Stocker cattle summits will be held at multiple locations throughout the Southern Tier as part of a recently awarded a $627,000 programming and research grant from Governor Andrew Cuomo. As part of the $5 million Southern Tier Agricultural Industry Enhancement program, Cornell University is looking to bring an emerging livestock market, known as “stocker” beef cattle, to the Southern Tier. The first Stocker Summit will be held in Tioga County, hosted by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tioga County. The summit will be Wednesday, May 25 from 6 to 9 p.m.
Stocker cattle are typically acquired as young lightweight calves that spend a summer grazing on pasture lands, which allows them to add weight inexpensively. At the conclusion of the grazing season, the stockers, as they are referred to, generally are sold to other farmers that finish the animals to market weight.
“Cattle and beef values are at an all-time high, especially for locally-produced products and livestock finished on grain or grass. And there is great demand for those products from institutional buyers such as schools and hospitals,” said Senior Extension Associate Michael Baker, who will lead the initiative. “Those market developments, along with the region’s abundant high quality forage lands, make Southern Tier counties well suited to grow their position in the stocker cattle market.”
A major appeal to growing stocker cattle is that the venture requires minimal investment in machinery and buildings, creating a low barrier to entry. The only major requirements are access to grazing lands, which can be leased, and the capital to purchase cattle.
“This project is especially exciting to me, because the stocker cattle enterprise is one of the few agricultural businesses that beginning farmers can get involved in without a lot of overhead. What they do need is training and this project will provide intensive training to increase their opportunity for success,” Baker said. “I think it will also appeal to farmers looking to transition out of dairy production.”
The summits will describe what a stocker enterprise is, the opportunities and barriers to entering a stocker enterprise, and economics.
The $5 million Southern Tier Agricultural Industry Enhancement program is part of the overall $30 million Southern Tier Agricultural Industry Enhancement program. It provides funding for agricultural-related industries and not-for-profit organizations to protect, maintain, develop and grow farm, agricultural and related industries located in Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Steuben, Schuyler, Tompkins, Chemung, Tioga, Broome, Chenango, and Delaware Counties.
The summit will be held at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tioga’s offices, 56 Main St., Owego, N.Y. To register for the summit, call (607) 687-4020 or email Barb Neal at ban1@cornell.edu.
