Weaning weight trends in the US beef cattle industry

Abstract

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to characterize the trend over time for weaning BW in commercial cow-calf operations in the US beef cattle industry. The first data set contained weaning BW data from 4 enterprise analysis programs from 1991 to 2015. The second data set included mean forecasted delivery BW of sale lots of beef calves sold through Superior Livestock Auction from 1995 to 2016. The Superior Livestock Auction data were evaluated for 2 regions, north central/Rocky Mountain region and south central region, and were restricted to sale dates and projected delivery dates approximating those associated with spring-calving operations. The third data set included mean actual and adjusted weaning BW of commercial cow-calf operations participating in the Alabama Beef Cattle Improvement Association from 1983 to 2017. Adjusted annual weaning BW reported from the American Angus Association and American International Charolais Association were used to evaluate the trend over time for Angus and Charolais bull calves from 1995 to 2016. Annual mean weaning BW from 3 of 4 different cow-calf performance and financial analysis programs did not change over time (P > 0.16). However, there was a significant linear increase (0.5 kg per year; P = 0.01) for weaning BW in data reported by the Kansas Farm Management Association. Projected delivery BW for north central implanted calves increased (P