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The beef cattle industry is very important in South Texas. Cattle grazing is one of few enterprises that is reasonably well adapted to the vast arid rangelands of South Texas.
Since cow/calf operations typically returns thin profit margins at best, it is important to deliberately manage variable and fixed costs in cattle production. A basic approach to this involves keeping good records and creating useful financial statements to evaluate and manage the performance of your livestock enterprise.
Seasonal production cycle.
10-year inventory cycle info.
Q. How many head of cattle are produced in my county or region?
Q. How much does it cost to run a cow/calf operation?
Q. Should I increase or decrease the size of my herd?
Q. Does it pay to have programs that include vaccination, de-horning, castration, and/or pre-conditioning? (Link to new article that I need to work up).
Q. What records programs are available for cattle
operations? (Link to articles in
"Other Economics Resources" section)
The Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University has numerous publications on beef cattle management.
The Risk Management Curriculum Guide describes the impact of marketing strategies, price risk, production risk, financial risk, budgeting, and government policy on the financial performance of agricultural enterprises.
Stocker Cattle:
Stocker Cattle Profitability Outlook - Summer 2000 (PDF)
South Texas Stocker - Feeder Cattle Sale Results - 1997 (55kb PDF)
South Texas Stocker - Feeder Cattle Sale Results - 1998 (137kb PDF)
Beef Cattle:
Economic Tools and Data Needed to Decide Whether to Buy, Keep, or Sell Cows
South Texas Commercial Female Cattle Sale Results - 1998