The beef industry in Tennessee is an essential part of the state's agricultural economy. The beef production in every county of Tennessee has a greater economic impact in the East and Middle parts of Tennessee than in the western part. The cattle industry in Tennessee is largely owned by family members. The beef industry converts the resources produced locally into money spent at home which helps in supporting the growth of local jobs and economies (Green et al., 2010). Tennessee is one of the major beef producing states in the country ranking 9th in the country in beef cow population and 15th in the total cattle numbers.
Tennessee tops all the states east of Mississippi with an exception of Kentucky in the cattle population. Over 2.13 million cattle in Tennessee are estimated to be slightly more than 1.62 billion dollars. 51% of these cattle which equates 1.2 million are beef cows. The number of beef cows has increased by 360% since 1955 (Green et al., 2010). The gradual increase can be attributed to various factors including a decline in the production of dairy, increase in the acreage dedicated to pasture and an increase of local manufacturing which has led to many employment opportunities in farms. Many farms have also been passed to the new generation. Many cattle producers in the state now stay on these farms and create employment opportunities in the farms.
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The sale of calves and cattle is one of the major sources of income in Tennessee. The beef industry has remained in this position for a long period. The sale of calves and cattle in 2007 alone summed up to 582 million dollars which equate 22.5 percent of the total agricultural income of the state and 1.2 times more than agricultural sales (Green et al., 2010). The monies circulate in the local and state economies. According to the Cattlemen's Beef Association, every dollar which is made from the sales of cattle is either multiplied two times or four times. This, therefore, means that the cattle industry in the state produces an additional 2.6 billion dollars business activity for the economy of the state.
For one to have profit benefits in the beef industry in Tennessee there should be marketing and production of feeder cattle. This begins with operations of cow-calf which yield 88 percent of the beef operations in the state. The other 10 percent remain for stock and background operations. Tennessee yearly markets more than 750000 feeder calves to the feedlots and background operations (Green et al., 2010). Beef production gives an opportunity for the Tennessee agriculture to get money from the many acres of land which is not good for intensive agricultural activities.
Another way of getting profit benefits from the beef industry is to invest in the cow feeds. This involves converting materials such as hay and grass into more valuable and products which are easy to market. More than 85 % f the total feeds that are used in the production of beef cows are from roughages, forage and other by-products which are not consumed by humans.
Profitable beef marketing is more than having high prices. It also involves the production of calves which are desired with the markets, doing marketing at the best time and through the best outlet. Unfortunately, most farmers producing cow-calf sell their calves. They mostly produce calves which are easy to raise and get them sold at the most convenient outlet at the best time. In other words, they are price takers. Marketing involves making choices about the type of products to produce, the marketplace and pricing (Green et al., 2010). It is important to be an effective beef marketer by acknowledging the alternatives and evaluate them in terms of cost and returns picking the most profitable instead of the most convenient options. Some of the issues associated with marketing calves include costs, marketing structure, calf type, pricing and type of calf to produce. It is important to have knowledge of the cost of the production unit. For the small-sized herds, the production cost is a bigger profit determinant than the method of marketing. Even with any size of the herd, for the cow-calf production, it means having the knowledge of the cost of each calf sold. The best way of determining this is to start with a small budget.
Whereas there are specific segments to the system of beef production, it is important to understand that consumers are responsible for making final price decisions. The retailer can only want a specific product because many customers want that product. This is traced to the packer, to the feedlot and back to the producer of feeder cattle. It is important to understand how the markets of beef cattle work so that the producers can recognize the changes which can increase the market profit. Another way of making profits from beef is through preconditioning programs which involves practices of management aimed at improving the nutrition and health of calves (Green et al., 2010). Preconditioning leads to value addition to the calves. Preconditioning is not a new concept. It had received a lot of attention in the past with much focus given to the programs on value addition. There are several programs in preconditioning with different requirements on management and different names. The preconditioning programs make calves to be healthy and therefore, attract high prices. It is undoubtedly true that calves which are not healthy or with physical impairment get a large discount and are not profitable. That is why it is important to participate in programs which teach on best management methods to give yield to healthy cattle which can attract high prices.
Reference
Green, A. L., Carpenter, L. R., Edmisson, D. E., Lane, C. D., Welborn, M. G., Hopkins, F. M., ... & Dunn, J. R. (2010). Producer attitudes and practices related to antimicrobial use in beef cattle in Tennessee. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association , 237 (11), 1292-1298.
