Chapters 25 & 26
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Understanding of the approaches to
improving cattle performance through
feeding, environment, management, genetics
Knowledge of various management practices
associated with cow/calf, feeder, and
finishing
Discuss the role of environmental
management in cattle feeding
Investigate the economic picture of the beef
industry
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>250 breeds identified
◦ 100’s others not identified w/ a breed name
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Breeds distinguished by:
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Color
Color pattern
Polled/horned
Extreme differences in form or shape
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Purebred cattle
◦ What does it mean to be purebred?
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Major U.S. breeds
◦ Early 1900’s Shorthorn, Hereford, and Angus were
primary breeds
◦ Today >60 breeds available
 <20 have widespread impact on the national herd
◦ Registration numbers
 Angus, Limousin, Simmental, Hereford are the most
common in regard to registrations
◦ Breeds
 http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/BREEDS/index.htm
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Selected animals that are superior to herd
average
Selecting traits that are highly heritable
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Economically important traits
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Reproductive performance
Weaning Weight
Postweaning Growth
Feed Efficiency
Carcass Merit
Longevity (functional traits)
Conformation
Freedom from genetic defects
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Reproductive Performance
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Goal of >85% of calves weaned
Calf every 365d or less
Entire herd calving season <90d
Fertility is not highly heritable (~20%)
High heritabilities for:
 Birth wt. ~40% heritable
 Scrotal Circumference ~40% heritable (>32cm)
 Increased SC produce more semen
 Half sisters that reach puberty earlier
◦ Best way to improve reproductive performance is
to improve environment
◦ What 2 ways can we improve environment?
◦ Select bulls that are reproductively sound
◦ Performance can also be improved by
crossbreeding
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Weaning Wt.
◦ Measured by actual wt.
 Reflects milking & mothering ability of dam
 Preweaning growth rate
◦ ww is commonly adjusted to 205d equivalent to
account for variance in age of calf/dam
◦ ww are commonly expressed as ratio to the other
calves in the group
◦ Weaning weight can be selected for (~30% h)
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Postweaning Growth
◦ Weaning from finished wt.
◦ Usually they are very efficient
◦ Weaning wt. and postweaning growth often
combined to one trait
 Adjusted 365d wt.
 (160 * ADG) + adjusted 205d wt. = Adj. 365d wt.
◦ ADG & Ad 365d wt. highly heritable (~40%)
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Feed Efficiency
◦ Lbs. feed/lb. gain
◦ Can be misleading
 Hard to measure
 Differences in production goal
◦ High heritability ~45%
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Carcass Merit
◦ Quality grades and yield grades
◦ Can measure by ultrasound or by visual analysis
◦ Highly heritable >30%
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Longevity
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Important, especially for cows
Bulls may be kept 3-5 yrs.
Highly productive cows 4-15 yrs.
Reasons for culling
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Skeletal unsoundness
Poor udders
Eye problems
Lost/worn teeth
◦ Few cows highly productive >10yrs.
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Conformation
◦ Form, shape, visual appearance
◦ Source of controversy
◦ Traits are medium to high heritability (30-60%)
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Genetic Defects
◦ Usually occur infrequently
◦ Common defects
 Double muscling
 Slow growing, poor fat deposition
 Syndactyly (Mule Foot)
 Osteoporosis (Marble Bone Disease)
 Short lower jaw, protruding tongue
 Hydrocephalus
 Bulging, fluid filled head
 Arthrogryposis (Palate-Pastern Syndrome)
 Pastern tendons contracted
 Upper part of mouth not fused together
 Dwarfism
◦ Many of these result in death early
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Bull selection accounts for 80-90% of genetic
improvement over time
◦ Record accuracy is much higher due to number of
offspring
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Most progressive seedstock producers record
( on their bulls):
◦ Birth wt.
◦ Weaning wt.
◦ Yearling wt.
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Breeding Values
◦ Phenotype determined by genotype + environment
◦ Genotype determined by two factors:
 Breeding value (what genes are present)
 Nonadditive value (how genes are combined)
◦ Values are collected and analyzed by computer by
breed organizations
 EPD’s are used to express these values
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Sire Summaries
◦ Data that has made sire selection much more
accurate & effective
◦ Published by most breed associations
◦ Measurements by EPD’s and ACC (Accuracy)
 EPD
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Birth wt.
Milk
Weaning-growth
Maternal
Yrlg. Wt.
 ACC
 Measures expected change in the EPD as more progeny
data is available
 >.90 very little expected change
 <.70 might change dramatically
 Must be careful about stacking pedigrees
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Select more than needed for replacement
Selection of heifers
◦ Weaning (7-10 mos.)
 Cull only those whose wt. is too light to show estrus
at 15 mos.
 Cull heifers too large in frame & birth wt.
◦ Yearling (12-15 mos.)
 Cull those not reaching desired breeding wt. (650850 lbs.)
◦ After Breeding (19-21 mos.)
 Cull open heifers
 Cull those calving in latter third of calving season
 After weaning first calf (31-34 mos.)
 Cull to actual needed numbers based on weaning wt.
performance of first calf
 Select for early pregnancy
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Select based upon their performance and the
performance of their offspring & additional
evidence that they can be productive if bred
back
Measured by:
◦ Pregnancy
◦ Weaning/yearling wts
◦ EPD’s of cows
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Most producers travel w/in 150 mi to select
bulls for natural AI
◦ Must have knowledge of who has good genetics
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Selection should be based on how each breed
complements the other
Why is crossbreeding advantageous for
commercial producers?
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Most heterosis is expressed by weaning time
Two breed rotations
◦ Ex.
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Two breed rotation w/ a terminal cross
◦ Ex.
◦ All terminal cross calves are sold
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Three breed rotation
◦ Ex.
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Effective and profitable management of
cow/calf operations is dependent upon
manager’s ability to budget time to critical
activities
Two goals of the operation
◦ Generate profit
◦ Provide opportunities for others
 Finishing cattle
 Club calves
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Criteria for measuring cow/calf profitability
1. Calf crop %
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Number of calves/cow in breeding herd
2. Average wt at weaning
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Wt at 7-9 mos.
3. Annual cow cost
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Dollars required to keep a cow each yr
See table 26.2 for break-even guidelines
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Costs & Returns
◦ Compute using enterprise budget
 Break out each part of the operation in order to
evaluate profitability more closely
◦ Typically, increasing weaning % decreases breakeven price
 Why might this not always be true
Feed heifers adequately to reach puberty @
15 mos (650-850 lbs)
Heifers bred to calve early in season
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2.
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5.
More likely to conceive early as 2 & 3 yr olds
Manage postpartum interval for heifers
Return to breeding time
May feed separately from mature cows
Monitor BCS
Fat/thin cattle have more problems
Observe closely at calving to prevent
dystocia (especially heifers)
Manage birth weight
6.
Critical balance between size of calf and dystocia
rates
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Heavier birth weights usually = heavier calves
Can also lead to problems
Evaluate bulls for soundness, fertility
7.
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Bulls can have low libido and/or low sperm counts
cow:bull ratio – 30:1
Crossbreeding can improve calf crop % by
8-12%
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More vigorous calves
Adequate energy intake
9.
Monitor energy intake closely at critical times:
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Puberty
Calving
Postpartum period
Balanced diet w/ protein, min/vit
Keep calf losses during gestation low – 23% target
Elevated levels often indicate presence of
infectious diseases
Keep calf mortality low – 2-3%
Have a plan for severe weather & health
challenges
Can reduce calf crop by 10-30% if not done well
Calve early in the season
1.
Each missed cycle during breeding results in 3040 lb lighter calf @ weaning
Breeders typically limit breeding window to 90d
Keeps calves uniform
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Forage/feed availability
2.
Influences calf growth rate
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Especially until calf consumes forages on their own
@ about 3 mos
Growth stimulants
3.
Increase weaning wts 5-15%
Ralgro, Synovex C, Compudose, etc.
Implanted as pellets under skin
Don’t use on breeding stock
Communicate with buyers for appropriate implant
strategy
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Can reduce grading and meat quality
Creep feed
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Can greatly influence weaning wt
Also adds cost
Best used under drought or marginal feed quality
situations
Disease management
5.
Especially of the cow – reduces milk production
and intake of calf
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Genetic selection
6.
Select for milk production & weaning wt in
replacement females
Effective selection can result in a 4-6lb/calf/yr
increase
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Crossbreeding
7.
Avg 20% increase in weaning wts
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Some increase due to reproductive performance,
some heterosis
Crossbreds tend to wean more & heavier calves
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Adequate income/expense records should be
carefully analyzed
Studies show a range of $61/hd breakeven to
$117/hd breakeven
◦ Contributes to major differences in profits/cow
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5 ways low cost producers reduce costs
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2.
3.
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Reduce supplemental feed costs
Rotational graze
Genetics
Reduced labor
Strong herd health management
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Feed costs usually account for 50-70% of
annual cow costs
Period from weaning to last 1/3 of gestation
is time to save money
Labor costs compose 15-20% of annual cow
costs
◦ 15-20 labor hours/cow unit/yr is normal
 Inefficient operations can be twice that amount
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Palpate cows for pregnancy ~45 after
breeding season
◦ Make decisions on how to handle open cows
◦ Open cows put large financial drains on operations
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Primary factors affecting stocker-yearling
production:
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Marketing (purchasing & selling)
Gaining ability of the cattle
Amount of available forage
Health of the cattle
Be aware of shrink losses
◦ Can be 3-12%
◦ Can take 2-3 wks to recover lost wt
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Stocker-yearling cattle that are purchased &
sold multiple times are at high risk
◦ For what?
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Most common diseases:
◦ Shipping fever
◦ Other respiratory diseases
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Maintaining a constant supply of high-quality
forages is key to profits
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Commercial Feedlots
◦ Typically >1000 hd
◦ Owned by individual, partnership, corporation
◦ May own cattle, or feed cattle owned by others
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Feeders
Investors
Producers
Packers
Farmer-Feeder Feedlots
◦ <1000 hd one-time capacity
◦ Usually owned/operation by individual or family
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Advantages/disadvantages:
1. Farmer-feeder can utilize cattle to market homegrown feeds…increasing their value
2. Farmer-feeder can utilize high roughage feeds
more effectively
3. Farmer-feeder can spread labor distribution
amongst other enterprises
4. Farmer-feeder can be more flexible…devoting
time and resources to other enterprises when
cattle feeding is not profitable
5. Commercial feedlots usually collect and utilize
data more effectively & result in better
management decisions
6. Custom feeding reduces operational costs and
spreads some risk to the customer
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Must keep lots full of cattle to be productive…turnover rates of 2-2.5x/yr
Farmer-feeders typically feed one group/yr
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Facilities Investment
◦ Varies w/ type and location of feedlots
◦ Pen capacities can range from 100-500 on open
dirt lots
◦ Mounded for dry areas
◦ May have feed mill on site
◦ Typical investment/hd at full capacity ~$150 for
commercial/custom feeder operations, $200$500/hd for farmer-feeder operations
 Due to higher facilities investments
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Cost of Feeder Cattle
◦ Estimate feed cost & price the cattle will bring at
market
 These figures dictate what price operators can afford
to pay
◦ Feeder cattle priced according to:
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Weight
Sex
Fill (content of digestive tract)
Skeletal size
Thickness
Body condition
◦ Commercial feeders may prefer to target some
animals with compensatory gain potential
 Fed low-quality forages, thin, and will gain quickly
when put on good ration
◦ Heifers usually priced a few cents cheaper due to
slower gains
◦ Fill differences can account for 10-40 lb
fluctuations in live wts
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Feed Costs
◦ Feed typically 60-75% of cost of putting additional
wt on cattle
◦ Measured by feed cost/lb gain
◦ Differences can be explained by:
 Genetics
 Use of implants
 Use of feed additives
◦ Feed cost/lb gain gets higher w/ increased days on
feed
 Avoid feeding cattle past ideal combinations of
slaughter wt, quality & yield grades
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Nonfeed costs
◦ A.k.a – yardage costs – cost of gain other than feed
◦ Expressed as cost/lb gain, or cost/d
◦ Examples:
 Death losses
 Veterinary costs
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Gross receipts
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80% of cattle fed sold directly to a packer
Standard shrink of 4%
58% of cattle sold on carcass basis
NE, CO, IA account for 2/3 of steers marketed in
U.S.
◦ TX, IA, MN, NE, WI account for 3/5 of all bulls/cows
marketed
◦ Slaughter cattle w/ yield grades of 4 or 5 heavily
discounted
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Beef production & cattle prices highly
correlated
Production low…price high; producers keep
more replacements & cull fewer cows
◦ Eventually, beef production increases beyond
consumer demand…price declines
◦ Producers w/ breakevens below industry average
have competitive advantage
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4 primary issues
1. Dust
Manage w/ regular pen maintenance
How?
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2. Odor
Regular pen maintenance
Use runoff holding ponds
Proper nutrition management
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Reduce N, P feeding rates
Composting
3. Flies
Chemical control, biological control, both
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4. Water quality
Main source of attention
Mainly affected by waste management
Incorrect handling, storage, application can greatly
affect water quality
Use BMP’s to minimize runoff problems
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Ditches
Dams
Grass filter strips
Controlled drainage systems
Lagoons