Comparison of Production Practices for Producers Participating in the UK Beef IRM Farm Program and USDA Nahms Survey Data.

The University of Kentucky Beef IRM team has developed a project-based educational program (UK IRM Farm Program) designed to instigate long-term changes in adoption of production practices and examine its impact on productivity and profitability of cow-calf operations. Our current objective is to compare the UK IRM Farm Program survey responses to the data collected in the 2007-2008 United States Department of Agriculture National Animal Health Monitoring System (USDA NAHMS) Reference of Beef Cow-Calf Management Practices. The UK IRM Farm Program selected 72 producers from 27 counties in Kentucky to participate in the program and each participant completed a survey to obtain production data and assess standard production practices being implemented. The 2007-2008 USDA NAHMS reference included 24 states and represented 28.6 million head of beef cows (87.8% of US beef cows) and 603,000 operations (79.6% of US beef operations). Producer herd size in the IRM Farm Program averaged 45 cows; slightly higher than the Kentucky herd size average (30.5 head) and similar to the national average in the USDA NAHMS report (42.3 head). More participants in the IRM Farm Program tagged cows (86%) and calves (77%) compared to the USDA NAHMS report (66% and 46.7% respectively). The average weaning weight (238 and 240 kg), calving percentage (90-95% and 91.5%), and proportion that retained heifers (87.5% and 83%) were similar between groups. In the IRM Farm Program, 39% of operations used some form of heat synchronization, 37% incorporated the use of artificial insemination, 41% had their cowherd diagnosed for pregnancy and nearly half (49%) performed a breeding soundness examination on their bulls. In contrast, only 7.6% of operations utilized heat synchronization, 7.9% had used artificial insemination, one-fifth of all operations had their cattle diagnosed for pregnancy (20.2%), while 26.8% had their bulls undergo a breeding soundness examination in the USDA NAHMS report. Also, 54.5% of all U.S. beef operations did not have a controlled breeding season, while 35% of those in the IRM Farm Program did not. While still having similar calving percentages and average weaning weights to the operations represented in the USDA NAHMS review, those involved in the UK IRM Farm Program had a larger percentage of participants utilize more common reproductive techniques and have a controlled breeding season.