3 Offensive Strategies to Play to Win in 2022

In basketball, offense is a method to get open shots and score points against your opponent. Just as an offensive strategy is important to score and win the game in basketball, we need offensive strategies in our calf rearing programs to score and win by successfully raising our calves to their full potential while running a profitable business. Consider formulating offensive strategies for these 3 areas in the coming year.

Supplies

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have experienced shortages for many products. Manufacturing delays, shipping delays, pauses in international trade, and labor shortages have played into this scenario. Plan ahead and keep an on-farm inventory of essential supplies.

As the availability of many goods is limited, prices have continually climbed. In the event of extreme price increase, or if you are not able to obtain essential supplies be innovative and review protocols to determine if the item can be eliminated or replaced.

One example of recent shortages is Penicillin. Both North American and Chinese suppliers of FDA-approved material used to manufacture penicillin have experienced supply outages this year. Wide spread shortages across the country have caused challenges for many cattle operations. This outage has created an opportunity for veterinarians to evaluate whether or not Penicillin is really needed as a treatment, or if there may be effective alternative therapies to replace it.

Labor

Many factors have contributed to our current labor shortage, including an impaired immigrant migration, an aging population, and the migration of younger generations to the cities. Having a good recruitment and hiring process in place, and following a consistent new hire process for all employees is essential. The FARM website has an abundance of resources including hiring tips for farms, templates, and checklists for employee hiring and training. 

In addition to implementing an aggressive recruiting strategy, also consider any day to day tasks that may be eliminated to reduce labor requirements. One example of this would be calf treatments. Doctoring calves is one of the most time consuming and labor-intensive activities in a calf rearing program.  Review management protocols and nutrition programs to evaluate areas needing improvement to reduce the number of calves requiring treatment.

Finance

Ever rising input costs accompanied with low prices for beef and milk products made for tight margins in 2021. As we go into 2022 input costs are still high and may even go higher, however, economists predict solid milk and beef markets in 2022. It’s tough to predict what will really happen in 2022. Even with an increase in milk and beef prices, the margin, or bottom line for producers may not be much better in 2022 than 2021 as feed and labor prices increase. 

It will be crucial to run an efficient operation in 2022. Take a step back and evaluate any areas where costs can be reduced. One potential strategy is to avoid rearing more young stock than is needed. Raising replacements is the second highest input cost. Establish criteria for animals that would be good candidates for replacements, and don’t hesitate to cull animals that are not performing to meet those criteria. 

As you get your game plan together for 2022 remember to include on and off farm team members. Gather input from employees involved in every day tasks, and leverage industry professionals such as your nutritionist, veterinarian, and other vendors.

Written by: Mariah Gull, M.S.