Most beginning cattlemen would get discouraged when paying $400 a pair in pasture leases only to get $1.40 for 5-weight steers. And, on top of that, staying up-to-date with loan payments and the daily expenses that accrue when raising cattle.

Despite major differences in cattle production nationally, there’s one thing I’m comfortable generalizing: Cattle producers do not have an abundance of time, labor or resources.

The stocker cattle segment of the beef industry takes young, lightweight, weaned calves and develops them for the finishing phase. This gain is accomplished by utilizing pasture and range grazing, as well as other forage-based diets. Calves enter the stocker operation at 300 to 650 pounds and are grown to greater than 750 pounds. The growth of these calves is focused on frame, muscle and bone development, not fat deposition. Typically, moderately framed calves work well in stocker operations. Stocker enterprises are margin operators that capitalize on low-cost weight gains, compared to the finishing phase in a feedlot. The three most important factors of a successful stocker enterprise are management, calf health, and nutrition.

A group of U.S. beef producers recently had the opportunity to take a seven-day trip to Japan and Taiwan to learn about the meat markets in Asia and see what the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) has been doing to promote U.S. beef.