Oklahoma stocker cattle industry: Structure and function

Abstract

Little information exists on the decision making and management of the Oklahoma stocker industry and the economic flexibility of the stocker industry. A survey was conducted in 2017 by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service. The survey focused on stocker production and management practices, including the timing and duration of stocker production, health, forage use, purchase and marketing of stocker cattle, the timing and distance of shipping, and biosecurity practices. This thesis initially summarizes the survey, then, uses the survey data to profile individuals participating in the Oklahoma stocker cattle industry, by examining the marginal values from logit models. Understanding which individuals use specific combinations of practices across the Oklahoma stocker industry will increase information availability for agency planning and policy considerations. The buying and selling patterns of Oklahoma stocker cattle producers are used to further explain the dynamics of the fed cattle market in Oklahoma. The preferences given by the respondents in the survey were used to create a series of profiles that uncovers the trends of producers in the industry.