Agriculture is the foundation for economic prosperity in Nebraska. The feedlot sector of the beef industry will continue to contribute with exciting opportunities ahead. The growth of the ethanol industry within the state will provide byproducts like distiller’s grain that allow Nebraska feedlots a chance to explore new competitive advantages.

Escalated energy costs will continue the realization that manure is a resource.

Just as the impact of corn genetics has not been fully realized, the benefit of feeding distiller’s grain to beef cattle has further potential. Ration inclusion rates and ration ingredient compositions regarding distiller’s grains are not fully researched. The inevitable increase in supply is prompting the learning curve to accelerate.

One advantage already realized is the cost-effectiveness potential. A related example is the feeding of distiller’s grain to cows and calves in a drought situation. Many cow-calf producers have explored such uses this year as a supplement to feeding high-priced hay.

In feedlots, distiller’s grain is a supplemental and sometimes alternative ingredient choice. As research regarding inclusion rates and ingredient composition continues, feedlots must pay attention to all direct and indirect costs associated with any changes. A lower direct cost of distiller’s grain will indirectly affect other commodities used in rations.

Meanwhile, feedlots view manure as a waste product when the supply becomes abundant. Unfortunately, education and communication have failed to emphasize that while manure is a waste product to the feedlot, it is a resource to many others. A farmer can explain the price of comparable nutrients available commercially. Methane captured from manure has unlimited possibilities. Manure is naturally produced and, until the mindset is changed from waste to resource, we are defeating ourselves.

With lower cattle prices, droughts, severe winter storms, etc., why such optimism? The two components of the bottom line are revenues and expenses. Most feedlots place more emphasis on cutting expenses than on generating revenue. Nebraska is geographically located and progressively led to generate revenue in agriculture. With the existence of 12 ethanol plants in the state and several more proposed, the ethanol industry is here to stay in Nebraska. Cattle, corn and ethanol will co-exist. There is uncertainty about the economic outcome of this relationship.

But one certainty is that feedlots can lead by example and focus on revenue potential. This positive focus can be nothing but infectious when compared to the laborious task of revisiting spending patterns. Both components are important. However, prioritization and opportunity place more emphasis on moving forward.

A major obstacle as we move forward in any facet of agriculture is tradition. The cattle industry has historically segmented cow-calf producers from feedlots. Most of us realized this a long time ago and decided to contribute to the good of the industry by focusing on our individual contributions.

I feel this approach is ineffective and frustrating. My involvement on the Nebraska Cattlemen Board of Directors started last January. Since then, I have witnessed many issues discussed and resolved by all segments involved in the cattle industry. This should not come as a surprise since feedlot owners and managers are certain for two things:

* Two minds are greater than one.

* All the work cannot be done by one person.

With this in mind, NC becomes stronger with more members. And it delegates issues that are important to your own operation to fellow professionals capable of accomplishing desirable results. At the NC Midyear meeting held in June, it was revealed that a small percentage of cattlemen in Nebraska belong to this effective organization. The time is now for all of us to adopt this quote from an NCBA representative who spoke at Midyear:  “We all must belong to something greater than ourselves.”

Jeff Jorgenson, manager at the Herd Co. feedlot in Bartlett, is vice chairman of the NC Feedlot Council.