Weather effects on U.S. cow‐calf production: A long‐term panel analysis

Extreme weather events can significantly affect beef cow production. For example, unfavorable weather conditions deteriorate pasture quality and reduce pasture growth, forcing livestock producers to use high‐cost alternative feedstuffs, which consequently increases production costs. Extreme weather may also reduce overall animal performance, including decreased feed gain efficiency, and breeding performance. By exploiting seasonal weather changes and using 67 years of state‐level beef cow inventories, we estimate the impact of weather on cow‐calf production throughout 25 states in the United States. Results suggest that the U.S. cow‐calf industry is sensitive to changes in seasonal temperature. Results of an out‐of‐sample prediction using rolling window assessments prove that adding seasonal weather information to the forecasting model improves the prediction accuracy of state‐level beef cow inventories. Investigating the effects of seasonal temperature and precipitation on cow‐calf production will enhance the management and future production planning. [EconLit Citations: Q11].