Producers must keep track of their costs. This was the shared sentiment between Logan Wallace, livestock specialist with the University of Missouri Extension and Brian See, agriculture agent with the University of Arkansas.
There are many benefits to effective records kept at the farm. For one, keeping good records allows you to efficiently and effectively cull your herd, ridding you of open cows who are not earning their keep. “Records allow you to monitor performances,” Wallace added. “If the performance of certain cows starts to drop off, you can highlight those that need culling, before their value starts to drop.”
See began, “A farm is a business, and it should be treated as such. Although many folks do not see their farm in this light, if they are to be sustainable, they must know their bottom line. Like any good business you must know (at least) your input costs and your profit, and hopefully you have made money in the end. If you did not make money, you must look at your inputs and see where you can cut costs.”
Along those lines, See cautioned, “On every farm there is a point to where stocking rate will reach equilibrium between cost and profit. You must keep records in order to reach that magic number.”
See continued, “America is the one of the most efficient countries in the world in production agriculture, and the reason is good record keeping through research. For example, if a beef producer is spending money on putting up hay every year, they have to consider inputs such as owning the equipment, the cost of fuel, machinery repairs and the cost of fertilizer. If they keep good records, they know these costs, and they can see if this is putting them (or contributing to them being) in the red at the end of the year. If it is, the producer may be able to cut back on hay production and increase their grazing management, thus reducing their need for hay. To further continue this, the producer will keep records on their grazing inputs and know if they have increased their profit.”
“If you’re doing rotational or Management Intensive Grazing, or just keeping records on your pastures, knowing when to turn in to a certain pasture, which pastures have what variety of grass, and what areas are less or more productive, can ensure you get the most out of your fertilizer dollar, and feed dollar too,” said Wallce.
“If you’ve seen there’s a lot more hay being wasted than what you thought, or you used a lot more hay than you thought, you can then look at ways to be a little more efficient in how you feed your hay, or how much hay you’re putting out,” Wallace said.
Records don’t have to be fancy, See noted. There are simple software and programs available online such as ration balancers, and the University of Arkansas “COWculator”. “These programs can help the producer calculate feed costs, and with good record keeping, they can hopefully provide for the nutritional needs of their cattle with the least possible cost to them.”
See said simple software programs similar to Quicken or QuickBooks would work great in keeping up with basic expenses. Also, many computers come with Microsoft Access, and there are templates within that program producers can use and modify, to keep records, he added.
The Minimum Record Keeping Requirements for a Producer
1 Calving records – “A cow calf producer must know when and if cattle are bred. This helps manage calving seasons, and if a cow is not bred they can replace her to make sure they maximize profits,” See said.
2 Feed costs – While the markets are offering incredibly high cattle prices, feed prices are high as well. Wallace cautioned producers to beware assuming all is well because of the high prices we’re seeing at the sale barn. “Feed prices and calf prices are high, but high feed prices, at a point, can cancel out the good cattle prices, if one doesn’t keep really good track of feed costs,” Wallace said. See added, “Keeping good records on feed will help the producers to compare costs of feeds they are currently using against other options they may have for feeding. This will also help them to budget for the next year.”
3 Body Condition Scoring – An easy way to ensure you are only feeding what you must is with body condition scoring. “Maybe not all of your cows need extra feed through winter. One of the highest costs in keeping the cow in general is getting them through the winter, whether it’s on purchased feed or raised feed,” Wallace said.
4 Grazing days – “Producers should know how many grazing days they get each year, and they should take steps to increase those days each year. Feeding hay is not as cost-effective as grazing,” See said.
5 Soil test – “Producers should soil test at least every three years and keep the test results to compare the progress the soil fertility makes over the years. Fertilizing according to soil tests can save the farmer money in fertilizer costs and increase yields, while protecting the environment from over-fertilization,” See said.
6 Bull EPDs – Knowing your bulls’ Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) will allow you to put each bull with the right set of cows, to ensure calving ease while weaning off the biggest calves possible. Wallace said producers should also try to optimize their herd’s production by buying the right bulls. This also takes good record keeping. “You can use your records to buy bulls with certain EPD levels, you can use your records to see what the herd needs or is lacking in characteristics (e.g., high weaning weight, lower birth weights), and buy the bulls that fit and complement the performance you already have.
