In addition, the price differentials within any given weight range show buyers have not been willing to pay for some cattle what they are willing to pay for others. Table 1 exhibits the low and high prices for each weight group at the 2024 West Branch Feeder-calf Sale. The total dollar difference for the top price vs. the bottom price within each weight group ranged from $200 to more than $400 per head. Calves in the 300-399-lb. weight category also sold for nearly $600 less than calves in the 550-599-lb. weight category. Those price differences indicate not all cattle producers have the opportunity, but certainly some could improve weights and quality to drastically increase gross revenue.

Decrease expense

Beef producers who are already receiving near top dollar should be looking at the expense side of the equation, looking for expenses that could be pulled out of the budget. It’s not a suggestion to eliminate line items, such as veterinary expense, out of the budget, but rather to squeeze each line item. Are some of the expense categories at an over-the-top level? Examples: Do you vaccinate for everything imaginable? Is your mineral mix overly fortified? Is there ever any challenge to the cows nutritionally? Are there any of the expenses of the budget that could be taken down a notch without finding the same decrease in revenues?

Increase income

Increased management unlocks the door to greater returns, healthier cattle and improved products. By definition, management is the effort to direct, to determine steps and to apply resources to achieve a goal. Action yields results. With less management, results have a potential for a wide range, from low to high, with less predictability. Greater intensity of management results in less variability with results in a narrower range at the high end.

Producers selling light calves should consider investing in an earlier calving season so calves are older and heavier on sale day. Other management practices producers should consider to increase weight gain include feeding good-quality feed in adequate quantities. Practices to help ensure this include rotational grazing, soil testing with fertilizer and lime applications, forage testing, fortified mineral supplementation, creep feeding, implants, and ionophores.

Decreases expenses

Rather than calving earlier, which probably will require more labor and facilities, as well as better feed, consider selling calves later and older.

Producers must also look at pasture management. If producers are not focusing on pasture as the first feed, then make that a management priority. Pasture is not always easy to find, but it is usually 25%-50% cheaper to feed livestock on pasture than to feed stored feeds. If you are maxed out on pasture availability, look to improve pasture yields and carrying capacity through better management.

Increase income

Fertility is a lowly heritable trait. Consequently, environmental factors will have an important effect on reproductive rates.

According to data from NDSU, reproduction is the most important economic trait in the cow herd. So why not provide environmental conditions to help cattle rebreed?

Maintain adequate body condition on cows to rebreed. Keep cows at a body condition score (BCS) of 5.0-5.5 on a 9-point scale. Use easy-calving bulls, especially on heifers. Dystocia will reduce rebreeding. Make sure cattle are healthy. Underlying health problems can significantly affect breeding. Work with your veterinarian to develop a comprehensive vaccination program for the cow herd and calves.

Decrease expenses

Cull the infertile females. Overfeeding cows can mask poor fertility. Challenge the cows nutritionally — not to the point of emaciation, but feeding the cow herd so that all cows are in good condition means that many cows are being overfed. Feed cows to an average BCS of 5, and let the hard keepers go open and cull.

Yearling heifers especially should be challenged. Do not feed grain hoping for high breeding percentage. Find the heifers that will breed in lean condition. In doing so, the marginal-fertility heifers will cull themselves and still have high value as yearling feeder cattle.

Why are we vaccinating cows? Keep the cows that breed in our environment.

Commonsense middle-ground recommendations

University of Nebraska reported a summary of data from the University of Minnesota Center for Financial Management, FINBIN Livestock Analysis for 2022 representing cow-calf operations from Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. High-profit producers had lower cull sales, lower total expenses and lower feed expenses. They weaned more calf per cow, weaned even more calf per cow exposed, sold calves at a higher price per pound, and spent less on feed.

Based on that information, high-profit producers are putting a combination of strategies together to increase income and cut expenses. They are feeding cows cheaper while achieving higher reproductive rates. They are producing healthier calves, probably with better bulls and better management. The bottom line is that high-profit herds are doing it through management: finding the right ways to cut expenses and increase income.

Michigan State University Extension Beef Team wants to ensure that beef producers understand the keys to profitability. For more information on the importance of generating more revenue while cutting costs, contact Frank Wardynski, Michigan State University Extension educator, or Phil Durst, Senior Extension educator.

Editor’s note: This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. [Lead photo by Leann Schleicher.]

Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA, Vol. 17, No. 5A