Deciding which cows to cull is a challenging task for most producers. Sometimes, their personal feelings about that particular animal get in the way. There are even sometimes, they need to know which ones are underperforming and which ones need to be kept.
The current conditions 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 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?
We should get the most basic information out of the way first. Simply put, a cull is any animal you want to get rid of. Producers can sell these animals to an auction barn or an individual seller; another option is to take them to the slaughterhouse. Getting rid of them can be for various reasons, but the 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. Still, predominately, four factors 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 probably know, drought conditions can also affect when animals are culled. Culling due to drought returns to the economics part of the four categories. However, it is up to the individual producer to decide which ones they will cull and which ones will not.
Factors to consider
Culling an animal from the herd is often more than just picking an animal randomly and getting rid of them. It would be best to look at which ones are working for your overall goal and which are dragging you down.
This one can be 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 ten years of age. They also established an even deeper performance decline after she 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.
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, removing them from the gene pool is a good idea.
Reproduction and genetics
Reproductive rate is one of your cow-calf operation’s most significant profitability determinants. Open cows drain your resources because they consume feed without providing a marketable calf. It would help if you culled any open cows at the end of your breeding season. Another group that should be considered for 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 essential performance traits are potential culls. You should remove cows with EPDs that don’t compare favorably with breed or herd averages in your desired qualities. 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.
Structural soundness is essential from the standpoint of functionality. Problems with the cow’s structure can hamper how well it moves around in the pasture. It can also affect if the cow can eat enough to maintain proper body condition. Working with cows requires an annual examination of their teeth and mouths. Also, it would be best to inspect its udder since that is how she will be nursing a calf.
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 can only make informed decisions if you know the metrics. Keep track of things like how often the cow calves, the overall health of both dam and calf, and even the performance of all of its 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 critical 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 only sometimes 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 lower price is mainly 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 reach 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 whether to hold them over, 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.
