By Garth Ruff, Beef Cattle and Livestock Marketing Field Specialist, OSU Extension

As I visited with cattle producers this summer, the conversation that continued to be in the back of everyone’s mind was the topic of herd expansion. Should we plan on keeping additional heifers this fall? There will be some jockeying for position as to who decides to add cow numbers. As it relates to heifer marketing this fall, Kenny Rogers’ song The Gambler comes to mind, “You got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them.”

This isn’t a yes or no answer as there are several factors in play, including economics, feed availability and quality, and individual herd dynamics.

Economics: Thus far, looking at USDA reports, there is no sign of herd expansion at this point. High fed cattle prices have in

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