Late breds, what now?
Consider taking advantage of an upswing in female demand
By Patrick Wall
The vast majority of cattle producers in the U.S. have never seen a national cow herd this small in numbers. Current cattle inventory is even lower than 2014. Fortunately, prices for all classes of cattle are similar to the most recent valley in the cattle cycle. Unlike 1951 (the last time the U.S. cow herd was below 88 million), cows are much bigger, and the feedlot sector is able to produce a lot more edible beef per head, so the grocery store shelves and restaurant coolers have hardly noticed.
All said, cattle are valuable property right now, and the U.S. herd is set for expansion. Let’s continue to hope and pray it rains where cows graze and feed grows.
Does the current market change how we handle late bred cows or heifers? If a producer is committed to his or her own program, then the answer should be no; the late breds he/she sells will certainly be worth more money than they ever have been. The more loaded answer, however, could pad your wallets and help your neighbors at the same time. Here’s a few simple management tweaks to consider taking advantage of an upswing in female demand.
#1 – Extend your bull’s full-time employmentDepending on your zip code, the ‘ideal’ time to calve is relative … and certainly subject to an individual’s opinion. As the average U.S. beef producer ages, some have decided they are less willing to battle the winter elements or the deep mud of spring. They’ve either migrated their calving window a bit later every spring, or just kept the bulls in the pen longer and fixed it all in one year. As a result, your late spring bred cows might be exactly what they are looking to add.
Letting bulls cover cows for a longer duration will produce more late bred females … and fewer opens. Historically, bred cows are worth more than opens, though recent demand for cull cow beef has challenged that trend.
Some would argue that leaving the bulls out longer will mask inherent fertility. If that were the case, then why after decades of diligent culling has the industry not noted a significant jump in the pregnancy rate of the U.S. cow herd?
In reality, the environmental and management challenges we place on our cows are cyclical across the country, much like the cycles of what the industry tells us the ‘ideal’ cow should look like. She’s gotten bigger and more apt to grade Choice or Prime over the last 50 years, but she also eats more, making her more vulnerable to environmental challenges. It’s our own fault. More recently, genetic selection to make her more efficient could prove beneficial … but we’re a long way from that goal.
#2 – Get your heifers ‘right’It’s not rocket science, when the cow herd expands, more heifers gain access to a bull. Or, if we refer back to #1, the same number of heifers see a bull longer than they normally would. Selling bred heifers in a high-demand market can be a great revenue stream, but if done right, it’s not free.
At auction, bred heifers need to look the part, regardless of when they’re due to calve. Groups that are in good condition, fetal-aged, fetal-sexed, and determined safe bred to their synchronized artificial insemination date will demand top dollar.
Publications have been littered with research suggesting that heifers born earlier in the calving season last longer in the herd than later born heifers. True. But if we offer her a little supplemental feed post-weaning and get her AI bred to calve at 22 months of age, is she really a late bred?
Like stated earlier, we could change her address and she’d be the first one to calve. Maybe her dam is 12 years old and has slowly started to slip back on her calving date and milk flow. That daughter is the epitome of inherent fertility, yet our traditional management would cull her for 25 pounds of weaning weight and a birth date that’s three weeks too late. Producers can find more value in later born offspring, especially when demand is high.
#3 – Become a trader, not a hoarderMany producers will expand their cow herd from within. That usually means cows with bad feet, bad udders or bad attitudes get to stay another year. More low-quality heifers stay in the replacement pen, and anything that gets pregnant also gets to calve. This is also a popular time to ‘roll some cows to the fall herd’ when the pregnancy check doesn’t go as planned.
All these management decisions are effective at increasing cow numbers (hoarding). They are also incredibly effective at increasing calf crop variability, labor hours during calving (bad udders) and veterinary expenses (bad feet). Equally effective is their ability to lower calf price per head and the general satisfaction and happiness of you and your work force (bad attitudes). There’s a better way.
Given the projected gavel price for bred cows and heifers, there’s no doubt some producers will be cashing in by offering them. This creates an opportunity for producers to ‘trade’ into a much better cow herd with a little investment. Please note, do NOT take the females you sorted from the previous paragraph and expect to do this! Add value to later born heifers, not low-quality ones. Market late bred cows you would be proud to keep for yourself if your calving target was later. Cows that were originally on the cull list should stay there.
Instead, trade a good group of bred cows or bred heifers for an even better set of females! If you plan to haul the load you market and the load you buy on the same day from the same sale, this will likely cost you some money. However, if you are willing to travel or search the internet auction sites, premium markets and bargains can be found. Features like hide color and horned/polled status can be a premium in some markets and a discount in another.
Keep in mind, you may have to buy your new set of breds before you market the late breds, so plan your feed inventory accordingly. Searching for new genetics is great too, but be sure the new additions are accustomed to the grass you offer and the management you’re willing to provide. Tolerance to things like altitude, fescue and even predators come to mind.
The upswings in the cattle cycle can be a fun time to be a producer, or an extremely painful, expensive process if you were in the heart of the drought-stricken area that caused the downturn in the first place. Regardless, the banking industry post-2014 is more reluctant to sign large notes where cows are the only collateral … and the interest rate is much higher this time. Please be smart and patient with cow herd expansion; the industry needs each and every one of you.
Wall is the southeast Iowa beef Extension specialist for Iowa State University.
