Ahh, the year 2022! It was full of challenges for those of us in the cattle business. Drought, high input cost, excessive heat and more drought! As much as we would like to dismiss and forget the past year, there are too many lessons to learn from 2022 that can make us better at the cattle business in the future just to dismiss.
If the past year did not test your resilience and resourcefulness, you must not have owned any cattle! As we look forward to 2023 and the opportunities that lie ahead, this week let’s reflect on what we can learn from 2022.
1. The cattle business is based on having an available forage base that cattle can graze and turn into beef. The key to profitability is to find a long-term balance between input expenses and production levels. Without grazable forage, finding that balance is next to impossible.
2. Prepare for drought when you are getting normal rainfall. Prepare for normal rainfall while you are in a drought. If you can manage to accomplish this, it prepares your operation to survive and positions you to financially capitalize on the opportunities that will present themselves in the form of low cattle inventories.
3. Cattle are adaptive creatures. Although “you can’t starve a profit into a cow,” it is amazing what the ruminant digestive system can convert. If you are willing to do the math, know your cattle’s nutritional needs and are willing to try something new, there are innovative ways to maintain your cows.
4. Proper culling methods to reduce inventories leave you with a better cowherd.
5. It’s not just the cattle; remember to care for the soil and plants.
6. The tough years can make you a better manager if you remember the lessons of 2022. Remain steadfast in the belief that good markets await those who can manage through this.
Happy New Year, and best of luck to cattlemen and women in 2023! — Mark Z. Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension beef cattle breeding specialist
