Maximizing Profits with Smaller Cows
written by Gilda V. Bryant
Larger cows and their calves’ heavier weaning weights may not bring profits to the operation. How do these cattle impact productivity, and what changes can beef producers make to improve profitability? Jim Sprinkle, an extension beef specialist with the University of Idaho, reports Charolais, Simmental, and other European breeds were some of the largest cattle 30 years ago. Today, British cattle weights have caught up to the Continental breeds. In 1990, the average cow weighed 1,100 pounds. Today, cows are pushing 1,400 pounds. Because ranchers are paid on weaning weights, the beef industry has been selectively breeding for heavier calves for three decades. Seedstock producers develop heavier cattle because commercial operators demand robust bulls with higher weaning weight expected progeny differences (EPDs). As weaning weights increase, so do cow size and milk production. Heavier-milking cows have to graze 30-50 minutes longer daily to maintain bodyweight when at peak production 50 to 60 days after giving birth. These cattle develop grazing fatigue, losing body condition (which can extend the breeding season another month) when grazing in more arid environments. If they calve in March, they will calve in April the following year. Eventually, they leave the herd because they miss the yearly calving interval. “These larger cows and calves do well on irrigated pastures,” Sprinkle explains. “However, ranchers have difficulty supporting these cattle with Western rangeland forage production. Reproduction suffers, and 85 percent breedup in a cow herd weaning 600-pound calves is much less profitable than a 95 percent crop of 550- pound calves.” Ideally, producers aim for a dam to wean a calf that is 50% of her mature weight. This is easier to achieve with 1,100- to 1,200-pound cows. “Research conducted by John Hall at the University of Idaho shows a 1,300-pound cow weans calves at 45 percent of her weight,” Sprinkle explains. “The weaning weight of a calf from a 1,400-pound cow is 41 percent to 42 percent; a calf’s weaning weight from a 1,500-pound cow is 37 percent.” Hall’s investigation also compared 1,100-pound cows to 1,300-pound females on the same amount of pasture. The pasture supported 100 1,300-pound cows compared to 119 1,100-pound cows. Lower feed expenses for lighter cattle resulted in a $10,000 increase in annual income. Researchers at Oklahoma State University found that for every 100 pounds of extra cow weight, the rancher spent $42 annually for maintenance. “If you look at weaning weights produced by larger cows, you don’t get enough to pay the difference,” Sprinkle observes. “I took a frame score of 6, which is a 1,250- pound cow. To increase her mature weight about 100 pounds, you get around a 9- to 10-pound increased weaning weight. If you take the calf sale price of 2 dollars 40 cents a pound, you’re looking at 24 dollars. Compared to 42 dollars, that’s a loss of 18 dollars per head during the best of times. In average years, producers lose about 23 dollars in revenue for that extra 100 pounds of cow weight.”
“Reprinted with permission from Progressive Cattle, Sept 2023 magazine.”
32 | MEMORY RANCHES BULL SALE
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