BEEF CATTLE MANAGEMENT

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BEEF CATTLEMANAGEMENT

• by
• David R. Hawkins
• Michigan State University

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Comparison of Dairy Beef Industries
DAIRY BEEF
Biology same same
End Products Milk Meat Meat
Industry Structure Single Unit Full Time Segmented Part Time
Management Intensive Extensive
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Comparison of Dairy Beef Industries
DAIRY BEEF
Milk Level High Mod. to Low
Breeds 1 to 5 70
Crossbreeding Rare Frequent
Use of A.I. Extensive Limited
Genetic Traits 1 Primary Multiple
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U.S. BEEF INDUSTRY STRUCTURE

• Seedstock
• Commercial Cow-Calf
• Dairy
• Stocker/Backgrounder
• Feedlot
• Packer
• Retailer
• Consumer

• 120,000 breeders
• 904,000 producers
• 117,000 farms
• 44,000 feedlots
• 1,250 packers
• 250 food chains
• 270 million

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BEEF INDUSTRY TIMELINE

• Conception to Calving
• Calving to Weaning
• Stocker/Backgrounder
• Feedlot
• Packer
• Retailer
• Consumer
• Total

• 9 months
• 6 to 8 months
• Variable (2 to 8 mo.)
• Variable (3 to 7 mo.)
• 3 to 7 days
• Variable
• Variable
• About 30 to 32 mo.

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SIZE of CATTLE OPERATIONS

• Dairy and feedlots tend to be full time.
• Beef cow herds tend to be part time
• U.S. average herd size is 38 head
• 1 to 49 hd 28.9 of cows (78 of farms)
• 50 to 99 hd 19.1 of cows (12 of farms)
• 100 to 499 hd 37.1 of cows (9 of farms)
• gt500 head 14.9 of cows (0.7 of farms)

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BREED REGISTRATIONS 2001

• Angus 271,222
• Hereford 80,976
• Limousin 49,036
• Charolais 45,354
• Simmental 44,159
• Red Angus 41,900
• Gelbvieh 32,323
• Beefmaster 30,416

• Brangus 25,500
• Shorthorn 21,608
• Brahman 15,000
• Maine Anjou 12,267
• S. Gertrudis 11,500
• Salers 10,286
• Chianina 6,679
• T.Longhorn 6,200

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BREED WEBSITE

• Oklahoma State University maintains an excellent
  web page for breeds of livestock.
• www.ansi.okstate.edu/BREEDS/index.htm

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BEEF BREEDING SYSTEMS

• Straight breeding
• Crossbreeding
• Breed complementarity
• Heterosis or hybrid vigor
• Individual heterosis
• Maternal Heterosis

• Two Breed Cross
• Terminal Sire
• Two Breed Rotation
• Three Breed Rotation
• Rotation terminal Sire
• Composite

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Effects of Heterosis on Lbs. of Calf Weaned per
Cow Mated
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Example of a Three Breed Rotational System
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BREEDING SEASON MGT. I

• Breeding Soundness Exam
• Natural Service with Bulls
• Yearling 10 to 20 females
• Two Year Old 20 to 30 females
• Mature bull 30 to 40 females
• Artificial Insemination
• Less than 5 of cows in commercial herds
• Up to 40 of cows in seedstock herds

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BREEDING SEASON MGT. II

• Limited season results in uniform calf crop
• 60 days would be ideal
• 100 to 120 days is more common
• Michigan Beef Cows Calving by Month
• Jan. Feb. 7.3
• March 24.2
• April 39.7
• May 17.1
• Other 11.8

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BREEDING SEASON MGT. III

• At weaning (7 mo.) heifers should weigh 45 of
  mature weight.
• At breeding (15 mo.) heifers should weigh 65 of
  mature weight.
• At calving (24 mo.) heifers should weigh 85 of
  mature weight.
• Measure pelvic areas prior to breeding
• Use light birth weight and low birth weight EPD
  bulls for mating to heifers

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MICHIGAN COW CALF NUTRITION

• Pasture 5/15 to 10/30 165 days
• 1 to 5 acres per cow calf pair
• Harvested Forage 11/01 to 5/14 200 days
• Corn stalk residue 30 to 60 days
• Grass-legume hay or silage 140 to 200 days
• Free Choice Minerals
• Salt, Ca, P, Mg Trace Minerals
• Clean fresh water

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COMMON NUTRTIONAL PROBLEMS in BEEF COWS

• Thin Cows
• Body Condition Scores (1 to 9) 5 to 6 is ideal
• Calving Difficulty Delayed Rebreeding
• Dry vs. Lactating
• Fat Cows
• Calving Difficulty and Reduced Milk Flow
• Legume Bloat
• Grass Tetany

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SEPARATE HERD INTO MANAGEMENT GROUPS

• Bred Heifers Thin Cows
• Dry Mature Cows
• Lactating Cows
• Weaned Heifer Calves
• Mature Herd Sires
• Young Bulls

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HERD HEALTH PROGRAM I

• Calving Season
• Colostrum within first hours after birth
• Iodine navel
• Selenium Vitamin E
• Scour Vaccine (E.coli 7/or Viruses)
• Castrate Dehorn
• Implant non replacement calves
• Vaccinate Cows (IBR, BVD, PI3 Lepto)

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HERD HEALTH PROGRAM II

• Pasture and Breeding Season
• Deworm Control Flies
• Vaccinate heifer calves for Brucellosis
• Consider Blackleg Malignant Edema
• Creep feeding is optional
• Keep free choice mineral available

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HERD HEALTH PROGRAM III

• Preweaning
• Vaccinate calves for IBR, BVD, PI3, Blackleg
  Hemophilis somnus
• Castrate and dehorn if not done earlier
• Get calves used to eating grain drinking water
  from troughs
• Weaning Time
• Pregnancy check females exposed to breeding

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HERD HEALTH PROGRAM IV

• Booster vaccinations
• Grub lice control
• Late Gestation
• Check mineral for P and Se
• Treat for lice if they are a problem
• Consider scour vaccine for cows bred heifers

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RECORD KEEPING

• 27.6 of beef cow calf operations have no records
  at all.
• 65.2 keep records by hand
• Source- National survey of 3,300 producers in 48
  states

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Types of Records

• Inventory
• Ancestral
• Performance
• Birth, weaning and yearling data
• Health
• Vaccinations and examinations
• Financial IRM SPA

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EXPECTED PROGENY DIFFERENCES (EPD)

• EPDs can be calculated for any trait that we can
  measure.
• EPDs are estimates of the genetic ability of
  animals to transmit to their progeny
• EPDs are expressed in the same units as the trait
  is measured
• Analyses are done by the national breed
  associations

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EPDs continued

• Breed average is not 0.
• EPDs change over time as more information enters
  the analyses.
• Most breeds run two analyses per year.
• They are widely used and widely accepted in the
  industry
• Accuracy ranges from 0 to .99

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IRM SPA

• Integrated Resource Management (IRM) is a system
  approach to managing a farm or ranch.
• Standardized Performance Analysis (SPA) is a way
  of analyzing records of both production and
  financial performance of a farm or ranch in order
  to make better decisions and impact profitability.

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2000 ILLINOIS SPA SUMMARY

• Calf Crop Weaned 82.9
• Average Weaning Weight 486 lbs.
• Lbs.weaned/Cow Exposed 420 lbs.
• Annual Cow Cost 305
• Feed cost was 209
• Breakeven Calf Price 73/cwt.
• Investment per cow 1,858

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HOW TO IMPROVE PROFIT

• Improve Reproductive Rate
• Wean Heavier Calves
• Wean Higher Value Calves
• Develop Alliances and Retain Ownership
• Reduce Cow Herd Costs
• Use cattle inventory and price cycles in
  management decision making

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CATTLE INVENTORY PRICE CYCLES

• High inventory low prices
• Low inventory high prices
• Historically cattle inventory cycles have
  averaged 9.6 years long from peak to peak.
• In 2001, we are at the low inventory part of this
  cycle.
• Cow calf producers should be profitable for the
  next 4 to 5 years.

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STOCKER/BACKGROUNDER

• Purchase weaned calves in fall, sell in the
  spring
• Goal is 1.5 to 1.75 lb. ADG
• Moderate energy, high roughage rations
• Growth and normal development are the goals
  Fattening is not a goal.
• Grazing winter wheat in the southern plains
  states from November to March
• Wintering on hay /or silage in Michigan

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STOCKER/BACKGROUNDER continued

• Buy yearlings in late winter and graze in summer.
• Goal is 180 to 300 lb. gain in 120 to 150 days
• Some programs will combine both a winter stocker
  and summer grazing program before entering the
  feedlot.

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STARTING CATTLE ON FEED

• First day begin with top quality grass hay
• Second day top dress hay with grain or silage
• Transition to high energy ration should be made
  over 10 to 14 days to avoid digestive upsets.
• Dont use all NPN supplements until calves weigh
  at least 600 lbs.
• Keep fresh feed and water available at all times

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FEEDLOT NUTRITION

• Grains Corn, Barley Milo
• Roughages Corn Silage, Alfalfa Hay or Haylage
• Protein Supplements
• Soybean or Cottonseed Meals
• Brewers Grains
• Urea or Anhydrous Ammonia

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NUTRITIONAL PROBLEMS

• Acidosis on high energy rations
• Ionophores (Rumensin or Bovatec) help
• Founder (laminitis) on high energy rations
• Bloat
• Urinary calculi
• Need CaP ratio gt 1.1
• Often occurs on high energy diets

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FEEDLOT STEERS HEIFERS

• Steers gain 8 to 15 faster than heifers of same
  body size.
• Steers consume 5 to 10 more feed than heifers.
• Heifers require 2 to 10 more lbs. of feed per
  lb. of gain than steers
• Some feeders tend to over fatten heifers
• To be equal in profit, heifers must be purchased
  about 10 to 15 less per cwt. than steers.

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FEEDLOT STEERS BULLS

• Bulls gain more rapidly and more efficiently than
  steers.
• Bulls produce leaner carcasses that are more
  variable in tenderness than steer carcasses.
• Bulls are more difficult to manage than steers or
  heifers.
• There is only a limited market for bull beef.

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AGE OF FEEDLOT CATTLE

• Yearlings gain 10 to 20 faster than calves
  depending on weight and condition.
• Yearlings consume 10 to 40 more feed than
  calves.
• Yearlings are less efficient in converting feed
  to gain than calves.
• Yearlings require fewer days in the feedlot to
  reach final weight and carcass grade.
• Western U.S. feedlots prefer to feed yearlings.

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BREED EFFECTS

• Larger continental breeds gain faster than
  British breeds, but must be carried to heavier
  weights to grade choice.
• There is little difference in feed efficiency
  when fed to the same carcass endpoint.
• Holsteins require about 10 more feed per lb. of
  gain than beef breeds but ADG is similar to beef
  breeds.

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EFFECT OF BODY CONDITION

• When placed on comparable diets, thin cattle gain
  faster and more efficiently than fatter cattle.
• This phenomenon is called compensatory gain.
• Cattle feeders try to avoid buying fat feeder
  cattle unless they are priced somewhat lower per
  cwt. than thin feeder cattle.

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FEEDLOT PROFIT OR LOSS

• Dekalb feedlots average profit per head over a 23
  year period was 26.
• Profitability is influenced by changes in the
  grain and cattle markets.
• Risk can be controlled by use of contracts and
  trading for future market access.
• Marketing skills are critical for success.

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