Page 35 - MWC 3-10-2022s

Don’t Let Tradition Impede Progress there may be something for men. When slaughter bulls The Midwest Cattleman · March 10, 2022 · P35
everybody, however in terms 1,800-2,000 pounds are sell-
of genetics, phenotype, and ing for $0.75/lb, to $1.00+/lb, cost figure today, we are fair- your heifers to a calving ease
reproduction, value and qual- it is more cost effective than ly confident that if heifers bull and purchase a moder-
ity might not always go hand ever to upgrade and improve (and two-year-old cows) are ate birth weight herd sire for
in hand. In my mind, there genetics. not managed and developed your mature cows. Another
is a big difference between a As I have written before, separate from mature cows, strategy could be to utilize
herd sire and a cow settler. I encourage producers, es- they are at higher risk of not one or two rounds of synchro-
If you only have a handful pecially smaller producers reaching their genetic poten- nized AI breeding potential
of cows, I get it. Herd size is to think outside the box in tial. replacement heifers and sell
a key piece to the bull value terms of improving genetics. If you can’t manage differ- any open heifers as year-
equation, but not the only Heifers are another source of ent groups of females due to lings. The market looks to be
piece. genetic improvement. small cow numbers, or limit- strong for yearling cattle for
Considering the price of We have just started a ed pasture, consider purchas- the foreseeable future.
cull bulls over the past sever- study looking at the cost ing your replacement heifers.
al years, the overall financial of developing a beef heifer. Another strategy could be
investment of a young bull While we do not know that to artificially inseminate all
has been more than reason-
Green Springs
able for commercial cattle- Green Springs

SHOULD YOU
continued from page 31 Performance & Efficiency Tested

ference across the number of
calves sold, and you have the BULL
cost of cow depreciation that BULL
is embedded into every calf
produced. Be warned: This is
often a staggering number.
SALE
Reproductive management
is an opportunity to control
the cause of that potentially SALE
staggering cost. We could the-
oretically decrease the cost
of replacement females. We
could increase the years of ser-
vice or the longevity of cows
in production. We could also
increase the salvage value of
Angus, Balancer, Charolais,Gelbvieh, Hereford
cows at the time of sale – an Angus, Balancer, Charolais,Gelbvieh, Hereford
Limousin, Red Angus, SimAngus, Simmental
often-overlooked strategy. For Limousin, Red Angus, SimAngus, Simmental Mar
a more in-depth discussion, I
will refer you to the University
of Missouri Extension manual 28
Whole System Management
Plus
of Beef Cattle Reproduction, Plus Monday, 1:00
published last fall. The more
we understand our operations
as systems, the more investing Angus
in reproductive management
starts to seem like a wise, low- Females & Black & Black Baldy Commercial Heifers
er-cost business model.
We have opportunities to
turn cost-heavy cow-calf op-
erations into functional busi- Details &
nesses with healthy return
ratios, but we won’t get there 417-448-7416417-448-7416 Sale Catalogs
with simplistic cost-cutting.
Consider whether a greater
Nevada, Mo.
level of investment in estrous
synchronization, A.I., preg- Nevada, Mo.
nancy diagnosis and other
reproductive management 3 Cedars Sale Facility - 24327 E Old Town Road
would address some of the LiveAuctions.TV
causes of cost in your opera-
tion this year. Off site Bidding

Videos
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