Cattle Supply Research Articles

Quantitative analysis of the beef cattle industry in the state of Pará, Brazil

The state of Pará has the fifth largest cattle herd in Brazil at 20.3 million heads, and beef cattle breeding accounts for 44.32% of the agricultural production value. Using a recursive econometric model estimated by the generalized method of moments, we evaluated the effects of variables that define the supply and demand of slaughtered beef cattle from 1990 to 2015. The results showed that supply and demand were inelastic to prices. Increases in rural salary and calf prices negatively affected supply, and the response to rural credit applications occurred with a four-year lag due to the biological and technological characteristics of production systems. Deforestation tended to increase the supply of cattle and slaughterhouses appropriated the largest share of the economic surplus generated. There were productivity gains since the early 1990s, with the yield of slaughtered animals was 230.55 kg for cattle and 182.25 kg for cows, while currently, it is 276 and 202.5 kg, respectively. The creation of the Agriculture and Livestock Defense Agency of the State of Pará had a positive effect on the supply of cattle and the expansion of agroindustry structure, contributing to the supply of large markets with higher quality beef.

La oferta de ganado vacuno para ceba en el departamento de Sucre, Colombia: Un enfoque ardl

La oferta de ganado vacuno para ceba en el departamento de Sucre, Colombia: Un enfoque ardl

Study of knowledge about bovine brucellosis among people involved in the cattle supply chain in the province of Manabí, Ecuador.

A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the level of knowledge about brucellosis among livestock farmers and their families, veterinary personnel, food processors and other people involved in the cattle supply chain in the province of Manabí. A voluntary, open-ended survey of participants was conducted in seven cantons in Manabí province selected at random: Bolívar, Chone, El Carmen, Jama, Junín, Sucre and Tosagua. Of the 500 people who responded to the survey, only 30% said they knew the disease. Greater knowledge about the disease was observed among people with a higher educational level, veterinarians, livestock farmers/traders and men. For all the aspects surveyed, only a small percentage of respondents (ranging from 0.6% to 30.2%) indicated that they had knowledge of that aspect of the disease. Only 29.8% of the respondents stated that they knew the clinical signs of the disease in cattle, which could jeopardise the brucellosis surveillance system. Only 7.6% of respondents knew the measures for reducing the risk of contracting brucellosis, leading to widespread high-risk practices when working with animals. The conclusion is that there is a low level of knowledge about the disease among people involved in the cattle supply chain in the province under study.

Market Impacts of Reducing the Prevalence of Bovine Respiratory Disease in United States Beef Cattle Feedlots.

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a common endemic disease among North American feedlot cattle. BRD can lead to significant economic losses for individual beef cattle feedlot producers through mortality and morbidity. With promising new management and technology research that could reduce BRD prevalence, this study evaluates the potential impacts of a reduction of BRD in the US beef cattle feedlot sector. Using a multi-market, multi-commodity partial equilibrium economic model of the US agricultural industry, we evaluate the market impacts of reduced BRD to producers from various livestock, meat, and feedstuffs industries. We find that as morbidity and mortality is reduced, beef cattle producers experience losses due to increased supplies (lower beef cattle prices) and increased demand for feedstuff (higher feedstuff prices). Beef cattle processors see gains as the price of beef cattle is lower, whereas feedstuff producers gain from higher feedstuff prices. Producers in the allied industries (pork, lamb, poultry, and eggs) see a small reduction in returns as consumers substitute with less expensive beef products. Consumers see gains in welfare as the increase in beef cattle supply results in lower beef prices. These lower beef prices more than offset the small increases in pork, lamb, poultry, and egg prices. Overall, the potential economic welfare change due to management and technologies that reduce BRD is a net gain for the US society as a whole.

Cattle vaccination records question the impact of recent zero-deforestation agreements in the Amazon

In the late 2000s, slaughterhouses across the Amazon entered into a series of agreements designed to reduce the environmental impact of the local cattle sector. In this research, we analyze the impact of these agreements using a novel dataset showing the location of cattle vaccinations in 2014. In total, we estimate that more than half of the cattle herd in Novo Progresso was vaccinated on ranchlands which were either located in protected areas, were deforested since the agreements were put into place, were subject to an official embargo due to a violation of environmental or labor laws, or were not registered in the state of Pará’s Rural Environmental Registry. The results suggest that hundreds of thousands of cattle continue to graze on areas in Southwest Pará which were meant to be excluded, per the terms of the recent cattle agreements, from the supply chain in a key Amazon cattle frontier. Our results highlight the importance of developing new systems for monitoring cattle supply chains in remote areas of the Amazon.

Spatial price premium transmission for Meat Standards Australia-graded cattle: the vulnerability of price premiums to outside shocks

Studies of market integration show that price changes are transmitted spatially through arbitrage. Transmission across differentiated agricultural products is important to investigate, but it has not been explored given its complexities for assessment. Using data from Australian cattle markets, we examine the dynamics of Meat Standards Australia price premium transmission between states. An impulse response function analysis using Bayesian vector autoregression with sign restriction identification shows that shocks to prices and price premiums are partially transmitted contemporaneously between markets and it takes several weeks to complete transmission. In addition, we find an asymmetry of price and price premium shocks originating in Southern Queensland that have an inverse immediate impact in New South Wales, and take months to transmit the usual price response. This outcome may be explained by differences in cattle availability in each state, which can be related to forage availability due to weather conditions. Based on these results, producers can forecast fluctuations on price premiums and adjust their cattle supply accordingly.

Peran Sekolah Peternakan Rakyat dalam Meningkatkan Nilai Tambah pada Peternak Sapi Potong di Kabupaten Muara Enim

The gaps issue in the food commodity happens in Muara Enim District, the demand for beef were steadily increasing but it can’t fulfilled by the amount of beef production in the area. In order to increase the quality, population and productivity that based on the local farmer, government decide to make an effort to increase local farmer business by establishing the Sekolah Peternakan Rakyat (SPR). The purpose of this research was to analyze the effect of SPR for the local farmer in Muara Enim by mapping beef cattle supply chain and analyzing the role of SPR to increase added value for local farmer in Muara Enim. Primary data was collected by conducting an interview to respondents with a questionnaire as its guidelines. The data was analyzed by Hayami method. The result of this research shows that the SPR farmer had more wide sale access compared to non SPR farmer and SPR farmer added value increase can be seen by the improvement of the cattle weight.

Trust no one? Citizens' concerns regarding the pork and dairy supply chain

Latest studies show that a responsible treatment of farm animals is important to many citizens. Furthermore, societal expectations towards animal husbandry and present husbandry systems mismatch more and more. Thereby, pig production is criticized more than dairy farming. This paper gives insights into citizens’ main points of criticism among the pork and dairy cattle supply chain. It also intends to show several aspects of distrust. To capture a variety of opinions and expectations among the population, focus groups with citizens were carried out. For each topic (pig and dairy cattle husbandry) six focus groups took place in three German cities. Participants discussed about their perception of actual animal husbandry with respect to housing systems, animal health and well-being. Using content analysis with a mixed inductive and deductive category system, three sources of concerns were identified: role of farmers, legal framework and food retail. First, participants reflect the role of farmers and discuss that farmers only comply with the minimum of statutory requirements. Accordingly, participants think that farmers accept fines in order to avoid changes in their animal husbandry. Second, participants doubt the legal framework. In their view the standards are very low, especially regarding animal welfare. So, for instance, it enables farmers to circumvent the regulations. To improve the situation, participants emphasize a major revision of the legal framework for animal husbandry. Another critical focus is on legal controls. Participants remark that controls are often announced previously. The third point of criticism affects food retail. It is complicated for consumers to understand the complete supply chain. According to this, animal production takes more and more place behind closed doors without transparency. Altogether these aspects lead to an increasing rejection of animal products. The concerns were stronger in case of pork than in case of dairy cattle. As a consequence, some participants state to consume less or no pork or change to meat alternatives. Results suggest different possibilities among the complete supply chain, to understand citizens’ points of concerns better and to improve the situation of farm animal husbandry. Doing so, citizens’ concerns might be reduced resulting in more trust into the whole system again. Hence, more consumers of meat will be kept and will not consume more and more meat substitutes.

Estimating mineral requirements of Nellore beef bulls fed with or without inorganic mineral supplementation and the influence on mineral balance.

The objectives of this study were to quantify the mineral balance of Nellore cattle fed with and without Ca, P, and micromineral (MM) supplementation and to estimate the net and dietary mineral requirement for cattle. Nellore cattle ( = 51; 270.4 ± 36.6 kg initial BW and 8 mo age) were assigned to 1 of 3 groups: reference ( = 5), maintenance ( = 4), and performance ( = 42). The reference group was slaughtered prior to the experiment to estimate initial body composition. The maintenance group was used to collect values of animals at low gain and reduced mineral intake. The performance group was assigned to 1 of 6 treatments: sugarcane as the roughage source with a concentrate supplement composed of soybean meal and soybean hulls with and without Ca, P, and MM supplementation; sugarcane as the roughage source with a concentrate supplement composed of soybean meal and ground corn with and without Ca, P, and MM supplementation; and corn silage as the roughage source with a concentrate supplement composed of soybean meal and ground corn with and without Ca, P, and MM supplementation. Orthogonal contrasts were adopted to compare mineral intake, fecal and urinary excretion, and apparent retention among treatments. Maintenance requirements and true retention coefficients were generated with the aid of linear regression between mineral intake and mineral retention. Mineral composition of the body and gain requirements was assessed using nonlinear regression between body mineral content and mineral intake. Mineral intake and fecal and urinary excretion were measured. Intakes of Ca, P, S, Cu, Zn, Mn, Co, and Fe were reduced in the absence of Ca, P, and MM supplementation ( < 0.05). Fecal excretion of Ca, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Co was also reduced in treatments without supplementation ( < 0.01). Overall, excretion and apparent absorption and retention coefficients were reduced when minerals were not supplied ( < 0.05). The use of the true retention coefficient instead of the true absorption coefficient provided a better estimate of mineral requirements. Dietary mineral requirements were lower for P, Cu, and Zn and greater for Fe compared with previously published recommendations. This study provides useful information about mineral requirements and mineral supplementation to obtain adequate dietary mineral supply of Nellore cattle in tropical conditions.

Decompositions of corn price effects: implications for feed grain demand and livestock supply

AbstractThis article examines how corn prices affect the demand for feed grains and the supply of livestock outputs. The differential approach to the theory of the multiproduct firm is employed to examine ex ante decisions about feed grain demand and livestock supply. The estimation results suggest that livestock producers have little flexibility in adjusting the demand for corn in response to an increase in corn prices. The substitutable relationship between corn and distillers’ grains contributes to alleviating pressures on feed costs in response to high corn prices. In addition, the estimation results highlight that the composition of livestock supply can be altered by changes in livestock prices. On the basis of the estimated elasticities, the decompositions of profit‐maximizing input demand are conducted to examine the effects of changes in corn prices on feed grain demand and livestock supply. The decomposition results reveal that an increase in corn prices reduces corn demand but raises the demand for distillers’ grains mainly due to the substitution effects of corn price changes. The decomposition results also show that an increase in the price of corn reduces cattle supply but raises the supply of chicken and pork due to the output relationships in supply.

The Effect of Change in Cattle Price on the Demand for Input and the Supply of Output in the Bali Cattle Fattening Business

The change in cattle price faced by farmers in the cattle fattening business when buying feeders and selling the beef cattle. This study was aimed to observe the efforts done by the farmers and the solutions that could be suggested. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of cattle price change on the demand for feeders and the supply of cattle which are produced by Bali cattle fattening businesses in West Nusa Tenggara. The results showed that the change of the beef cattle price on market level affect the demand for feeder cattle, which is one of the inputs fattening business. Instead the supply cattle of fattened does not effected by beef cattle price changes. Changes of the price of beef cattle on market level does not affect the supply of cattle fattened. Farmer income is determined by the price of cattle and price of fattened cattle and other costs incurred during the production process. It is concluded that the cattle price change affect to demand of feeder cattle with negative relation; but not influence to supply of beef cattle fattened.

Measuring Oligopsony Power in the U.S. Cattle Procurement Market: Packer Concentration, Cattle Cycle, and Seasonality

ABSTRACTThis study estimates the oligopsony power in the U.S. cattle procurement market in consideration of market structure of beef‐packing industry, cattle supply, and seasonality. Our conceptual model represents a price‐setting monopsonist competing with multiple monopsonists, and the corresponding empirical model includes a time‐varying parameter framework so that it can trace the change in packers’ imperfect competition behavior in the cattle procurement market over time. The empirical model is applied to three cattle procurement markets in the United States: national, Nebraska, and Texas/Oklahoma/New Mexico. Empirical results show the existence of oligopsony market power in the U.S. cattle procurement market. The oligopsony market power is considerably influenced by cattle cycle and seasonality, which indicates that packers tend to increase their margin during the excessive cattle supply period while maintaining lower margin during the short cattle supply period. [EconLit citations: D43, L11, L13, Q13].

Smallholder large ruminant health and production in Lao PDR: challenges and opportunities for improving domestic and regional beef supply

Indigenous yellow cattle (Bos indicus) and Asiatic swamp buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) are important livestock species in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos). Data from 2011 estimated there was a national herd of 1 586 200 cattle and 774 200 buffalo, with average numbers of 5.3 cattle and 3.4 buffalo per farm household, indicating that the majority of farm households with large ruminants were smallholders, retaining large ruminants as a storage of wealth, for sale as meat, and as a source of manure fertiliser. Increasing demand for red meat in both domestic and neighbouring markets, driven by rapidly growing economies and urbanisation, offers opportunities for Lao smallholders to gain more income from their livestock. However, improving cattle and buffalo production and a more sustainable supply of safe beef and buffalo meat, requires that numerous production, health and welfare constraints be addressed, including: prevalence of important infectious and parasitic diseases, nutritional deficits particularly in the dry season, undeveloped trading, meat processing and marketing systems, limited veterinary and extension service capacity, adverse impacts from climate change and cultural practices specific to buffalo husbandry, plus policy developments that recognise and adapt to changes in land use. Improvements in large ruminant health, processing and marketing are of particular importance as these will enable poor smallholder farmers to participate in emerging beef markets and expand other agricultural enterprises, improving rural livelihoods, with potential reductions in rural poverty and increased food security. This paper identifies the strategic interventions that may increase the supply of cattle and buffalo and improve rural livelihoods in Laos and the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Improving sustainability of beef industry supply chains

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate cow-calf producer incentive to adopt innovations in traits with important environmental and economic implications for the beef supply chain. Design/methodology/approach – A whole farm multi-year farm optimization model that tracks changes in discounted net returns and methane emissions from the use of newer DNA-related technologies to breed for feed efficient cattle is developed. The analysis is situated within the context of whole beef cattle supply chain. This allows for the derivation of the entire value and environmental impact of the innovation, and the decomposition of value by different participants. The impact of different policies that can stimulate producer uptake and the diffusion of the innovation is also addressed. Findings – The results of the study showed that whilst the use of the breeding technology yielded positive economic and environmental benefits to all producers in the supply chain, primary adopters were unlikely to adopt. This pape...

Reducing Deforestation and Enhancing Sustainability in Commodity Supply Chains: Interactions between Governance Interventions and Cattle Certification in Brazil

A large number of governance interventions are being developed in order to reduce deforestation and enhance the sustainability of commodity supply chains across the tropics. The extent to which individual agricultural commodity supply chain interventions can achieve scale, and environmental or social objectives, depends in part on the ways in which those interventions interact with other interventions. We use a case-study of the new Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) cattle certification program in Brazil to explore the different ways in which governance interventions interact. We examine the broad landscape of policies and programs that affect sustainability in the cattle supply chain in Brazil, and assess whether such interventions support or constrain the scaling up of the SAN cattle program. We conducted semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders from government, private sector, and civil society organizations. We found that multiple interventions are acting in a complementary manner to enhance sustainability and therefore enable the scaling up of the SAN program, by aiding compliance with environmental laws, adoption of good production practices, and improved monitoring. At the same time, limited development, implementation, and complementarity of some interventions could be antagonistic to the SAN program's expansion because they maintain a context in which many actors operate far below the sustainability criteria required by the program. Our holistic approach enables us to identify specific gaps in the complex landscape of governance interventions in Brazil. Greater strategic complementarity and coordination between interventions may catalyze a more coherent and effective pathway to reduced deforestation and enhanced sustainability.

Influence of ruminal Quebracho tannin extract infusion on apparent nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance, and urinary purine derivatives excretion in heifers

Six fully grown heifers (491kg body weight, standard deviation 35) fitted with ruminal cannulae received incremental dosages of a commercial Quebracho tannin extract (QTE) to investigate its effects on apparent total tract nutrient digestibilities, nitrogen balance, and purine derivatives excretion as an indicator of duodenal microbial crude protein flow. The basal diet comprised 2.6kg/d grass hay, 2.6kg/d concentrate feed, and 60g/d of a mineral premix (as-fed basis) and was offered in two equal meals. The QTE was administered at 0 (CON 1), 1, 2, 4, or 6% of the daily DM intake from the basal diet (i.e., 45g, 90g, 180g, and 270g/d; as-fed basis). For this, half of the daily QTE dosage was suspended in water and intraruminally infused during each feeding. All animals simultaneously received the same QTE dosage. Every period comprised 9d of adaptation and 6d of total urine and feces collection. Subsequent to highest QTE dosage, infusion was ceased and after 14d of adaptation, urine and feces were collected again for 10d (CON 2). The QTE infusions at ≥4% lowered apparent total tract organic matter digestibility (P≤0.045). The effects were more pronounced for neutral detergent and acid detergent fiber digestibilities which decreased from 0.718 and 0.626 without QTE to 0.590 and 0.493 at 6% QTE, respectively (P<0.001). Nitrogen excretion linearly decreased in urine (P=0.003) and linearly increased in feces (P<0.001) with incremental QTE dosages. Irrespective of the dosage level, nitrogen retention was higher with than without QTE infusion (P≤0.035). Urinary purine derivatives excretion declined from 103mmol/d at 1% QTE to 80mmol/d at 6% QTE (P<0.001), indicating a 36% decrease in estimated duodenal microbial crude protein flow. At QTE dosages of ≥4% of DM intake, reduced carbohydrate digestibility will lower energy supply to the host animal. The pronounced decrease in estimated microbial protein synthesis even at moderate QTE levels is unlikely to be compensated by the increase in rumen-escape protein. The QTE addition to ruminant diets might not improve protein supply and performance of cattle.

Formas plurais de governança: uma análise das transações de suprimento entre frigoríficos e pecuaristas

Este trabalho teve o objetivo de avaliar a existência de formas plurais na transação entre frigoríficos e pecuaristas, observando os determinantes para a escolha das diferentes estruturas de governança. Para tanto, realizaram-se estudos de caso junto a três frigoríficos, tendo as formas plurais de governança como arcabouço teórico. Verificou-se que apenas um dos frigoríficos analisados adota formas plurais para coordenar suas transações de compra do boi gordo, sendo que as outras duas empresas obtiveram a totalidade de seu suprimento de animais mediante transações no mercado spot. Os condicionantes da adoção de formas plurais estiveram alinhados ao modelo teórico, sendo as variáveis ambiguidade, complexidade e comportamento estratégico determinantes para a escolha da estrutura de governança da empresa. Para as outras duas empresas, notou-se pouca ou nenhuma ambiguidade e complexidade nas transações, bem como a inexistência de motivações estratégicas para o uso de formas plurais. As principais vantagens dessa estratégia de coordenação encontradas no presente estudo foram: (i) redução na assimetria de informações; (ii) vantagens de escala e maior poder de barganha no mercado spot; (iii) ganhos de flexibilidade para o abastecimento de diferentes canais de distribuição e (iv) efeitos de aprendizado cruzado.

Certification, Forest Conservation, and Cattle: Theories and Evidence of Change in Brazil

AbstractVoluntary certification programs for agricultural and forest products have been developed to improve the environmental and social sustainability of production processes. The new Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) cattle certification program aims to reduce deforestation in the cattle supply chain, with a focus on Brazil. Drawing on information from interviews with key actors in Brazil, this article discusses the mechanisms that may enable the SAN cattle program to achieve these goals and to avoid critiques that have been leveled at other commodity certification programs. The program sets higher standards for sustainability than any existing policy or incentive mechanism. Participation in the program may generate significant indirect financial and non‐financial benefits. The program may also influence the supply chain more widely: by demonstrating that certifiable, traceable, sustainable cattle production is viable; by “raising the bar” of sustainability standards through rigorous criteria; and by creating new markets and incentives. While the scaling up and impact of the SAN cattle program will depend in part on how it is supported or constrained by other interventions in the same sector, the program appears to be characterized by a rigorous program design that is necessary, if not sufficient, to catalyze reduced rates of forest loss.

Assessment on the constraints of cattle supply chain management in Namibia: Case study of Omaheke communal farmers

This study examined the efficiency and constraints in the management of the cattle supply chain from farmer to processor, as well as access to market information by communal farmers in the Omaheke region of Namibia. Questionnaires were developed and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 100 farmers who were registered as cattle producers with the Meat Board of Namibia, as well as six farmers’ associations, an auctioneer and a beef processor using purposive sampling. The research found that the farmers were not aware of the quality criteria used by buyers when determining prices for cattle classes and grades. Accessibility to market information was found not to be a constraint. The constraints facing the communal cattle farmers included low prices offered for cattle, buyers arriving late or not at all, slow payment processes and buyers running out of cash, whereas those found to be facing auctioneers and buyers operating in communal areas included the buying of poor-quality cattle and low numbers of cattle being offered for sale. Lack of essential and safe facilities at market outlets was identified as a constraint by cattle farmers, auctioneers and buyers. The study recommends strengthening the capacity of farmers’ associations in terms of human and financial resources, the training of communal cattle farmers in managerial and marketing practices, and the provision of essential facilities at market outlets. Key words: Communal farmers, cattle, supply chain management, cattle marketing, communal areas.

Supply response of beef farmers in Botswana: A Nerlovian partial adjustment model approach

In this study, an attempt has been made to examine the supply response of beef farmers in Botswana by using the Nerlovian partial adjustment model. The short run price elasticity was 1.511 while the long run elasticity was 1.057. This is a clear sign that price policies in Botswana are effective in obtaining the desired level of output for beef. Moreover, in the future, price increase need to be adopted as a strategy for improved cattle supply. Emphasis should also be given on extension services with a view of promoting cattle farming as a commercial farming. The promotion of cattle farming for commercial purpose should be supported with a strategy by which farmers change their attitude of oxen production to weaner production. The speed of adjustment, however, was relatively very slow at 14% per period. This slow adjustment perhaps tells that Botswana beef farmers, who are predominantly subsistence, may not be having enough capacity (in terms of resources and technology) to immediately increase beef production when economic environment improves in their favour. This situation can be improved if future government intervention is geared towards improvement of current technology of using communal grazing and indigenous breeds. The government also needs to strengthen its extension services to educate the farmers on new technologies of beef production. Key words: Supply response, beef, Nerlovian partial adjustment.