Cattle Feeding Projections for August 2024
Posted: August 20, 2024 | Written By: Tim Kinches and Allison VanDerWal, M.S., Form-A-Feed
August 2024 Cattle Feeding Projections
Click the link above for this month’s projections.
Ominous numbers are showing in the profit loss column this month. Strong feeder pricing coupled with unpredictable cattle futures has many hesitant about placing cattle. If you are thinking about filling your pens this fall, there are a few additional questions and conversations we recommend having as you make this decision.
- Are you able to forward contract and lock in low ingredient costs? Have discussions with your feed company, and brokers to make sure you are capitalizing on your least cost ingredients.
- What is the cost of sitting empty? Will it cost your operation more to not feed cattle than it will if you place a pen with a breakeven or slight loss?
- Explore all options on cattle buying. Have a good conversation with your cattle buyer, and your trusted sources on what cattle you should take a risk on and follow that up with your nutritionist, vet, and risk management advisor on planning for this feeding period.
These are just a few of many topics of conversation to be had while preparing projections for your operation this fall and we haven’t even mentioned this year’s harvest circumstances. Preparing for silage and high moisture corn harvest is upon us. The weather during this cropping season has set up many areas for a potentially long harvest, potential light test weight corn among other scenarios. Reach out to your Form-A-Feed representative today to discuss, rations, close-outs and Pro Sile Inoculant to get you prepared for the fall ahead!