Strategies for Beef Cattle Winter Feeding in the Southeast

Introduction The profitability of beef production is as many other production systems, a function of a balance between inputs and outputs. Outputs can be more easily defined than inputs and can be simplified as pounds of beef sold in one way or another: carcass, replacement heifers, yearlings, weaned calves. However, inputs can be more challenging to define and vary greatly with different production systems. In addition, inputs can be present in forms that make it very complicated to put a dollar value to, such as labor cost (especially when we consider our own time, which is often not accounted for!), fertilizer savings due to grazing, and opportunity cost among others. Questions such as: “Should I sell now or should I background them for a while waiting for better prices?” or “Should I precondition my calves this year?” always carry hidden an opportunity cost that is often left out of the equation when making important decisions in beef production.