VERNON Cow-calf producers changed many of their normal production and marketing strategies in 2006 due to drought and higher fuel, fertilizer and feed prices, said a Texas Cooperative Extension economist. These factors have pushed the cost of running a breeding cow on the Rolling Plains to more than $400 per year.
“Given these higher costs, cow-calf producers will need a break-even price of $84 per hundredweight on weaned calves,” said Stan Bevers, Extension economist based at Vernon. “These are fixed costs that cannot be changed in just one year. That’s why producers need to identify these costs now, so they can work out ways to reduce costs and still make a profit if market prices decline.”
Cow-calf producers can learn how to gauge their operation’s economic health at a May 2 Standardized Performance Analysis workshop at the Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Vernon.
“This workshop will enable ranchers to complete an analysis for their 2006 calf crop,” Bevers said. “This is a hands-on event. We will help participants generate and complete their own performance analysis.”
The workshop will begin at 8:30 a.m. Registration costs $50 per ranch or operation, or $30 for those who have completed an standardized performance analysis, Bevers said. This fee covers educational materials, software, lunch and refreshments.
“A Standardized Performance Analysis lets ranchers compare their operation’s performance between years, to that of other operations, by production region and across production systems,” Bevers added. “Our goal is to help cow-calf operators determine their current financial and production benchmarks.”
Participants will receive all the forms needed to organize their production and financial data before the workshop. All of this data remains confidential.
“We will provide an assistant and a computer to help each participant, and meet with each one individually to interpret the results of their analysis,” Bevers said. “It is important to register early, so we can advise you on how to organize the data necessary for a good analysis.”
To register or to obtain more information, contact Bevers at 940-552-9941, extension 231.
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