Visit any sale barn you’ll find misfits — feeder calves that don’t exhibit in-demand characteristics. They might be bulls, horned, odd colored or any number of adjectives that slot them in a discounted or high-risk group.
Richard Porter, a stocker from Reading, Kan., has found success seeking out high-risk calves, typically from the Southeast. His strategy is buying cheap calves and adding value through management and nutrition, so they will sell for at least average money.
“Of course, there’s going to be a major health challenge buying freshly weaned calves from a long distance away,” Porter says about the calves he buys. “That’s the bad news. The good news is that the market discounts them because of the expected health challenge, and we have specialized facilities to help deal with those challenges.”
Porter typically purchases averaging 350 lb. with the goal of selling at 825 lb. to 950 lb. The calves are sold in large groups, 200 to 500 head, which helps maximize market value.
He says it is time to sell when, “his cost per pound of additional gain exceeds the market price he would receive for those additional pounds.”
Specialized facilities
A key to helping Porter manage health are his facilities — 16 receiving pens, each with a 10-to-15-acre grass trap — that allow cattle to spend only four hours confined for feeding and observation and the rest of the time on grass.
“Getting them out of the mud and getting some degree of separation slows down the transmission of disease,” Porter explains. “The first 30 days we focus on animal health.”
Cattle stay in the receiving pens for 30 days. They then move out to larger 65-acre traps for the next 15 days where they can still be monitored and pulled for treatment if necessary. After 45 days, the cattle are then transitioned to section or half-section pastures.
Adding value through nutrition
Porter works with an independent nutritionist who formulates rations based on the cattles’ needs and forage availability.
For the first 30 days, the new calves are limit-fed.
“We want them to clean up the feed in about three to four hours,” he says. “Even cattle that are sick will usually come up and eat because they know if they don’t eat now, they have to wait until tomorrow.”
During that time, the mixed starting ration includes ground hay, wet distillers, a small amount of silage and supplement pellets that include trace minerals, ionophores and vitamins. They also have access to the grass.
After the first 30 days, Porters’ focus transitions from health to cost-effective gain. At this time, the feeding strategy also transitions to feeding ad libitum — providing feed all day long.
Once the cattle are turned to the large pastures, they continue to be supplemented with wet distillers and a pre-mix containing trace minerals, ionophores and vitamins.
Traditional Kansas stocker operations with a double-stocking strategy will turn calves out May 1 and pull end of July. Season-long grazing is May 1 to middle of October. Porter’s nutrition strategy and facilities allow him to purchase cattle for nine months and not follow the traditional stocker season.
“Supplementation allows me to buy cattle over a wider window of time,” Porter explains. “So, I’m not overloading my crew or buying my calves when they’re most expensive, and it provides adequate weight gain when placing small calves on mature grass. This is like ‘range cubing’ cattle, but at a higher rate because wet distillers is cheaper than range cubes.”
Before December arrives, the cattle are moved from grass into his feedlot and fed corn silage supplemented with wet distillers until they reach market weight.
Other strategies
Providing adequate shade is another strategy Porter says is key during the first 30 days as calves fight off disease and may be running a fever.
Porter says he is not afraid to purchase bull calves.
“Our data is similar to other industry data that cattle arriving as a bull versus a steer, you have between two and two and a half times the death loss,” he admits. “But in many cases, the discount of the bull favors bringing in bulls, even with the higher death loss.”
He adds the his employees are important to his operation’s success.
“Probably the most important factor is having fantastic employees who are internally motivated to take great care of animals,” he says. “I am blessed to have some of the best.”
A sincere concern for animal welfare and health is what drives Porter and his staff. His specialized facilities and management approach help transform high-risk calves into profitable assets.
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