Stochastic simulation of daily slaughter level was used in conjunction with estimated packing plant cost curves to assess potential reductions in processing costs due to improved vertical coordination between feedlots and packing plants. Results indicate that processing cost reductions of $1 to...

Extension faculty have been educating cow-calf producers about value-added calf management programs and the premiums available at auction from these management practices for years. Despite these efforts, producers express doubt regarding the likelihood of premiums and the profitability of...

Many value-added practices cannot be observed by feeder cattle buyers. Third-party verification can decrease market inefficiency associated with this asymmetric information. We evaluate the effectiveness of a verification program, the Oklahoma Quality Beef Network, in increasing received prices....

Binary logit regression models were used to estimate factors affecting adoption of recommended management practices. Variables analyzed include aspects of farm structure, human capital, farm objectives, and production system employed by the producer. Results reveal that operation size and...

Mexico initiated a federal animal identification (ID) system (SINIIGA) in 2003. The program is administered by an agency of the federal Department of Agriculture (SAGARPA) and has been used primarily to support a federal subsidy program for livestock producers. The program is conceptually well...

The cattle industry batch markets animals in pens. Because of this, animals within any one pen can be both underfed and overfed. Thus, there is a production inefficiency associated with batch marketing. We simulate the value of sorting animals through weight and ultrasound measurements from...

Economic theory suggests that adding a competitive buyer to a market should have positive effects on competition and prices, ceteris paribus. An additional buyer increases market demand, shifting demand to the right, and expands the number of active buyers, reducing average market shares of...

The impact of initial body condition scores on net returns from retaining beef cull cows for delayed marketing was investigated in a three-year experiment. Cows were retained either on native grass pasture or in a low-input dry lot setting. Net returns are examined across five alternative...

The goal of this research was to determine success factors for New Generation Cooperatives (NGCs). A self-explicated approach was used to assess the importance of various factors grouped in broad categories using data collected from a mailout survey of NGC managers. Results suggest that factors...