Jeff MafiAssociation Perspective
Plan ahead and manage.
During the past year, buyers of registered Angus bulls spent an average of $4,831 per bull. This data set is generated from the regional managers who report the gross and average of all sales they service during both sale seasons, spring and fall. The data set includes 50,568 bulls that were sold at auction during the last year. Thus, this is a fairly accurate average selling price of registered Angus bulls at auction for 2018.
It’s safe to say progressive commercial cow-calf operators make a significant investment in genetics. With that said, I think it is a nice reminder for all to take good care of your bulls, especially after their first breeding season. Operations that don’t manage bulls properly are usually those with a few more open cows, or bulls that underperform and do not meet the expectations of the buyer. This mismanagement includes everything from not having enough bulls to properly cover the number of cows exposed to a lack of nutrition after the breeding season. So, plan ahead!
Often in agriculture people are extremely busy, and sometimes proper planning goes by the wayside. It pays to fine-tune bull management as much as possible to give them optimum conditions for health and fertility. Bulls should neither be underfed nor overfed; they need optimum body condition, between a body condition score (BCS) of 5 and 6, before the next breeding season.
Generally, bulls are turned out with cows relatively soon after purchase, often on the same day. After the breeding season, I recommend some type of supplementation for those younger bulls that are still growing. You should feed 5 to 10 pounds (lb.) of grain, or 1 to 2 lb. of protein supplement and free-choice hay, to allow your bull(s) to adequately develop. This type of husbandry is fairly common and is good management for protecting your genetic investment.
There is a natural limit to what can be expected of bulls. Observe the following guidelines in determining how heavily to use your bull based on his age at the start of breeding season (see Table 1).
| Table 1: Guidelines for bull use at the start of breeding season | |
Bull’s age (in months) |
No. of females |
| 12-15 | 10 to 12 |
| 15-18 | 12 to 18 |
| 18-24 | 18 to 25 |
| 24 and older | 25 to 35 |
A mineral program should be part of year-round management, not just offered seasonally. Bulls should be on a similar mineral supplement program as the cows. While most producers have good vaccination and parasite-control programs for the cows, the bulls are sometimes ignored. In most cases, it is easiest to keep the bulls and cows on the same health program for vaccine and dewormer.
Minimizing the risk of injuries from fighting means the social order must be managed. When bulls are removed from the cows and put into their fall/winter pastures, make sure the groups are eased back together and allowed to settle their differences and re-establish their social order.
It’s always good for bulls to have lots of space, and a good rule of thumb is to sort bulls into groups of similar age and size. This practice also allows for more efficient feeding protocols for younger bulls that are still growing to be developed vs. older bulls that can be managed more like the cows.
Considering all of this, it pays to plan ahead and semen-check early before the next breeding season! Having a better idea of what you are going to need early before the next breeding season ensures you have enough time to research, set goals and find the type of genetics you really need to move your cow herd forward. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your reliable seedstock provider or an Angus regional manager with questions you may have or help that you may need.
See “Winter Warriors” on page 56-57 of the September Angus Beef Bulletin for tips on managing bulls in the winter, including a table of baseline nutrient requirements for bulls of different weights to maintain or gain weight. The issue is available online at www.angusjournal.com/salebooks/ABB-SEP-2018.
Editor’s Note: Jeff Mafi is regional manager for Kansas and Oklahoma. Click here to find the regional manager for your state.