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Brandi Karisch, beef specialist with the Mississippi State College Extension Service, mentioned beef manufacturing is a significant factor of the state’s agricultural economic system, with a complete estimated worth of $318 million in 2022.
“Mississippi producers face related challenges to these in lots of different states, as prices for feed, gasoline and fertilizer for pastures proceed to be excessive or rise,” Karisch mentioned.
Rocky Lemus, Extension forage specialist, mentioned the state’s beef trade is supported by the two.6 million acres of forage manufacturing throughout the state, together with about 600,000 acres in hay manufacturing.
“Though forage needs to be the muse of livestock manufacturing, some limitations reminiscent of restricted rotational grazing and farm forage diversification require hay supplementation for 90 to 110 days within the yr,” Lemus mentioned.
This demand from the meat cattle trade places pressures on the state’s pastures to offer adequate, high-quality forage. Lemus mentioned producers can scale back the necessity for supplementation in the event that they implement extra environment friendly rotational grazing techniques fairly than overgrazing and permitting weeds to turn into a barrier to forage utilization and return.
“Pasture value has elevated by 20% to 30% within the final 5 years as a result of improve in fertilizer prices,” Lemus mentioned. “We can’t afford to proceed including fertilizers primarily based on guesses. Begin with a soil pattern to find out pH and nutrient ranges, and add fertilizer primarily based on these suggestions.
“This yr, we’re seeing a decline in fertilizer costs, and producers ought to reap the benefits of this value discount to develop a nutrient administration plan that’s environment friendly and sustainable,” he mentioned.
The MSU Forage Extension Program works carefully with county Extension places of work throughout the state to offer instruments and suggestions for producers.
“Our targets and aims are to assist producers to be extra sustainable by creating grazing and nutrient administration plans that might improve forage high quality and manufacturing,” Lemus mentioned.
The arduous freeze of December and the freeze in early March impacted cool-season annual grasses, reminiscent of oats, and brought about a delay within the alternative to graze annual ryegrass.
“We most likely misplaced 4 to 6 weeks of grazing potential resulting from these circumstances,” Lemus mentioned. “We predict decrease hay yield this summer season season and the hay stock to stay tight resulting from these circumstances.”
Mississippi has just below 16,000 particular person beef cattle operations within the state. Karisch mentioned that, as of Jan. 1, these producers had 860,000 head of cattle, together with 478,000 beef cows and 91,000 beef cow replacements. Scott, Jones, Tate, Hinds and Walthall counties lead the state with the variety of beef cattle.
State cattle producers are closely concerned in stocker cattle manufacturing, elevating greater than 400,000 head of stocker cattle within the state every year.
“We’ve famous a decline in cattle numbers the previous few years resulting from many components, and that is mirrored within the decreased variety of beef cows discovered this yr in comparison with final,” Karisch mentioned.
There’s a massive and rising group of customers who search regionally raised beef and are keen to pay a premium for meat merchandise from a identified supply. Karisch mentioned farmers markets and social media teams are nice methods to attach with native farmers and study the place meals comes from.
“Cattle producers supply regionally raised beef in all elements of the state,” she mentioned. “There are a mess of choices for customers to purchase a half or complete beef or bundles and particular person cuts.
“Many producers are searching for out USDA-inspected amenities with particular person labels that permit them to market to customers who may not have the freezer area or money stream for buying a complete or half beef,” Karisch mentioned.
“Cattle producers like to share their story of how that beef was grown and raised on their farm, and I encourage customers to hunt them out and revel in regionally raised beef,” Karisch mentioned.
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