track program manager Mike John said that buyers see a uniform lot of Health Track calves and understand that there is more than just hooves and weight behind a Health Track animal.

“We are particularly singled out by many buyers as having the premier program, not just because the calves are weaned and vaccinated, but because we use third-party verification for source and process. They also understand and pay attention to the fact that these animals are on a standardized nutrition program and that that is the key to maintaining the calves’ health. It takes the variability out of the level of immunization in these cattle. All Vac-45 programs use the same vaccinations, but success varies because of the plane of nutrition that those cattle are on. Our cattle have an excellent level of immunity and a consistent amount of flesh—medium flesh. And what I mean by ‘medium flesh’ is that they’re not gaunt or thin, but they’re ready to walk up to the feed bunk and eat—and they still have plenty of gain left in them.”

These numbers should be put in the context of an abnormally high October market—then a late decline due to a possible detection of BSE in the U.S. Additional testing proved  negative. The market also moved on rumors that the Canadian border would soon be opened to live imports with the expected influx of some 2 million head of Canadian cattle to be added to the U.S. inventory as they filter across the border.

Less loss to shrink

According to MFA Feed vice president Dr. Kent Haden, reducing shrink is a Health Track program benefit that puts money in producer pockets.

Following the trend to fatten livestock in locales to the west, the traditional market strategy in Missouri has evolved into a wean-and-sell strategy. Cows and calves are separated and the calves immediately trucked to market.

That’s a recipe for shrink. Depending on a seller’s influence at the market,  calves are put in que and are sold anywhere from 30 minutes to 10 hours after they are delivered.

“The reason shrink is an issue is that a bawling calf has just been separated from his mother and the vast majority haven’t drunk from a commercial waterer nor have they eaten concentrated feed from a bunk,” said Haden. “Instead, they’re bawling, walking the fence and trying to figure out how to get back to the cow.”

Transporting cattle will always generate stress. But Mike John said even with a full day of sorting prior to the sale at Joplin, Health Track cattle rebound quickly.

“They’re not stressed from weaning because they’ve been weaned for 45 days. They already know how to eat. Having them on site 2 days before the sale gives them a chance to eat, drink and recover weight. We’ve shipped over 50 loads of cattle from the Jackson area in Southeast Missouri to Joplin, about 185 miles. The average shrink from the scale at the store where they’re loaded to the sale ring is less than 2 percent. On a just-weaned calf, that average is from 4 to 10 percent,” said John.

John added that the beef industry needs to find a way to mitigate shrink and other losses inherent in the marketing system, becoming more efficient at delivering to the packer.

“Depending on who you ask, there’s about $200 per head that we give up in inefficiency that the pork and poultry industry doesn’t. My job is to make sure that our customers get as much of it as possible,” he said.

An option that seems to be getting more interesting is a system that bridges feed lots directly with producers. Although controversial, John said it could be more of a possibility with programs like Health Track.

John said such a scenario would take a large producer push and increased enrollment in programs like Health Track to get the core numbers needed for critical mass and that it would be a marketing paradigm shift.

The post BSE world

As this article went to press, markets gyrated due to the announcement that Canadian livestock would be able to cross the U.S. border in March. That announcement was quickly followed by official word that a positive case of BSE had been discovered in a Canadian dairy cow. The cow was 8 years old. She was born in 1996, prior to the implementation of Canada's 1997 feed ban.

Ron DeHaven, administrator for the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said that the work done to reopen the Canadian border took into consideration the possibility that Canada could experience additional cases of BSE.

“According to the World Organization for Animal Health guidelines, a country may be considered a BSE minimal-risk country if it has less than 2 cases per million cattle over 24 months of age during each of the previous 4 consecutive years. Considering Canada has roughly 5.5 million cattle over 24 months of age, under [the] guidelines, they could detect up to 11 cases of BSE in this population and still be considered a minimal-risk country, as long as their risk mitigation measures and other preventative measures were effective.”

So another facet in the importance of traceability begins to shine. Imported animals, which must be younger than 30 months, will bear a brand and ear tag signifying they are from Canada. It took plenty of time, politics and 500 pages in the Federal Register just to get these animals into the country. But given the BSE scare that launched the process, it is easy to see why buyers and feed lots would like to be ahead of the game in source verification.