Herd Management
rail look like? How much cow
mass does the commercial
cattle producer need to stock?
Well, back to the story. The
center has two herds: One
herd could put an average
1,000-pound carcass on the
rail; one could not. But before
we go there, let’s walk through
time and the descriptive data
from the center cow herds.
First, the “range” herd as calves
had an average 205-day weight
of 506 pounds. The cows
weighed 1,019 pounds at 2
years of age, 1,082 pounds at 3
years, 1,162 pounds at 4 years,
1,234 pounds at 5 years, 1,271
pounds at 6 years, 1,318 pounds
at 7 years and 1,313 pounds at
8 years. Their average mature
weight was 1,295 pounds.
Second, the “beef” herd as
calves had an average 205-day
weight of 616 pounds. The cows
weighed 1,190 pounds at 2
years of age, 1,308 pounds at 3
years, 1,414 pounds at 4 years,
1,519 pounds at 5 years, 1,532
pounds at 6 years, 1,513 pounds
at 7 years and 1,493 pounds at
8 years. Their average mature
weight was 1,522 pounds.
Drought forced the sale of
the two herds in the fall
of 2017. The “range” cows
weighed 1,308 pounds. The
“beef” cows averaged 1,580
pounds. Really, this was 2.6
frame cows weighing 1,308
pounds. More later. I
Photo taken by Sarah Anne Johnson, OH
30 | MAY 2018