Bull buying basics
According to beef2live.com, Georgia cattle producers own 1.3 million head of cattle worth more than $676 million.
Annual cash receipts for cattle in Georgia are more than $262 million. These figures make cattle production Georgia’s sixth largest cash crop. In Gordon County, we estimate there are 10,000 head of brood cows.
This makes cattle production locally very economically important to cattle producers. The majority of our local cattle farms are of the commercial cow/calf production variety where calves are sold at or soon after weaning. We do have a good number of registered herds of various cattle breeds such as Angus, Simmental or Brangus for example where the goal is to raise other registered cattle.
We also have local farms that may produce show quality livestock to be exhibited at national and local events. Today, we will center on the importance of making the correct bull purchases and basics when making these important farm management decisions. I will be using information from a revised UGA publication by former UGA Beef Specialists, Ted G. Dyer and Ronnie Silcox.
You should never take the task of buying a bull for your cow herd lightly. If you have a small cow herd, you may only need one bull. This means in these scenarios that the bull purchased will be half of the genetic make-up of every calf on your farm. Making a bad purchase can negatively influence your calf crop.
Locally, we have many cattle producers that have hundreds of beef cows with land spread over many areas. This may dictate the purchase of many bulls. No matter the situation, bull buying is one of the most important decisions you will make on the farm. You should never consider purchasing a bull without a proven record and a sound genetic background. If you use a bull with poor performance, it can delay the improvements in your herd for years. Many times, cattle producers may say they just can’t purchase a higher priced bull. When it is time to replace a bull, keep the following point in mind and it may help writing that check easier. Let us say for example, the bull you would like to purchase is $3,000.
The bull you are planning on selling weighs 1800 pounds and at that time is worth $1 per pound at auction. That means the bull you are going to sell may bring $1,800. When you do the math, the net cost of the new bull would be $1,200. I will advise to do your homework to see what the bull you are selling is worth based on the market at the time of selling.
Another basic in bull buying is to take advantage of selection tools such as birth, weaning and yearling weights to evaluation bulls. Actual or adjusted weights according to our information will be an aid in making comparisons between bulls in the same contemporary group. Take advantage of EPDs or Expected Progeny Differences when buying a bull also. An EPD for a trait can be a help in determining a bull’s genetic worth. EPD’s will not only account for contemporary group and herd differences, but will also include information on a bull’s relatives as well as the bull’s individual performance.
Keep in mind that in the commercial cattle industry, cattle producers are paid on pounds of calf which can make the traits of weaning and yearling weight very important. I will add here that many times, cattle producers will need bulls to breed replacement heifers. First calf heifers will be a group that will have the most calving difficulty. This makes finding those bulls with a low birth weight EPD important. Birth weight of the calf can be the single most important trait that influences calving difficulty issues. When doing a visual observation of a potential bull to purchase, there are a few things to consider.
The bull needs to be functionally sound per our information. Keep in mind that you want to keep the bull for several years so he needs to be structurally correct on his feet and legs. The bull should not have swollen joints and should be able to move freely and easily. Stay away from nervous bulls with a poor disposition. Bulls as they mature can get large and a bull with a bad disposition can be difficult to handle and could pass on the behavior to offspring. You should request a copy of the health records for that bull also.
Many cattle producers will have a controlled breeding season. This means they are trying to have the resulting calves all born in a certain period of time. Having calves born at one time of year can cut down on labor costs in calving season, makes the calf crop more uniform and even more financially valuable.
This means needing a pasture to isolate bulls in the non-breeding time of year. Some smaller cattle producers do not have the needed space for bull housing. This is where using artificial insemination of the cow herd may be a more viable option and then leasing a bull to breed any cows that did not conceive A.I. may be a farm consideration.