For cow-calf producers, your current situation likely includes lots of young calves running around the place with a few more expected in the near future. That also means there are additional management decisions coming your way, one of which is the castration decision. That involves a yes or no decision and, if yes, then it also involves decisions about method and timing. Today’s focus is on the decision and timing.
Research over time has consistently indicated price discounts for bulls sold in feeder calf markets. Oklahoma data indicates bulls are consistently discounted relative to steers when comparing cattle of similar weight, quality, breed and other physical and management attributes.
Past OSU research has measured bull discounts in Oklahoma markets at $6 per cwt to $12 per cwt at different points in time. Discounts tend to increase when market price levels increase.
Preliminary research with recent Oklahoma data indicates the bull discount per cwt is stable across weight classes at -$13.22 per cwt. At first glance, that might seem counterintuitive, as we might expect the bull discount to be larger for heavier animals based on the implications of later castration on health, performance, management and carcass quality as those animals move through the beef supply chain. And actually, it is when you look at it on a per head basis.
The table above reflects average bull discounts per cwt and per head based on the latest research using our auction data. These values are relative to steers of the same weight with similar characteristics. Though the estimated discount per cwt does not increase by weight class, it does still result in larger per head discounts for heavier bulls. When combined with the price slide for heavier cattle, an unchanging bull discount ($/cwt) still has a proportionately larger impact on overall price per cwt for heavier versus lighter animals. That concept is reinforced in the table above using Oklahoma City prices for medium/large No. 1 and No. 2 cattle from December 2022. The bull discount as a percentage of the steer price at the corresponding weight steadily increases from 6% at 375 lb. to 7.9% at 875 lb.
Castrating your male calves is not free. It requires resources, including time, labor, equipment and sometimes an extra measure of patience with the calf or with your labor resource. Also, the availability and cost of those resources varies by producer. But the market does provide incentives for including castration in your bundle of calf management practices, and those incentives encourage castration at an earlier age and weight rather than when calves are older.
As Dwight Eisenhower once said, “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field.” Substitute “ranching” and “cattle chute,” and I might have just guessed what you are thinking because these days my boots don’t get dirty nearly as often as yours. But the cattle market is encouraging you to consider the incentives for castration, to consider your costs for castration, and to consider adding another layer of dirt to those boots while you castrate your calves and castrate them early.
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