The Missouri Beef Audit:

Executive Summary

June 2009

Missouri has more beef cows than any other state in America, except Oklahoma and Texas, and is a leading seedstock supplier to the U.S. beef industry. In 2007, cattle were raised on 52,000 of the state’s 107,800 farms. Sales of cattle and calves generated cash receipts of $1.4 billion, or approximately 19% of the state’s total farm cash receipts. As those farm level revenues were spent for goods and services, more than $2.8 billion dollars worth of economic activity was created in the state, primarily in rural areas.

During the 20th century, Missouri’s national importance as a feeder calf producer grew. In 1920, 3.2% of the beef cows in the United States were in Missouri By the year 2009, Missouri cattlemen held 6.3% of the nation’s cow herd

This audit identifies and describes opportunities for the Missouri beef industry to be successful. The three sections of the audit are as follows:

1. Analysis of the historical economic, structural, and competitive trends effecting the beef industry in Missouri during the past 20 years
2. Analysis of the current competitive position of Missouri’s beef industry
3. Identification of systems, strategies, and economic opportunities available to the industry and to producers who are prepared to adapt to structural and competitive changes

Missouri’s beef industry has continued to grow, predominately as a producer of feeder calves to be grown, finished, harvested, and processed elsewhere. The natural resources of the state as well as the number of part-time, forage-based farms have shaped the industry into what it is today. These underlying influences continue.

Beef marketing opportunities in Missouri are evolving. Larger regional markets are displacing local livestock markets. More cattle are moving outside of auction markets venues in alternative market structures such as direct sales and marketing alliances.

Currently, many Missouri cattlemen are not adopting cost-lowering and value-adding innovations such as forage stockpiling, intensive grazing, synchronized breeding, artificial insemination, vaccination, castration, and dehorning. Service providers, stocker operators, and livestock market owners can help cow-calf producers add value by performing these services.

Economics dictates that value added to a supply chain is captured by those that own the product when the value is transformed. The single greatest opportunity for the Missouri cow-calf sector is in incorporating this truth into a business philosophy. Without a plan to capture value, adding value will accomplish little for the cow-calf producer. Beef industry infrastructure is changing to allow even the smallest operation to participate in this process. As is appropriate, the choice lies with the business owner.

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