Back in the 1980s one of the stockyards in Baton Rouge where we sold our hogs had a statement on their check stubs that read “A man with a paid off cow herd is never really broke.” That simple statement always intrigued me.
Given the current market, it seems like a huge understatement, but I think the wisdom of that simple statement can be applied no matter what stage of the cattle cycle we are in. These historical prices provide an incredible opportunity to pay down debt, improve infrastructure or maybe even expand.
Regardless of how we choose to use this added revenue we need to be cautious about becoming complacent in our day-to-day management. Good managers pay attention to detail, and an excellent example can be found in data gathered from the Advanced Post Weaning Value-Added Program (PVAP).
The Advanced PVAP program targets producers who have routinely weaned and preconditioned their calves prior to marketing with the objective of not only evaluating the economics of preconditioning but also identifying the best management practices of these experienced producers. The chart above is a summary of 52 closeouts from 42 producers who have participated in the Advanced PVAP program to date.
As you can see the 1,645 calves in this summary were fed an average of 79 days postweaning, gained an additional 182 lb., sold for $7.91 per cwt. over the state average, and netted $221.10 per head over selling at weaning. This type of on farm data is invaluable not only for producers but also aids extension educators for more effective program planning and recommendations.
To gain even more insight into actual management practices, a survey of the PVAP participants was conducted. Of the 42 producers represented in this database, 41 responded to the survey. Some of the interesting highlights of this survey are as follows:
- 61% used fence line weaning
- 73% introduced concentrate feed prior to weaning either by creep feeding or limited hand feeding
- 78% castrated calves prior to 3 months of age
- 71% implanted their steers
- 78% sold their calves in some type of special preconditioned sale
- 53% fed an ionophore such as Rumensin or Bovatec in either the mineral or feed
- 49% plan to review their management practices based on closeout results
A deeper dive into the database yielded more information on two of the practices highlighted. The first of these showed that how producers marketed their calves affected price received relative to the state average price. Calves selling in special preconditioned sales averaged $9.46 per cwt. over the state average. Calves selling in non-preconditioned sales and/or private treaty averaged $3.25 per cwt. over the state average. A difference of $6.21 per cwt.
Another interesting find was the effect that time of castration had on steer average daily gain during the postweaning period. Steers castrated at or near weaning had average daily gains of only .08 lb. more than their heifer mates (2.23 vs. 2.15), whereas steers castrated prior to 3 months of age gained .39 lb. more than their heifer mates (2.49 vs. 2.10). Although not a controlled study, I think we can safely say that the early castrated calves had a weight gain advantage due to less stress at weaning. A conservative assumption of an added .30 lb. per day in this example could possibly result in an extra 20-25 lb. per head, which in today’s market could be an additional $70-90 per head.
An additional indicator of the level of management by the 41 producers in the survey was the morbidity and mortality rate among the 1,645 calves. Sickness was reported in only 32 calves (1.95% morbidity). Of these 32 calves, 28 were on the same farm that must comingle calves into one central weaning facility from several different herds. Death loss for the 1,645 calves totaled 4 head for a mortality rate of 0.24%.
It should be noted that two of these calves were from operations that castrate at weaning. The extremely low rate of mortality and morbidity among these 52 different groups of calves further reinforces the argument that the best place for a calf to be castrated and weaned is on the farm where it was born.
Although all the practices highlighted by the survey cannot be necessarily quantified in dollars and cents given the lack of controlled comparisons in this dataset, most of these areas of management have sound economic justification. Most participants in the Advanced PVAP program are embracing these practices to ensure that the calves are ready to transition and thrive at weaning thereby minimizing production risks.
But what about market risk? Maybe the next detail our PVAP producers should consider is purchasing Livestock Risk Protection (LRP), especially as we go forward in this extremely high and volatile market.
This is just one example of how managing the details can pay dividends when preconditioning and marketing our calves. I think we would all agree that paying attention to detail and getting the little things right can apply to all areas of management and position our operations for the future.
Maybe we can edit that old stockyard check stub to read “A person who manages the details and has a paid off cow herd will be ready to ride the next turn of the cattle cycle.”
