2025 Beef Brawl
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EmailTell me if you heard this one? Three farmers walk into a coffee shop. One brags about 586 lb. weaned calves. Another claims 600 lbs. plus. The third says he sold his at 470 lbs., no shots, straight off the cow—way cheaper.
Many years ago, beef cattle producers would boast of how heavy their calves weaned. We know that selection for larger framed, faster growing calves led to larger cows that require more feed. Debates turned to cow size: should we have big or small cows? Or cow efficiency: are small cows more efficient than big cows? And is weaned calf weight per pound of mature cow a good efficiency indicator? Is corn efficiency an indicator of forage grow efficiency? How should we look at profitability? Per hundred weight of calf weaned? Per acre? Per cow?
Ultimately, the debate has become so complex, we may not even know what to argue about. Michigan State University Extension educators Phil Durst and Frank Wardynski are hosting a Beef Brawl to discuss this debate during a webinar on May 6, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. Rather than debate performance measures, they will take opposite sides of investment. Durst will take the side of increasing income while Wardynski will look at cutting expenses. To register for the event, click here.
Increase income
Beef cattle have much more profit potential than most producers are getting out of them. Too many producers are selling cattle that simply are not heavy enough and are not bringing enough dollars per pound. Market data from across the country will support that beef calves are being sold at weights less than 400 pounds. These lightweight calves do not bring a significantly better price per pound and the producers, who fed the cow all year to get this little out of those calves, will not succeed. In addition, the price differentials within any given weight range show that buyers were not willing to pay for some cattle what they were willing to pay for others. Table 1. exhibits the prices from the 2024 West Branch feeder calf sale of the low and high prices for each weight group. Total dollar difference for the top price verse bottom price within each weight group ranged from $200 to over $400 per head. The 300-399 lb. weight calves also sold for nearly $600 less than the 550-599 lb. weight calves. Those price differences indicate that not all cattle producers have the opportunity but certainly some do to improve weights and quality to drastically increase gross revenue.
Table 1. West Branch Feeder Calf Sale, October 2024
|
Weight Group |
Avg. Weight |
Low $/lb. |
$/head |
High $/lb |
$/head |
Difference per Head |
|
300-399 |
373 |
$3.00 |
$1,119 |
$3.75 |
$1,399 |
$280 |
|
550-599 |
574 |
$3.00 |
$1,722 |
$3.45 |
$1,980 |
$258 |
|
600-649 |
628 |
$2.65 |
$1,664 |
$3.30 |
$2,072 |
$408 |
|
650-699 |
664 |
$2.70 |
$1,793 |
$3.00 |
$1,992 |
$199 |
Decrease expenses
Beef producers that are already receiving near top dollar should be looking at the expense side of the equation, looking for expenses that could be pulled out of the budget. It's not a suggestion to try and eliminate line items out of the budget, such as vet expense, but rather to squeeze each one of them. Are some of the expense categories at an over-the-top level? Examples: Do you vaccinate for everything imaginable? Is your mineral mix over fortified? Is there ever any challenge to the cows nutritionally? Are there any of the expenses of the budget that can be taken down a notch without finding the same decrease in revenues?
Increase income
Increased management unlocks the door to greater returns, healthier cattle and improved products. By definition, management is the effort to direct, to determine steps and to apply resources to achieve a goal. Action yield results. With less management, results have a potential for a wide range, from low to high, with less predictability. Greater intensity of management results in less variability with results in a narrower range at the high end. Producers selling light calves should consider investing in an earlier calving season so that calves are older and heavier on sale day. Other management practices producers should consider increasing weight gain including feeding good quality feed in adequate quantities. Practices to help ensure this include rotational grazing, soil testing with fertilizer and lime applications, forage testing, fortified mineral supplementation, creep feeding, implants and ionophores.
Decrease expenses
Rather than calving earlier, which probably will require more labor and facilities, and better feed, consider selling calves later and older. Producers must also look at pasture management. If producers are not focusing on pasture as the first feed, then make that a management priority. Pasture is not always easy to find but it is usually 25-50% cheaper to feed livestock on pasture rather than stored feeds. If you are maxed out on pasture availability, look to improve pasture yields and carrying capacity through better management.
Increase income
Fertility is a low heritable trait. Consequently, environmental factors will have an important impact on reproductive rates. According to data from North Dakota State University, reproduction is the most important economic trait in the cow herd. So why not provide environmental conditions to help cattle rebreed. Maintain adequate body condition on cows to rebreed. Keeping cows at BCS 5.0-5.5. Use easy calving bulls, especially on heifers. Dystocia will reduce rebreeding. Make sure cattle are healthy. Underlying health problems can significantly impact breeding. Work with your veterinarian to develop a comprehensive vaccination program for the cow herd and calves.
Decrease expenses
Cull the infertile females. Over-feeding cows can mask poor fertility. Challenge the cows nutritionally, not to the point of emaciation, but feeding the cow herd so that all cows are in good condition means that many cows are being overfed. Feed cows to an average BCS of 5 and let the hard keepers go open and cull. Yearling heifers especially should be challenged. Do not feed grain hoping for high breeding percentage. Find the heifers that will breed in a lean condition. In doing so, the marginal fertility heifers will cull themselves and still have high value as yearling feeder cattle. And why are we vaccinating cows? Keep the cows that breed in our environment.
Common sense middle ground recommendations
University of Nebraska reported a summary of data from the University of Minnesota Center for Financial Management, FINBIN Livestock Analysis for 2022 representing cow-calf operations from Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota. High profit producers had lower cull sales, lower total expenses, lower feed expenses, weaned more calf per cow, weaned even more calf per cow exposed, sold calves at higher $/lb., and spent less on feed. Based on that information, high profit producers are putting a combination of strategies together to increase income and cut expenses. They are feeding cows cheaper while achieving higher reproductive rates. They are producing healthier calves, probably with better bulls and better management. The bottom line is that high profit herds are doing it through management, finding the right ways to cut expenses and increase income.
Michigan State University Extension Beef Team wants to ensure that beef producers understand the keys to profitability. For more information on the importance of generating more revenue while cutting costs, contact Frank Wardynski, Michigan State University Extension educator at wardynsk@msu.edu or Phil Durst, Senior Extension educator at durstp@msu.edu.