Fall is a beautiful time of year! We can usually count on cool mornings and nice afternoons, more rain, and the fun that comes with football games, farm shows and cattle production sales resuming.
For those of us involved in the cattle business, the fall run of weaned, winter/spring-born calves is another significant part of this time of year.
During the record-high prices of 2014/2015, marketing our calves sure was easy. I’ve said a number of times, if I could turn the clock backward, I’d have sold a lot more heifers during that period than I did. However, I console myself by dwelling on the fact that I continued my trek toward higher quality genetics by keeping them. Time will tell if that decision was right. In my heart, I truly believe it will be.
Now, here we are nearing the end of an otherwise productive 2016. Weather was on the side of many; record July and August rains may beget record crop and pasture production. As a farmer, I love a big harvest, whether it is a grain crop or calf-crop; however, the perils of over supply have certainly dampened prices.
As prices decline, many of us will become more serious about several things: marketing, genetics and overall management. The age old adage of working to lower cost is always on my mind. But, can I do that by spending more? At first glance that seems silly, but what if I was willing to dedicate more labor to make sure every calf got the appropriate vaccines and de-wormer at the appropriate time? What if I spent another $500-$1,000 to get a calving-ease bull in the top 10 percent of the breed rather than the top 50 percent? Healthy calves with documented health management generally fetch a premium that pays well for the extra labor and vaccines.
As we continue to advance beef production in the United States, more marketing programs are becoming available to those with high-quality genetics. Those who are focusing on carcass traits such as marbling, rib eye area, carcass weight and back fat are beginning to be rewarded at the feeder cattle sale level like never before. Again, management is the key. Making the right decisions regarding the sire(s) of your calves and their EPDs is a critical start; however, putting a little effort into marketing them is even more important. Local livestock market owners tell me that simply letting them know the background of your calves, documenting both their vaccinations and genetics, goes a long way toward helping them help you fetch premium.
This fall, as you begin to receive sale catalogs and view cattle at farm shows, ask a lot of questions and do your homework. Learn about advancements in cattle health technology as well as genetics and record keeping. There is no time like the present to make improvements.
