Maintaining Value
Keep cull calves profitable.
by Shelia Grobosky, BioZyme Inc.
Each fall when you go to market your weaned calves, it seems like there are a handful of outliers in your calf crop that could cost you some premiums. Don’t dismay; there are ways to find value for every calf that you’ve produced. It might just take some extra time or some different marketing venues.
Brett Tostenson, Tostenson Family Cattle, Highmore, S.D., recommends keeping calves as uniform as possible to get the most value for the group. He offers several alternative opportunities to market calves in a way to receive the most value.
It’s all about relationships Often producers who have a good reputation for raising healthy, efficient, good-growing calves will sell to a repeat buyer. Strong relationships have been formed and sealed over the years due to the quality of calves and the results the buyer, and ultimately the feeder, sees with the calves later in production.
The bull breeder becomes like an order buyer, in a sense, and the feedlots know that they are getting high-quality cattle backed by proven genetics and carcass merit. In turn, the bull customers know they have an outlet for their calves because they purchased calves from a reputable bull breeder.
If you do have an established relationship with your buyer or a group of buyers, invite them to your operation for a private-treaty sale. Offer the first pick of calves at market price plus $50 -$100 per head or $10-$25 per hundredweight (cwt.) more on first selection. Once the first pick is selected, evaluate your remaining calves to determine the best way to market them, either with this same method and another buyer and a reduced premium, or one of the methods mentioned below.
Another important relationship is that of seedstock producers and their commercial bull buyers. A seedstock producer can offer a calf buy-back program, according to Tostenson. He knows of several operations that sell 300-400 bulls each year and help market their bull customers’ calves to feedlots. The bull breeder becomes like an order buyer, in a sense, and the feedlots know that they are getting high-quality cattle backed by proven genetics and carcass merit, filling an order for what they want or need. In turn, the bull customers know they have an outlet for their calves because they purchased calves from a reputable bull breeder.
“This is an ideal situation for a commercial producer. It is very comforting that someone at that level is going to come in and buy your calves from you,” Tostenson says.
Sort by size, not with the gate If you are getting a load of calves ready to sell at the local auction market or through a video sale, sort them to create a uniform load. It’s beneficial to both you and your bottom line to take the time to sort by size and weight. Leave smaller calves back to feed them a little longer.
“Be intentional in that you sell groups of cattle that match up, so you don’t get dinged on uniformity,” Tostenson says. “If you sell 100 calves and 10 get docked, it might be better to sell 90 and hold back 10 for the next group that will match up better.”
Know your goals Ideally most feeder calves will be raised and marketed with a marketing goal in mind, according to Tostenson. Will your cattle be marketed on a grid or on a live-weight basis? Are you selling through a value-added program that pays premiums on health, nutrition, source or breed? Knowing your end-marketing goals will also help you produce and sort for a more uniform set of calves to be sold as a group.
Finding value in females Tostenson added that breeding-age females also have value. Even if a cow comes up open or doesn’t calve within your desired 60-day calving window, there is likely a producer who will find value in that particular female. If you have open females or a group of cows that calve after the first 45 days in your calving period, other producers would likely find them valuable in their herd because they might calve later or in an entirely different season. Another breeder might use an open cow as an embryo recipient.
“Just because they fall out of your calving window doesn’t mean they don’t fit in mine. Just because they are open doesn’t mean they don’t have value for someone else,” Tostenson says.
If you further want to add value to a group of feeder calves or a group of breeding-age females, you can do that by upping their nutrition. Adding a mineral can help your cattle become more efficient and higher performing.
“Every animal has value. The value maybe not discovered right away or be the exact value you are looking for, but it is there,” Tostenson says.
Editor’s note: Shelia Grobosky is a public relations coordinator for BioZyme Inc.
