Cow Herd Management
Don’t Let Under-Performing Cows
Hide in Your Herd
By Mark Mauldin, University of Florida Extension
There is a mountain of good
research data out there that
shows that one of the best cattle
herd management strategies
is a defined breeding season.
The breeding season should be
less than 120 days, and ideally
should be 60 – 90 days to see
all the associated management
benefits. If you are unclear
regarding the benefits of a
defined breeding season, see the
links at the bottom of the page
or give your county agricultural
agent a call. If you have heard
all the reasons why you should
implement a defined breeding
season, but still have no plans to
do so, then please consider the
following recommendations. pregnancy status. Without the
deadline it is easy for cows to
fly “under the radar” with ever
increasing calving intervals.
Under-performing cows – cows
that fail to wean a calf EVERY
YEAR are financial liabilities.
When you leave the bull in with
the cows year-round, you have
created a situation that is perfect
for hiding under-performing
cows. The hallmark of a defined
breeding season is to set an
annual deadline when cows
are kept or culled based on Think about it like this – the
average carrying cost per cow
is $600/yr. (if this sounds high,
sit down and put a pencil to
it) with 550 lbs. of calf weaned
each year. In this scenario, the
calf needs to sell for $1.09/lbs.
in order for the cow to “pay her
Regardless of your management
system or level of inputs, cattle
that generate negative returns
won’t work. The situation
compounds over time. The longer
you keep under-performing
cows around the more financial
damage they do. The long-term
financial viability of your cattle
enterprise can depend heavily
on your ability to identify and
remove under-performing cows.
bill” for the year. With this same
scenario, weaning a calf every
18 or 24 months the breakeven
price goes up to $1.63/lbs. and
$2.18/lbs. respectively. With
current calf prices in the
neighborhood of $1.50/lbs. and
expected to decline, you can see
how cows that calve less than
once a year just won’t work.
If you are going to have a
year-round breeding season,
what can you do to identify
cows that aren’t keeping up
their end of the bargain?
• Individually ID all of your
brood cows. You need to
know exactly which cow
you are looking at.
• Record calving dates.
Writing tag numbers on a
paper calendar is a simple
way to start.
• Cull cows that don’t calve
within one year. One year
from the previous calving
date have her pregnancy
checked. You may market
her differently if she is
bred, but she should be
culled either way.
Most folks will be fine with the
first two points; it’s the culling
that people don’t like. Not culling
is a bad decision, but these are
56 | JUNE/JULY 2018