14 Effect of implant status and non-hormone treated cattle status on sale price of beef calves-Superior Livestock Video Auction

Abstract

Abstract The objective was to determine the sale prices of beef calf lots enrolled in the non-hormone treated cattle (NHTC) program and those that received implants, sold through summer video auctions from 2010 through 2018. Data analyzed were collected from 67 summer livestock video auctions from 2010 through 2018. There were 40,941 lots of beef calves used in the analyses. All lot characteristics that could be accurately quantified or categorized were used to develop multiple regression models that evaluated the effects of independent factors on sale price each year using a backwards selection procedure. A value of P < 0.05 was used to maintain a factor in the final models. The NHTC program is a USDA-approved program created in 1999, when the European Union and the United States agreed to control measures for trade of non-hormone treated beef. By definition, these cattle could not receive growth-promoting implants. The percentage of lots enrolled in the NHTC program grew from 5.2% to 23.8% from 2010 through 2018 (Table 1). The largest increase was 8 percentage points from 2017 to 2018. For seven of the nine years, premiums were associated with NHTC lots. The added value for a lot of beef calves enrolled in the NHTC program ranged from $1.02/45.36 kg in 2013 to $4.04/45.36 kg in 2014. In the nine years of analysis, implant status did not result in price reduction in any year. While the percentage of NHTC lots grew, we did not see a corresponding decline in the value of implanted lots.