The Minnesota beef industry and university scientists want to know more about current management practices on Minnesota beef farms so they can design future research projects to help their operations.

A project survey of producers is being funded by the Minnesota Beef Council and managed by a team of researchers at the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Extension. The research team is being led by veterinarian Noelle Noyes with help from veterinarians Tim Goldsmith, Luciano Caixeta, Joe Armstrong and Melissa Runck; and two veterinary students, Sabina Ponicki and Kaylan Risacher.

“The survey was prompted by a desire for researchers and industry stakeholders to know more about the management practices and movements of cattle specific to the Minnesota beef industry,” says Armstrong, an Extension veterinarian. “We are striving to build research to provide recommendations that fit the Minnesota cattle industry, not extrapolate from research done in other systems. We need to hear from Minnesota producers so we could create research that caters to the Minnesota system.”

Survey results will be used to identify management practices and significant movements of cattle in Minnesota that possibly act as predictors of animal and economic performance.

Survey focuses on Minnesota

“The goal is to identify areas where Minnesota producers are doing an excellent job, and where there are potential areas for improvement in the system,” Armstrong says. “We would also like to identify specific practices and choke points that can be analyzed to shed light on cost-benefit ratios, and to investigate the mechanisms of what makes calves a high-risk group moving into a feedlot.”

All responses are voluntary and completely confidential, he adds.

National beef surveys have been done before that included Minnesota respondents, but these data would be specific for state producers. Currently, there are about 16,000 beef operations across Minnesota.

Armstrong says COVID-19 has limited the researchers’ ability to promote the survey at in-person events.

“The more responses we receive, the more accurately the results will reflect the Minnesota beef system,” he says. “But I would be happy to get 10% — and then we can try to figure out how many cattle our respondents represent and how that fits into the number of beef cattle in Minnesota.”

To take the online survey, go to z.umn.edu/beefpathways Questions? Email [email protected].