Economics of Transitioning from a Cow-Calf-Yearling Operation to a Stocker Operation as a Potential Strategy to Address Brucellosis Risk in Northwestern Wyoming

B-1300

September 2017

Shane P. Ruff, Farm Management Specialist, Kansas Farm Management Association, and Former Graduate Research Assistant, University of Wyoming

Christopher T. Bastian, Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wyoming

Dannele E. Peck, Director, Northern Plains Climate Hub, United States Department of Agriculture, and Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wyoming

Walt E. Cook, Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary Sciences, Texas A&M University

B-1300

September 2017

 

Important Points to Remember

• Switching to stockers over a period of years is the more profitable transition strategy.
• Cow-calf-yearling operations generally tend to be more profitable and less risky than stockers.
• More total income could be available from the eight-year transition to stockers if you are staying in the cattle business for 20 years or less. More total income could be available from the cow-calf-yearling operation if you are staying in the cattle business more than 20 years.
• Costs associated with brucellosis infection and quarantine are high.
• The switch to stockers (other than getting out of the cattle business altogether) is the only 100 percent effective strategy to negate costs associated with quarantine.
• A producer must consider the risks of infection versus profitability and income variability.
• A producer must consider the time horizon for how long he or she plans to ranch.