Does what you’re producing have a place in the market?

Dr. Andrew Griffith, Assistant Professor, Livestock Marketing Specialist, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Tennessee

On a recent trip to a major feedlot, there was an opportunity to learn a great deal from feedlot representatives but also through observation. This particular feedlot was at 65 to 70 percent capacity and have been at this capacity for some time.

There were certainly a lot of black cattle in the pens, but the breed diversity throughout the feedlot was wide. There were pens of Waygu-Jersey crosses, Red Angus, Charolais crosses of several colors, and of course the black hided cattle with different breed makeups. Many of the cattle were company owned, but the feedlot also had custom fed cattle. Most of the cattle were in traditional commercial production, but there was also a significant quantity of cattle in the natural program.

The idea this opportunity reinforced was the fact there is a lot of room in this industry for a producer to do a lot of what they want to do. The main thing is to make sure what is being produced has a place in the market, but it appears there is a good bit of leeway in cattle production.

Source: University of Tennessee