CALF_News_December_2019_January_2020

27 CALF News • December 2019 | January 2020 • www.calfnews.net Can you guess which supplement they prefer? The research shows calves prefer supplements with IntelliBond ® trace minerals trace minerals www.micro.net (317) 486-5880 Smart minerals, smart nutrition... smart decision SULFATE FREE N o C o p p e r S u l f a t e • N o Z i n c S u l f a t e • N o M a n g a n e s e S u l f a t e • TraceMineral MADE IN USA Three studies confirmed it. When given a choice, beef calves are more than twice as likely to consume supplements with IntelliBond ® trace minerals compared to sulfate or organic sources of trace minerals. 1-3 Switch to IntelliBond trace minerals for better palatability, plus higher bioavailability, increased fiber digestibility, less leaching and less binding with antagonists. 1 Wiebusch, 2015. JAM. 2 Caramalac et al., 2017. J. Anim. Sci. 95:1739-1750. 3 Micronutrients trial #2017BC106USCZM. IntelliBond ® is a registered trademark of Micronutrients, a Nutreco company. © 2019 Micronutrients USA, LLC. All rights reserved. Check out the data and discover the benefits of a sulfate-free trace mineral program at micro.net/species/beef . “Don’t discount good records,”White adds.“Take the time to prepare a balance sheet and financial statements so you know where you are and can develop your own plan. “Don’t wait for a bank to tell you what you can afford. You should know going in. Look at your financial position each month. If you aren’t sure what you’re reading, ask your banker for help. “Consider accrual financials so you can take the swings out of managing your operation just for tax liability. Accrual financials help you know if you made money in a cycle. “Be ready to discuss succession plans and bring the next level of management with you to meetings with bankers, attorneys, insurance agents, etc.” Don’t aim solely for the fences.“The only certainty for 2020 is extreme vola- tility,” Johnson says.“Resist the urge to hit the home run, and protect yourself on both inputs and marketing cattle.”  VISITYOUR BANKER Continued from page 25 2020 PRICE/PROFIT PROJECTIONS Prices finally climbed enough to produce small profits as 2019 ended. That trend could continue in much of the first half of 2020, says Kansas State University (KSU) Glynn Tonsor. For example, The Ag Center Markets website, http://www.agcenter.com/ newcattlereport.aspx , projected a $120/cwt., breakeven for cattle placed in mid- November. That was for 750-lb. feeder steers placed and fed for 150 days. The breakeven price was based on the steer cost of $1,100 at $148/cwt., a $485 cost of gain based on 81¢/lb., for putting on 600 pounds, and about $41 in interest. With April live cattle futures trading at about $127, a profit of $6.50/cwt., was projected, or about $88 per head. Those numbers were for Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico Plains feedyards. Input costs and profit and loss numbers will vary for other regions. In Kansas, Tonsor says profits are also in the forecast. In November, projections posted on the KSU agmanager.info site, December fed- steer numbers projected a $150/head profit. Per-head profits were also projected for January, $112; February, $86; March, $117; April, $4; and May, $61. A $25/head loss is projected for June. Tonsor estimated 2020 cow-calf returns show a $71-plus profit, according to USDA-Livestock Marketing Association forecasts. 