Three essays on value-added beef strategies

Adopting technologies, such as artificial insemination, and the associated improvements in beef herd genetics better position livestock producers to meet anticipated demand increases for high-quality beef. If we examine the factors that influence technology adoption, then we will be better able to envision the producer operations of the future. The first essay examines Missouri cow-calf producer survey data to determine the impact that producer, operation and management characteristics; production risk; and location have on the adoption of reproductive technologies. The results show that producer, operation and management characteristics and production risk influence adoption of artificial insemination and estrus synchronization. The operation type and production risk variables have the most influence on technology adoption.;The second essay explores the product life cycle of a value-added marketing strategy that was created for a new value-added quality heifer program. The new product that was examined is a component of the Show-Me-Select Heifer Replacement program. Known as the Tier II program, the new value-added heifer program essentially created a new product (higher quality bred heifers) by requiring minimum sire expected progeny difference (EPD) accuracies for calving ease and by setting expected calf and carcass performance measurements. The hedonic study shows that the Tier II heifers receive a premium compared with traditional Show-Me-Select heifers. Because the Tier II program is in its infancy stage, premium values are still being determined.;The third essay explores risk and tradeoffs, and it determines what buyers are willing to pay to feel indifferent about purchasing calves from alternative sire groups. The essay considers four sire groups in its analysis: a high-accuracy sire group, a low-accuracy sire group, a natural service sire group and a composite sire group that is an average of the other sire groups. The high-accuracy and low-accuracy sire groups represent calves that were born to females that had been artificially inseminated using estrus synchronization.;The cost data used for the stochastic dominance analysis were obtained through the University of Missouri cost-return projected budgets. Three years of calf returns data were collected from the University of Missouri Animal Sciences Unit. The averages and distribution from the actual data are combined with the average and distribution of input-output prices to simulate the returns of feeding out the different sire groups' calves in order to approximate the economic cost-return budgets over time. To compare these management strategies, net return distributions were used with the partial budgets.;The study found that buyers who are the most risk-taking will prefer to buy calves that were born to females bred by natural service bulls. Buyers who are slightly risk-takers to moderately risk-averse will prefer to buy high-quality calves that were born to artificially inseminated females bred with high-accuracy sires because they have a higher probability of earning more revenue. Less risk-averse individuals may be wealthier, more educated and innovative. Buyers who are strongly risk-averse will prefer to buy a mixed sire group.