CLARESHOLM, Alta. – Beef cows are getting too big, says Jim Hansen of Alberta Agriculture’s livestock development branch.
“I am finding way too many ranch cows are getting way too big – 16, 17, 18, 1,900 pound cows. Way too big,” he told a cow-calf economics workshop in Claresholm earlier this month.
“It’s hard to make them still fit in a forage environment.”
Hansen’s presentation focused on livestock forage and ways to reduce yardage and feeding costs through increased pasture use, bale grazing and swath grazing.
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“If this cow requires a bale of hay and a bucket of grain (daily) to reach her body condition score, she doesn’t belong in a forage environment.”
Larger cows lead to larger steers and heifers at packing plants, where bigger carcasses can be discounted.
Even if that happens, the impact is apparently not great enough to prompt cow-calf producers to breed for reduced body size in their herds.
“Carcass weights today, the last 10 years, are certainly higher than they’ve ever been before,” he said.
Beef consultant Charlie Gracey said there is no evidence that a 1,200 lb. cow is more efficient than a 1,400 lb. cow, which is part of the reason for current carcass size.
If packers continue to accept larger- framed animals, producers will continue to provide them.
“We are producing cattle for the packers instead of for the consumers,” said Gracey.
Restaurateurs and many consumers want smaller steaks, he added.
“It’s not really the size of the frame. It’s the size of the cuts.”
Judy Lucas, who operates a ranch vacation business near Claresholm with her husband, Wayne, concurred. She said she cuts steaks in half when feeding European guests to accommodate their desired portion size.
“I have to cut my steaks in half because I don’t like throwing out meat,” she said.
However, once her guests have tasted their beef, they tell her they plan to eat more of it when they return home.
Wayne Lucas said urban guests often tell him they seldom eat beef, and on the rare occasion when they do buy a roast, they want a 2.5 lb. cut.
“From a consumer point of view, we’re not producing anything close to what they want,” he said.
Hansen attributed some of the problem to lack of communication between cow-calf producers, feedlots and packers.
Another factor is consumers’ propensity to “say one thing with their mouth and another thing with their pocketbook.”
