Feeding and Managing Beef Cattle

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Feeding and Managing Beef Cattle

• Chapter 26

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• Chapter 26 Feeding and Managing Beef Cattle
• What should be major goals of cow-calf producers?
• What affects cow-calf percentages?
• What affects weaning weights?
• What affects annual cow costs?
• What factors affect the profitability of
  stocker-yearling producers?
• Explain the differences between the two types of
  cattle feeding operations.
• What affects the profitability of feedlot
  systems?
• Explain the four major environment issues
  affecting the cattle feeding industry.

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Cow-Calf Management

• Need to generate profits and provide
  opportunities for other producers
• How to assess profitability
• Calf-crop percentage weaned
• Average weight of calves at weaning
• Annual cow cost

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Cow-Calf Management
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Cow-Calf Management

• Good Management
• Know what affects calf-crop
• Weaning weight and annual cow cost
• Goal
• Improve number of lbs weaned per cow
• Reduce or control annual cow costs

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Cow-Calf Management

• Primary Objectives
• Heifers need a balanced ration
• Obtain puberty at months of age (breed at 14
  to 15 mo.)
• British
• Continental
• Calve at years old
• Heifers should be bred to calve early in the
  season
• More likely to rebreed at 2 and 3 years of age
• Heifers typically have longer postpartum interval
  than cows. What can be done?

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Cow-Calf Management

• Primary Objectives
• 4. Design a feeding program for heifers and cows
  to be in moderate body condition
• Evaluate your cattle for body condition scores
• BCS 1 Extremely Thin
• no fat, ribs obvious
• BCS 5 6 Moderate Condition
• good appearance, fat over ribs tail-head
• BCS 9 Extremely Fat
• Fat around ribs tail-head, poor mobility

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• Body Condition Scores

BCS 3 BCS 4 BCS 5 BCS 6 BCS 7
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Cow-Calf Management

• Primary Objectives
• 5. Check cows frequently during calving time
• Especially heifers!
• Dystocia
• 6. Calving difficulty should be minimized
• Usually cannot be eliminated
• High birth weights dystocia high weaning
  weights
• Low birth weights calving ease increased
  death rate

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Cow-Calf Management

• Primary Objectives
• 7. Bull examination
• Breeding soundness exam
• Conformation and skeletal soundness
• Palpate reproductive organs
• Measure Scrotal Circumference
• Test semen for motility and mobility
• Libido is important
• Bull-to-Cow Ratio

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Cow-Calf Management

• Primary Objectives
• 8. Crossbreeding effects calf-crop (8 -12 )
• Higher conception rates
• Calves are more vigorous
• Primary nutritional factor influencing calf-crop
  percentage is adequate energy intake
• lbs of Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN)
• initiate puberty, maintain BCS, shortening
  postpartum interval
• vitamins and minerals
• calcium, phosphorus, and protein
• deficiencies in soil and feed

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Cow-Calf Management

• Primary Objectives
• 10. Calf losses during gestation
• Usually low (2 3)
• Reproductive diseases
• Brucellosis, Leptospirosis, Vibriosis, IBR
• Manage by blood testing
• Vaccinations (Herd Health Program)
• 11. Calf losses 1 to 2 d following birth
• Usually low (2 3)
• Death losses caused by

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Optimum Weaning Weights

• Factors Affecting Weaning Weights
• Calves born early in the calving season are
  typically heavier, as they are older.
• Each missed estrus cycle causes a calf to be 30
  to 40 lbs lighter at weaning
• Limit your breeding season to
• Forage availability influences cows BCS and calf
  weaning weight
• When will a calf start to consume forage?

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Optimum Weaning Weights

• Factors Affecting Weaning Weights
• 3. Growth stimulants given to nursing calves
  will increase weaning weight by
• Ralgro, Synovex C, and Compudose
• pellets given under the skin of the ear
• Do not use on replacement bulls and heifer
• Causes reproductive problems
• The use of implants may lower the incidence of
  cattle grading USDA Choice and may decrease
  palatability

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Optimum Weaning Weights

• Factors Affecting Weaning Weights
• 4. Creep Feeding
• May not always be profitable
• Creep feeding can impair development of the
  mammary system and later in life reduce milk
  production in replacement heifers
• Fat accumulates in the udder and crowds secretory
  tissue
• 5. Some diseases can affect the milk supply of
  cow and growth rate of the calf, reducing weaning
  weight

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Optimum Weaning Weights

• Factors Affecting Weaning Weights
• 6. Genetically select for milk production and
  calf growth
• Look at EPDS
• Effective bull selection can account for 80 -90
  of the herds genetic improvement
• Effective selection can increase weaning weights
  4 6 lbs per year per calf
• 7. Crossbreeding
• increase in pounds of calf
  weaned per cow
• Increase occurs because of
• Improved reproductive performance,
• Heterosis and increased milk production
• Life-time performance of crossbreed cows is
  better than purebreds
• Wean a greater number of calves that tend to be
  heavier

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Management for Low Annual Cow Costs

• Top five ways to reduce costs

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Management for Low Annual Cow Costs

• Feed costs
• Accounts for of annual cow costs
• Weaning to last 1/3 of gestation in next
  pregnancy cows can be maintained at lower costs
• Use crop aftermath for feed
• Cornstalks, grain stubble, straw
• Maximize grazed forage

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Management for Low Annual Cow Costs

• Labor costs
• Accounts 15 20 of annual cow costs
• Per head
• Interest charges
• Accounts for 10 15 of annual cow cost

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Management for Low Annual Cow Costs

• Pregnancy Checking
• When should cows and heifers be palpated?
• Producer may want to sell open cows
• Failure to preg-check cows
• Higher annual cow costs
• Lower calf-crop percentages
• Higher break-even costs

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Stocker-Yearling Production

• Goal
• obtain the most pounds of gain within economic
  reason, yet insuring high-quality forage yields
• Primary factors affecting costs and returns
• Marketing (both purchasing and selling)
• Amount of and quality of forage and roughage

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Stocker-Yearling Production

• Need to be aware of current market prices
• Buying and selling
• Understand shrink
• Can reflect profit and loss
• Yearlings shrink 3 12

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Stocker-Yearling Production

• Gaining ability
• High gaining potential
• Health
• Cattle can exchange hands many times until
  arriving at their final destination or feedlot
• Exposed to disease, hunger, thirst, and fatigue
• Poor health programs lead to higher costs of gain
  and higher death losses

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Cattle Feeding Operations

• Commercial Feeders
• having more than 1,000 head one-time capacity
• Cattle typically owned by someone other than the
  owners of the facilities
• Custom feedlot or custom feeding
• Farmer Feeders
• having less than 1,000 head one-time capacity
• Cattle typically owned and operated by a family

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Cattle Feeding Operations

• Number of farm feeder operations decreasing
• Pros and Cons of the different types of
  operations
• Family Feeders
• Utilize homegrown feeds
• Utilize high roughage feeds in backgrounding
• Distribute labor over several enterprises
• Flexibility-
• Reduced risk
• Commercial Feeders
• Obtain and analyze better records and have more
  professional expertise
• Problems with keep lots full

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Feedlot Cattle Management

• What are the primary factors influencing a
  feedlot operation?
• 
  

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Feedlot Cattle Management

• Facilities Investment
• Varies with facility type and location
• Typical-
• Farmer Feeders lots may differ

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Feedlot Cattle Management

• Cost of Feeder Cattle
• Prior to purchasing cattle, need to determine
  feed costs and what the prices will be when ready
  for slaughter
• Use these figures to determine how much you can
  spend for feeder calves

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Feedlot Cattle Management

• Feeder cattle are price according to
• Gender
• Heifers are usually a few cent cheaper per pound
• Weight
• Skeletal size
• BCS
• Buy cattle with compensatory gain
• Older and lightweight
• Grow rapidly to compensate for previous lack of
  energy in their diet

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Feedlot Cattle Management

• Feed Costs
• 60 -75 of total costs of gain are from feed
  costs
• Feed cost can be influenced by many factors
• Feed additives and implants improve gain and feed
  efficiency and lower cost of gain
• Feed costs increase as days on feed increase

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Feedlot Cattle Management

• Nonfeed Costs
• Yardage
• cost of gain other than feed
• Death loss and veterinary costs can greatly
  increase nonfeed costs

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Production and Prices

• Low production high prices
• Producers save more replacement heifers and cull
  fewer cows during times of high prices
• Increased production increase amount of beef
  available to the consumer
• Low beef prices producers will cull more cows and
  keep less replacements

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Environmental Management

• What are the primary environmental issues for
  feedyards?