There is a lot of financial risk in feeding cattle – high-priced feeder cattle, variable interest rates, and volatility in market animal price. Iowa State University extension beef specialist Beth Doran said it's important for producers to understand how they can protect their investment.
“Producers have $2000 invested in the purchase of the feeder animal. When you add the cost of feed, bedding, labor, and interest, the total cost of production is hovering around $2700 per animal,” she said.
Hence, this year’s Feedlot Forum 2025 features Zach Tindall discussing the usability and basics of two USDA risk management tools: Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) and Livestock Gross Margin (LGM). As vice president of commodities with Producers Livestock, he's been instrumental in protecting producer profitability through his trading and hedging expertise and risk management consulting.
The two programs are different. LRP is a USDA price insurance policy that protects cattle producers from catastrophic declines in market price, and LGM is a federal insurance policy that protects against losses in gross margin for cattle. Tindall will discuss changes in both programs that have increased their usability.
Feedlot Forum 2025, which is Jan. 14 in Sioux Center, includes four other presentations centered around cattle feeding and a trade show with more than 20 agricultural industry professionals.
Click here to see more...