Components That Affect Feeder Cattle's Value
- Details
- Category: Commodity
The price of feeder cattle is influenced by the following components:
Mad cow illness, scientifically often known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), has had the largest affect on feeder cattle prices. Prior to 1997, meat and bone meal was part of the feed given to cattle throughout the fattening process, potentially spreading the disease deeper into the livestock meals chain than expected. Although feeding bone meal to the cattle has stopped, the danger of the disease is ever-present and has led to stringent rules relating to the age of cattle that can be slaughtered. In order for the U.S. to export beef to Japan, feeder cattle must be at the very least 20 months outdated before slaughter. At one time, the U.S. required that Canadian beef ought to solely attain 30 months earlier than being slaughtered. Specialists believe that youthful animals are unlikely to have mad cow disease.
Grain-fed cattle is considered to be excessive in saturated fat and is assumed to excessively distress the feeder cattle and ultimately have an opposed affect on people who eat beef. A rising pattern has been to increase the grass-feeding of cattle beyond the first seven to nine months of life to so long as 20 months. The longer the grazing time, the leaner the beef. It is greater in omega-3 fatty acids and usually more nutritious. In October 2007, the United States Division of Agriculture (USDA) lastly settled on a definition for grass-fed cattle, opening the way for the grass-fed cattle industry to compete with traditional feedlots.