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Fertility or weight

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More calves is better than heavier calves, nothing saying though that weight isn't important as well.
 
Fertility is always the most important. If a cow doesn't breed, you are out her income. But then again, on years like this it isn't so painful to sell an open when they are worth this much :)

Having a good weaning weight is important as well, as long as the extra weight isn't working your wallet.
 
500 head of 500 pound calves = 250000 pounds @ 1.10 = $275000

450 head of 600 pound calves = 270000 pounds @ 1.00 = $270000

So for $5000 bucks difference you get to sell 50 head of open/dry cows
 
Around here I very seldom worry about fertility because we always have about one percent open every year. Also as the feed prices keep changing I have noticed that the buyers are giving more for a 600 lbs calf than a 450 or 500 lbs calf. The bulls I buy do have a high fertility test on them but I look more at the epds more than anything when buying.
 
There's no reason you can't have fertility and heavy calves poor grass is a bigger problem here dureing drought our calves are a 100#s lighter and more open cows show up. Now this year we've got great grass and the calves are showing it as are the cows. When were short on feed we tend to short the cowherd which in turn shorts our wallets.Grass is the one part of our operations that needs the most looking after with proper grass management to rest will fall into place.
 
cure said:
Around here I very seldom worry about fertility because we always have about one percent open every year. Also as the feed prices keep changing I have noticed that the buyers are giving more for a 600 lbs calf than a 450 or 500 lbs calf. The bulls I buy do have a high fertility test on them but I look more at the epds more than anything when buying.
Click to expand...

This is getting moe and more common.
 
leanin' H said:
500 head of 500 pound calves = 250000 pounds @ 1.10 = $275000

450 head of 600 pound calves = 270000 pounds @ 1.00 = $270000

So for $5000 bucks difference you get to sell 50 head of open/dry cows
Click to expand...
Problem is......if you want to maintain a 500 head herd ya got to buy 50 breds back.
 
I want both. And one doesn't necessarily come at the expense of the other.
 
I agree with silver! I only posted the numbers to show that the gap isnt as wide as some might think. But a cow that breeds back on time and sticks around is a goal everyone ought'a aim at! And if she can wean a soggy calf she is perfect!
 
allen57 said:
leanin' H said:
500 head of 500 pound calves = 250000 pounds @ 1.10 = $275000

450 head of 600 pound calves = 270000 pounds @ 1.00 = $270000

So for $5000 bucks difference you get to sell 50 head of open/dry cows
Click to expand...
Problem is......if you want to maintain a 500 head herd ya got to buy 50 breds back.
Click to expand...

Either group is going to have opens thats why you keep replacements.Either way your going to have opens.
 
Grampa always said if you breed for good cows the steers will take care of themselves, and I tend to see the wisdom of his words.
 
The equation is usually far more complex than selling more lighter calves. Without knowing the cost for each group of calves it is impossible to tell. I watched a lot of calves sell last fall and the dollars per head difference often only amounted to $40 to $50. You will have a very hard time putting another hundred pounds on a calf while running on the cow for 40 to 50 cents a pound. That is one of the reasons you are seeing more and more yearling cattle run. You can put grass gain on for that but the belief that heavier calves always generate more income is one of the reasons you have the lowest cow numbers in over fifty years.
 
Silver said:
Grampa always said if you breed for good cows the steers will take care of themselves, and I tend to see the wisdom of his words.
Click to expand...

I agree with your Grandpa.....
 
Well, this is a good example of how our industry differs so much from most other industries. A lot of us don't have good enough records and a sharp enough pencile to answer this and a lot of other question. For example,
500 head cowherd ...
if you move calving percent from 85% to 95%, with 500 lb. calves you gain 25,000 lbs.

If you move weaning wt. from 500 to 600 at 85% calving percent you gain 42,500 lbs.

Obviously none of us want open cows. But I think the answer to the mans question with a large herd it's weaning weight.
 
I would argue that fertility can create weaning weight. More fertile cows = earlier calves = more weight. A 5% change from second to first cycle calving on 100 cows with calves gaining 2 pounds per day is 210 pounds. 5% from 3rd to second cycle is 210 pounds. Add it all up and fertility lets calves grow longer and faster.
 
Increasing fertility is likely a function of timing and conditioning of the cow. A cow in excellent breeding condition will wean a heavier calf. Win Win. Moving your weaning weight from 500 to 600 lbs could be done with time or feed, both costing money. If extra resources are used, why not kill both birds? This is all assuming there are no genetic changes contemplated. I was going to go on about percentages in the first cycle but RSLs post showed up. By the way, there have been several large ranches around here that always weaned the biggest calves using creep and who knows what else. I'd ask them what all they used but they have all gone broke. The most recent example you could tender a bid on their land next month with the Receiver.
 
Probably should start a new thread but I think the answer to this debate is in sexed semen, assuming they can get the quality up to work on sync'ed cows. Breed your most maternal female for replacements and the rest to a terminal cross. After a few generations of this your females should be highly uniform and predictable.
 

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