Most find there are others vying for the same position and the only legal way to come to the top is to provide information to the potential employer that helps provide reassurance the job will get done.

Fact-finding and gathering information should eliminate variables to ensure a comfort level between both parties. Candidates who can survive the process often end up in a corner office.

Marketing a group of calves, in some cases, is much like résumé building. Pieces of information that increase value can be shared up and down the market chain.

Cow-calf operators often start the process when those calves are sent to the next producer in line in the somewhat dysfunctional family known as the segmented beef industry.

Information is linked to the value quotient when marketing a set of calves to potential suitors. Not enough information could let even a superior product fall into that realm of commodity cattle, while certain dates, health history and historical data may effectively land the group in a branded program.

“Producers need to document things like birth date, weaning date and how long those calves have been weaned,” says Dr. Curt Lacy, a livestock extension economist for the University of Georgia.

“Pre-conditioning protocols and rations are great information, as are any historical data on how cattle performed in the feedyard or grade and yield data.

Unfortunately, some of this documented information may need to be certified by your vet or third-party verified in today’s market.”

Pre-conditioned for price

A continuously shrinking number of available feeder cattle has some producers questioning management practices that include pre-conditioning and other strategies that attempt to present a standardized raw material.

Commingled calf sales have been beneficial to producers in several regions of the country and often help producers determine the type of records they will keep.

“There are a lot of things producers have to think about when feeder cattle are in such short supply,” explains Jim Collins, director of industry relations at Southeastern Livestock Network, LLC.

“I would argue most will still be leaving money on the table, even in this market, selling a bawling calf versus a weaned, pre-conditioned calf. The difference in shrink alone could justify pre-conditioning.”

“Information will create value from a pre-conditioned and calf quality standpoint, especially in commingled sales,” Lacy says. “There is value in the information.

The cow-calf producer has to hope there is more value created than what it cost him to collect it. Most of the time, value will increase if the information helps cattle fit what buyers are looking for.”

Export policy and premiums

Along with questions about supply, in the current mark scenario, recent announcements from the export front may change how operators collect some information.

Defining which information is useful will streamline record-keeping and help information exchange.

“I don’t think we know the impact of recent announcements or where those premiums will wind up,” Collins says. “Knowing this information could help differentiate your product in certain supply chains in the coming months.

As producers, I don’t think we need to be as concerned with what happens in the export market as with changes in the domestic market.

“Most producers already do a good job. Documenting management practices will help market those calves in the future. This type of information will help make changes and tell us why that calf didn’t perform or if there are quality issues.”

“The export premiums have been going down, and now we’re hearing the premium for source and age may go away altogether,” Lacy says.

“Producers may not capture that premium, but it’s not to say that information is worthless. Especially for producers that have been doing it for a long time; that information is part of the package they pass to their buyer.

“Sharing information creates value, not keeping records. It’s very helpful to have a good relationship with your marketing agent or the buyers. This will help simplify the process because they’ll tell you what type of information they are looking for.”

Catering to consumers

Findings of the recent Beef Quality Audit speak volumes. Branded programs are up and consumers are concerned with handling issues, according to the report.

Probably nothing new for most producers, but it certainly drove home the concept. Opportunities could await cattlemen willing to document and share management practices.

“Consumers are concerned with where their product comes from and how is it handled,” Collins says. “There are also more branded programs available.

As producers, we need to ask ourselves what kind of information we can document to create products that will fit those market channels.

“Information will help us market cattle through different channels. Value has to be created at the cow-calf level and passed on.”

“The more information we can package together will make calves fit certain programs or markets,” Lacy says. “The last several years we have seen so many specialty products in the marketplace.

The Beef Quality Audit shows our consumers want more information, and there is potential for some of those customers to be willing to pay for it.

I don’t know what information is going to be valuable, but your BQA certification would let them know you had training in proper handling and administering vaccines.”

Sharing information will help the next owner be successful. Knowing a health history or genetic background could add value. Certain pieces of information could add to the profit picture.

“Any information that will help put a more accurate sort on those cattle will create value,” Lacy says. “Sire performance, feed conversion, feed efficiency or carcass quality could differentiate product. Buyers are looking for any information that could help them make money.”

Cost awareness

The most valuable information these records bring could be on the cost side of the equation. Variability in cost-of-production scenarios could be the difference in profit and loss.

“This information is not always passed up the line, but it’s helpful to make management decisions. Knowing the cost of production is the first step in the marketing plan,” Lacy says.

“You have to know your costs when you are selling a load of calves to stay profitable. This may make more money from a cost savings standpoint than add value.”

“Just the volatility in feed costs over a two-week period will sometimes leave us scratching our heads. We need to know our costs so we can market cattle accordingly,” Collins says.

“If we know some of the volatility in our input costs, it will help market cattle at the optimum time.”

Each producer’s responsibility to the industry that puts food on the table could be reason enough to share information.

Critics will look to exploit an uniformed industry, and our consumers will look elsewhere if questions are not answered. Future markets are not yet defined, but efficient, accurate information exchange could help distinguish the product.

“Keeping accurate records is the right thing to do and in the best interest of the industry,” Collins says. “This information will open market doors and find new opportunities. Documenting what we do could help determine value in the future.

“It’s hard to keep those markets available without documentation. Producers can use this information to stand behind their product.”

“Cow-calf operators are going to have to realize some of the information we are collecting today won’t necessarily add profit now, but it will position them for future profits because they have built a track record,” Lacy says. “Documenting management practices will tell folks you’re doing the right thing.” 

Cliff Mitchell is a freelance writer based in Oklahoma.