The current conditions that we have been dealing with for the last year or so are making the need to cull even more needed. There simply are not enough forages to keep every animal. Not to mention the prospect of very tight hay supplies this winter makes the prospect of feeding even more difficult
Just because you are getting rid of an animal does not mean that it is worthless. Cull cows represent about 20% of the gross income of any commercial cow operation. Here are some simple guidelines that you can follow to get the most return from your culled animals.
What is a cull?
Suppose we should get the most basic information out of the way first. To put it simply a cull is any animal that you want to get rid of. These animals can be sold either to an auction barn or an individual seller, another option is that it is taken to the slaughterhouse. This can be for a variety of reasons but the end result is still the same, they are cut from the herd.
As I mentioned there can be a variety of reasons to get rid of an animal but predominately there are 4 factors that are the most common. Age, pregnancy status, the economy, or poor performance are the most cited by producers on why they are gotten rid of. According to a study done by the National Animal Health Monitoring System back in 1997, the majority of the culls (39.8%) were because of age. Pregnancy status came in 2nd with 24.3%.
As you are probably aware drought conditions can also affect when animals are culled. This goes back to the economics part of the 4 categories. However, it is up to the individual producer to decide on which ones they will cull and which ones they will not.
Factors to consider
Culling an animal from the herd is often more than just picking an animal at random and getting rid of them. You need to look at which ones are working for your overall goal and which ones are dragging you down.
Reproductive rate is one of the greatest profitability determinants in your cow-calf operation. Open cows are a drain on your resources because they consume feed without providing a marketable calf. You should cull any cows that are open at the end of your breeding season. Another group that should be looked at for potentially being culled is your late-calving cows. Late-calving cows are less likely to be rebred within the time of a controlled breeding season.
Cows that possess inferior genetics for economically important performance traits are potential culls. You should remove cows with EPDs that doesn’t compare favorably with breed or herd averages in the traits you want. The reason is that they will pass these traits to their offspring. This again is a management decision based on where you want your herd’s genetics to go.
This one can be a bit subjective. The productive lifetime of a cow can vary based on geographic region or even the breed of that cow. Research done in Florida has shown that there is a decline in reproductive performance after the cow reaches 10 years of age. They also have shown an even deeper decline in performance after she has reached 12 years of age. The ideal time to cull cows for their advancing age is before they begin to show severe declines in reproductive or maternal performance.
Structural soundness is important from the standpoint of functionality. Problems with her structure can hamper how well she moves around in the pasture. It can also affect if she will be able to eat enough to maintain proper body condition. Working with cows requires an annual examination of their teeth and mouths. Also, you should inspect her udder since that is how she will be nursing a calf.
Highly excitable animals are dangerous to other animals as well as you. It is because of this danger that they are prime candidates for culling. Because calves inherit a genetic component of temperament it is a good idea to remove them from the gene pool altogether.
How to cull
Now we can get to the nuts and bolts of the matter. Of course, before you can make any decisions you will first need to keep good records of all of your animals. You cannot make any informed decisions if you do not know what the metrics even are. Keep track of things like how often she calves, the overall health of both dam and calf, and even the performance of all of her offspring.
Now that you have that here is the next step. Next, separate the ones you want to get rid of from the rest of the herd. A different paddock or just some pens will do. The key thing here is to get them out of the herd. Then you can make a decision of whether to hold them for a bit longer or load them up and haul them off. I will give some ideas on how to increase their value later.
Finally, you will haul them off to either the auction barn or, in some cases, the slaughterhouse. Paying you for getting rid of them is the next step.
To not negatively impact your breeding herd for years to come there is a system you can follow. In this system, you select the ones that need to go and work your way down. I go into more detail about this in a previous post “How destocking can ease your pain”.
How to increase their value
There are some occasions where getting rid of them immediately is not always the best. Understanding the market can increase the amount of money that you will get for them. But as with most things, it is all in the timing of when you get rid of them.
Prices for cull animals are typically lower in the fall months. This is largely due to the fact that this is when most people are getting rid of their culls too. With this flood in the market prices usually reaches their highest points during the spring months of March, April, and May. If you have the resources available holding them till the spring may be a good option for you.
When deciding on whether to hold them over or not you need to look at the cost of feeding them. Feeding for maintenance is the cheapest option but it is still a cost. Investing too much money can negate any possible return that you may get.