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Structure, Management Practices, and Production Costs of U.S. Beef Cow-Calf Farms

Author

Listed:
  • Gillespie, Jeffrey
  • Whitt, Christine
  • Davis, Christopher

Abstract

The cow-calf segment of the U.S. beef industry is diverse in farm size, structure, and location, with farms located in every State and ranging from very small to very large. Modest structural change has occurred in this segment over the past two decades, resulting in moderately fewer farms that produce more animals and are more specialized in cow-calf production. In this report, cow-calf farms are compared by region, farm size, phases of beef production that are present on the farm, and farm typology using the cow-calf version of the 2018 USDA Agricultural Resource Management Survey. Larger scale cow-calf farms were found in the Northern Plains and West regions, whereas smaller scale farms tended to be located in the southeast and Southern Plains regions. Larger scale cow-calf farms had lower economic costs per cow and tended to adopt advanced technologies, management practices, and production systems at greater rates than smaller farms. Operators of cow-calf farms had a range of motivations that influenced their decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Gillespie, Jeffrey & Whitt, Christine & Davis, Christopher, 2023. "Structure, Management Practices, and Production Costs of U.S. Beef Cow-Calf Farms," Economic Research Report 338941, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uersrr:338941
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.338941
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peel, Derrel S. & Riley, John Michael, 2018. "Feeder Cattle Price Fundamentals," Western Economics Forum, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 16(2), December.
    2. Popp, Michael P. & Faminow, Merle D. & Parsch, Lucas D., 1999. "Factors Affecting the Adoption of Value-added Production on Cow-Calf Farms," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(1), pages 97-108, April.
    3. Jeffrey Gillespie & Ashok Mishra, 2011. "Off‐farm employment and reasons for entering farming as determinants of production enterprise selection in US agriculture," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 55(3), pages 411-428, July.
    4. Dubman, Robert, 2000. "Variance Estimation With USDA's Farm Costs and Returns Surveys and Agricultural Resource Management Study Surveys," Staff Reports 276685, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
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