Five Activities Improving Cow Herd Profitability

Paul Beck, Oklahoma State University State Extension Beef Cattle Nutrition Specialist

Tight cattle supplies and record cattle prices are wonderful, but costs of production have also increased. Even in a good year, out of control production costs may lead to profits below breakeven. There are 10 management strategies important for a profitable cow-calf operation. Dr. Beck will cover 5 strategies this week and 5 strategies next week.

1) Know cost of production - Beef cattle Standard Performance Analysis of cow herds across the Great Plains show that high net income producers have 43% lower cost of production than low net income producers. It also allows for more effective marketing, risk management and setting production goals and makes it easier to identify places for improvement.

2) Have a defined calving season that matches the environment – Larger uniform groups at auction markets receive $5/cwt compared to single head lots. A defined calving season also promotes better health and nutritional management and management of calves pre and post weaning. This is the foundation for development of least cost winter nutrition programs.

3) Selection of replacement heifers for fertility and longevity – Heifers that have their first calf early in the calving season tend to rebreed earlier and calve early in subsequent years, and heifers that reach puberty before their first breeding are more fertile. Assessing Reproductive Tract Scores of heifers 30 to 60 days before their first breeding season can help sort out the heifers not reaching puberty which are more likely to breed late.

4) Pregnancy testing and culling cows – Culling open cows obviously will decrease winter feeding costs, but also culling old cows, infirm cows, unsound cows, and cows with poor dispositions can improve calf performance and decrease calf death losses. Culling open cows and not selecting heifers out of these cows as replacements will improve reproductive efficiency over time and increase calving rate.

5) Improve forage management – The forage resource is the foundation of cow production. Improved management will increase carrying capacity of the land, improve cow and calf nutrition, increase productivity of livestock, and decrease cost per unit of forage produced. Reduced reliance on feed and hay is a key to decreasing costs and increasing profitability.

Montana State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Montana Counties Cooperating. MSU Extension is an equal opportunity/affirmative action provider of educational outreach.