1. BEEF CATTLE MANAGEMENTby
David R. Hawkins
Michigan State University

2. Comparison of Dairy & Beef Industries
Biology
same
End Products
Milk & Meat
Meat
Industry
Structure
Single Unit
Full Time
Segmented
Part Time
Management
Intensive
Extensive

3. Comparison of Dairy & Beef Industries
Milk Level
High
Mod. to Low
Breeds
1 to 5
70 +
Crossbreeding
Rare
Frequent
Use of A.I.
Extensive
Limited
Genetic Traits
1 Primary
Multiple

4. U.S. BEEF INDUSTRY STRUCTURE
Seedstock
Commercial Cow-Calf
Dairy
Stocker/Backgrounder
Feedlot
Packer
Retailer
Consumer
120,000 breeders
904,000 producers
117,000 farms
44,000 feedlots
1,250 packers
250 food chains
270+ million

5. BEEF INDUSTRY TIMELINE
Conception to Calving
Calving to Weaning
Stocker/Backgrounder
Feedlot
Packer
Retailer
Consumer
Total
9 months
6 to 8 months
Variable (2 to 8 mo.)
Variable (3 to 7 mo.)
3 to 7 days
Variable
About 30 to 32 mo.

7. SIZE of CATTLE OPERATIONS
Dairy and feedlots tend to be full time.
Beef cow herds tend to be part time
U.S. average herd size is 38 head
1 to 49 hd = 28.9% of cows (78% of farms)
50 to 99 hd = 19.1% of cows (12% of farms)
100 to 499 hd = 37.1 % of cows (9% of farms)
>500 head = 14.9% of cows (0.7% of farms)

8. BREED REGISTRATIONS 2001 Angus – 271,222 Hereford – 80,976
Limousin – 49,036
Charolais – 45,354
Simmental – 44,159
Red Angus – 41,900
Gelbvieh – 32,323
Beefmaster – 30,416
Brangus – 25,500
Shorthorn – 21,608
Brahman – 15,000
Maine Anjou – 12,267
S. Gertrudis – 11,500
Salers – 10,286
Chianina – 6,679
T.Longhorn – 6,200

9. BEEF BREEDING SYSTEMS Straight breeding Crossbreeding Two Breed Cross
Breed complementarity
Heterosis or hybrid vigor
Individual heterosis
Maternal Heterosis
Two Breed Cross
Terminal Sire
Two Breed Rotation
Three Breed Rotation
Rotation + terminal Sire
Composite

10. Effects of Heterosis on Lbs. of Calf Weaned per Cow Mated

11. Fun facts
There are over 1 billion cows alive today in six continents around the world.
25% of the Earth’s land is used as pasture for cattle raising.
In Australia, the number of cows exceeds the number of people by 40%, and is a major cause of land degradation and soil erosion due to overgrazing.
In South America there are 9 cows for every 10 people.
In Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil, the # of cows equals or exceeds the # of people.
In America, there is one cow for every 2 ½ people

12. Western European countries produce 17% of output.
More fun facts
The United States produces 22% of the total beef output in the world, & North and South American continents combined produce 43% of total output.
Western European countries produce 17% of output.
The beef industry is the 4th largest manufacturing industry in the country, and generates 36 billion $ annually.
California is the largest dairy producer in the states, with an average of 665 cows per dairy farm, while the national average is 100/dairy farm. California’s milk production per cow is 20,788 lbs, 17% higher than the national average.

13. Example of a Three Breed Rotational System

14. BREEDING SEASON MGT. I Breeding Soundness Exam
Natural Service with Bulls
Yearling – 10 to 20 females
Two Year Old – 20 to 30 females
Mature bull – 30 to 40 females
Artificial Insemination
Less than 5% of cows in commercial herds
Up to 40% of cows in seedstock herds

15. BREEDING SEASON MGT. II Limited season results in uniform calf crop
60 days would be ideal
100 to 120 days is more common
Michigan Beef Cows Calving by Month
Jan. & Feb %
March %
April %
May %
Other %

16. BREEDING SEASON MGT. III
At weaning (7 mo.) heifers should weigh 45% of mature weight.
At breeding (15 mo.) heifers should weigh 65% of mature weight.
At calving (24 mo.) heifers should weigh 85% of mature weight.
Measure pelvic areas prior to breeding
Use light birth weight and low birth weight EPD bulls for mating to heifers

18. MICHIGAN COW CALF NUTRITION
Pasture 5/15 to 10/30 – 165 days
1 to 5 acres per cow calf pair
Harvested Forage 11/01 to 5/14 – 200 days
Corn stalk residue – 30 to 60 days
Grass-legume hay or silage – 140 to 200 days
Free Choice Minerals
Salt, Ca, P, Mg + Trace Minerals
Clean fresh water

19. COMMON NUTRTIONAL PROBLEMS in BEEF COWS
Thin Cows
Body Condition Scores (1 to 9) 5 to 6 is ideal
Calving Difficulty & Delayed Rebreeding
Dry vs. Lactating
Fat Cows
Calving Difficulty and Reduced Milk Flow
Legume Bloat
Grass Tetany

20. SEPARATE HERD INTO MANAGEMENT GROUPS
Bred Heifers & Thin Cows
Dry Mature Cows
Lactating Cows
Weaned Heifer Calves
Mature Herd Sires
Young Bulls

21. HERD HEALTH PROGRAM I Calving Season Castrate & Dehorn
Colostrum within first hours after birth
Iodine navel
Selenium – Vitamin E
Scour Vaccine (E.coli 7/or Viruses)
Castrate & Dehorn
Implant non replacement calves
Vaccinate Cows (IBR, BVD, PI3 + Lepto)

22. HERD HEALTH PROGRAM II Pasture and Breeding Season
Deworm & Control Flies
Vaccinate heifer calves for Brucellosis
Consider Blackleg & Malignant Edema
Creep feeding is optional
Keep free choice mineral available

23. HERD HEALTH PROGRAM III
Preweaning
Vaccinate calves for IBR, BVD, PI3, Blackleg & Hemophilis somnus
Castrate and dehorn if not done earlier
Get calves used to eating grain & drinking water from troughs
Weaning Time
Pregnancy check females exposed to breeding

24. HERD HEALTH PROGRAM IV Late Gestation Booster vaccinations
Grub & lice control
Late Gestation
Check mineral for P and Se
Treat for lice if they are a problem
Consider scour vaccine for cows & bred heifers

25. RECORD KEEPING
27.6% of beef cow calf operations have no records at all.
65.2% keep records by hand
Source- National survey of 3,300 producers in 48 states

26. Types of Records Inventory Ancestral Performance Health
Birth, weaning and yearling data
Health
Vaccinations and examinations
Financial – IRM & SPA

27. EXPECTED PROGENY DIFFERENCES (EPD)
EPDs can be calculated for any trait that we can measure.
EPDs are estimates of the genetic ability of animals to transmit to their progeny
EPDs are expressed in the same units as the trait is measured
Analyses are done by the national breed associations

28. EPDs continued Breed average is not “0”.
EPDs change over time as more information enters the analyses.
Most breeds run two analyses per year.
They are widely used and widely accepted in the industry
Accuracy ranges from 0 to .99

29. IRM & SPA
Integrated Resource Management (IRM) is a system approach to managing a farm or ranch.
Standardized Performance Analysis (SPA) is a way of analyzing records of both production and financial performance of a farm or ranch in order to make better decisions and impact profitability.

30. 2000 ILLINOIS SPA SUMMARY Calf Crop Weaned 82.9%
Average Weaning Weight 486 lbs.
Lbs.weaned/Cow Exposed 420 lbs.
Annual Cow Cost $ 305
Feed cost was $ 209
Breakeven Calf Price $ 73/cwt.
Investment per cow $ 1,858

31. HOW TO IMPROVE PROFIT Improve Reproductive Rate Wean Heavier Calves
Wean Higher Value Calves
Develop Alliances and Retain Ownership
Reduce Cow Herd Costs
Use cattle inventory and price cycles in management decision making

32. CATTLE INVENTORY & PRICE CYCLES
High inventory = low prices
Low inventory = high prices
Historically cattle inventory cycles have averaged 9.6 years long from peak to peak.
In 2001, we are at the low inventory part of this cycle.
Cow calf producers should be profitable for the next 4 to 5 years.

34. STOCKER/BACKGROUNDER
Purchase weaned calves in fall, sell in the spring
Goal is 1.5 to 1.75 lb. ADG
Moderate energy, high roughage rations
Growth and normal development are the goals Fattening is not a goal.
Grazing winter wheat in the southern plains states from November to March
Wintering on hay &/or silage in Michigan

35. STOCKER/BACKGROUNDER continued
Buy yearlings in late winter and graze in summer.
Goal is 180 to 300 lb. gain in 120 to 150 days
Some programs will combine both a winter stocker and summer grazing program before entering the feedlot.

37. STARTING CATTLE ON FEED
First day begin with top quality grass hay
Second day top dress hay with grain or silage
Transition to high energy ration should be made over 10 to 14 days to avoid digestive upsets.
Don’t use all NPN supplements until calves weigh at least 600 lbs.
Keep fresh feed and water available at all times

38. FEEDLOT NUTRITION Grains – Corn, Barley & Milo
Roughages – Corn Silage, Alfalfa Hay or Haylage
Protein Supplements
Soybean or Cottonseed Meals
Brewers Grains
Urea or Anhydrous Ammonia

39. NUTRITIONAL PROBLEMS Acidosis on high energy rations
Ionophores (Rumensin or Bovatec) help
Founder (laminitis) on high energy rations
Bloat
Urinary calculi
Need Ca:P ratio > 1.1
Often occurs on high energy diets

40. FEEDLOT STEERS & HEIFERS
Steers gain 8% to 15% faster than heifers of same body size.
Steers consume 5% to 10% more feed than heifers.
Heifers require 2% to 10% more lbs. of feed per lb. of gain than steers
Some feeders tend to over fatten heifers
To be equal in profit, heifers must be purchased about 10% to 15% less per cwt. than steers.

41. FEEDLOT STEERS & BULLS
Bulls gain more rapidly and more efficiently than steers.
Bulls produce leaner carcasses that are more variable in tenderness than steer carcasses.
Bulls are more difficult to manage than steers or heifers.
There is only a limited market for bull beef.

42. AGE OF FEEDLOT CATTLE
Yearlings gain 10% to 20% faster than calves depending on weight and condition.
Yearlings consume 10% to 40% more feed than calves.
Yearlings are less efficient in converting feed to gain than calves.
Yearlings require fewer days in the feedlot to reach final weight and carcass grade.
Western U.S. feedlots prefer to feed yearlings.

43. BREED EFFECTS
Larger continental breeds gain faster than British breeds, but must be carried to heavier weights to grade choice.
There is little difference in feed efficiency when fed to the same carcass endpoint.
Holsteins require about 10% more feed per lb. of gain than beef breeds but ADG is similar to beef breeds.

44. EFFECT OF BODY CONDITION
When placed on comparable diets, thin cattle gain faster and more efficiently than fatter cattle.
This phenomenon is called “compensatory gain”.
Cattle feeders try to avoid buying fat feeder cattle unless they are priced somewhat lower per cwt. than thin feeder cattle.

45. FEEDLOT PROFIT OR LOSS
Dekalb feedlots average profit per head over a 23 year period was $ 26.
Profitability is influenced by changes in the grain and cattle markets.
Risk can be controlled by use of contracts and trading for future market access.
Marketing skills are critical for success.