Which cows do I sell?
Today, I am going to put on my animal science hat for our weekly article. Do you know that we estimate there are 10,000 cows in Gordon County?
That is not counting the offspring from the brood cows that make up our herds. We have cattle producers that may have a handful of grass eaters up to cattle producers that may have five hundred or more cows in their herds.
To keep a beef herd young and productive, culling of the herd has to take place. Today, I will be discussing culling management considerations with help from information by Dr. Ronnie Silcox, former UGA Beef Specialist.
For starters, if you own cattle, what is the goal with the herd? Do you own cows and consider the operation as a business venture or do you simply want grass eaters that can cut down on the number of times you have to bush hog pastures? If you truly want to maintain a productive herd, culling needs to be part of your management decisions.
Sometimes due to drought or loss of leased land, culling has to take place at larger numbers. I will add that annually especially in the larger herds, culling considerations need to be discussed to keep the herd again young and productive.
I remember over ten years ago, we were in a serious drought. I had a Bartow County client call me about her cows and how she should feed them during drought. I recommended culling of a few of the non-productive members of the herd to generate cash funds to buy feed or hay. For this client, that was not an option because she considered the cows more as pets than livestock to generate a profit. I could relate to the client in a sense because over the years my daughters, siblings and myself have shown cattle.
It has been always hard to sell an old show heifer after her productive years have passed as a cow.
When making culling decisions, the first cows that may be considered are the open cows. Cows have on the average a 283-day gestation period. After birthing a calf, the cow will raise that animal for five to six months before weaning. You hope after calving a mature cow will breed back in approximately 45 days.
If you are trying to run a productive herd, an open cow that will not be giving you a financial return to the operation should be culled. She will still be eating feed and hay plus will be grazing pasture. You may also be deworming and vaccinating that cow along with the rest of the herd. If looking at the farm as a business, she is costing you money instead of making a financial return.
You also need to consider removing cows from the herd without calves. Cows that lost a calf for any reason should be removed. A cow that lost a calf due to sickness, predation or accident may be considered for culling. If the cow has a great production record, you may have the option of grafting a new calf on to the cow. This may cost you money in purchasing a baby calf, but if the pair will bond that cow will have a calf to raise for that year. Grafting of a calf to a cow is something that takes experience and patience by the producer. If you have not done this before, you need to talk to your vet or a very experienced cattle producer for grafting tips.
As cows get older, they can develop problems with udders, eyes and have issues with structural soundness. We have a lot of up and down terrain in NW Georgia so a cow has to be sound on her feet and legs.
Cows that are breaking down structurally or have vision or udder problems should be considered for culling. I will add that another consideration is the removal of older cows from a productive herd. A cow’s productivity will start to decline after 10 years of age on the average. Culling of older cows should be a management decision evaluated annually.
Record keeping on a farm is important. It can be a computer program where you keep up with data such as weaning weights of offspring produced by a cow. In the great majority of cow/calf operations across the United States, cattlemen are paid on pounds of calf produced.
Some of this is tied to the milking ability of the cow. Cows that always produce the lightest calves at weaning should be considered for culling from the herd. If you do not keep written records, use the appearance of the calf to determine if it is time to cull the cow. Late calving cows are other members of the herd that should be considered for culling.
Most cattle producers are on a controlled breeding season. This means when calving season arrives, the calves should be born in a set window of time. This can help the producer with marketing of the calf crop in tighter markets. This can also help with labor costs with a shorter calving season. Removal of the late calving cows will shorten the calving season. Also, if you wean all calves at one time annually, those late calving cows normally have the lightest calves.
Finally, wild cows or cows with poor temperament should always be up for culling consideration.