Soapweed
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Thoughts on Replacement Heifers
By Steve Moreland, September 3, 2015
There are different ideas on how to bring replacement females into a cow herd. It is often argued that a rancher can buy replacement bred heifers or cows cheaper than raising their own, but there are other factors to consider other than price alone. One of the major satisfactions I get as a cattle rancher is in watching home-raised heifer calves wearing our Spearhead brand turn into good producing cows, with calves of their own at side.
When retaining home-raised females, you have opportunity to keep the best and sell the rest. When buying bred heifers or cows of any age, you are probably purchasing someone else's culls, or at best their "seconds." Bad disposition, lack of milk, too much milk, breechiness, or any number of other reasons could be the reason these females are for sale. If the previous owner found fault with them, chances are that you will, too.
There is a cost in retaining home-bred heifers, but sometimes this is over emphasized. After weaning, many ranchers feed heifer calves over the winter, graze them the next summer, and then sell them off grass as open yearling feeder heifers. Most years there is profit in this method, whether by keeping them open or by spaying them. If there is money to be made by doing this, there is not much additional cost in doing the same with heifers to be bred. There is the cost of artificial breeding the heifers, or in purchasing bulls, but this is the only real additional cost in having bred heifers instead of feeder heifers.
Steers are handled in much the same way. After weaning they are wintered, summered on grass, and sold as feeders at the end of the grazing season. Let's say a yearling steer in September is worth $2000 (they were this time last year). A yearling feeder heifer is probably worth 10% less than the value of a steer, which would be $1800. A high quality bred yearling heifer could easily be worth 10% more than a steer, which would be $2200. The extra value of a good bred heifer should easily offset any additional cost incurred, such as bull or AI expense. In our own operation, any surplus bred heifers can usually be sold at a fair price for both buyer and seller.
One of my philosophies of ranching is to always keep our cattle in "saleable" condition. I like to take care of livestock as I would like to be cared for if I was one of them. Anytime a person sits ringside at a cattle auction, there are always certain cattle that look better and sell for a premium. Ample feed and adequate salt and mineral go a long ways in having cattle that show good condition. If certain cattle are worth more on sale day, I like to have the cattle at home look the same because if they are worth a premium to someone else, they are worth that same premium to me, even though they will just stay on the ranch.
Good nutrition can take the place of a lot of fancy genetics, and the best genetics don't amount to a hill of beans without good nutrition. Fat can cover up a lot of "sins" in conformation of cattle. Another consideration is in having "liquid" assets. If cattle are in good condition, they can be sold at any time for top dollar for the day.
Uniformity is another point to not be overlooked. Buyers seem to pay a premium for uniform lots of cattle. Having tried several breeds through the years, my preference is Angus. They tend to be very functional and useful cattle. The Certified Angus Beef promotion has been a great selling point for the breed. Angus are naturally polled. It is easier to breed off horns than it is to deal with dehorning. Angus tend to have good udders and good feet. If crossbreeding is desired, Angus cross very well with any other breed.
It is always interesting watching new females become part of a ranch cow herd. It is even more satisfying to see home-raised heifers join the group. They make the transformation quite easily, because they already know the ways of the ranch.
By Steve Moreland, September 3, 2015
There are different ideas on how to bring replacement females into a cow herd. It is often argued that a rancher can buy replacement bred heifers or cows cheaper than raising their own, but there are other factors to consider other than price alone. One of the major satisfactions I get as a cattle rancher is in watching home-raised heifer calves wearing our Spearhead brand turn into good producing cows, with calves of their own at side.
When retaining home-raised females, you have opportunity to keep the best and sell the rest. When buying bred heifers or cows of any age, you are probably purchasing someone else's culls, or at best their "seconds." Bad disposition, lack of milk, too much milk, breechiness, or any number of other reasons could be the reason these females are for sale. If the previous owner found fault with them, chances are that you will, too.
There is a cost in retaining home-bred heifers, but sometimes this is over emphasized. After weaning, many ranchers feed heifer calves over the winter, graze them the next summer, and then sell them off grass as open yearling feeder heifers. Most years there is profit in this method, whether by keeping them open or by spaying them. If there is money to be made by doing this, there is not much additional cost in doing the same with heifers to be bred. There is the cost of artificial breeding the heifers, or in purchasing bulls, but this is the only real additional cost in having bred heifers instead of feeder heifers.
Steers are handled in much the same way. After weaning they are wintered, summered on grass, and sold as feeders at the end of the grazing season. Let's say a yearling steer in September is worth $2000 (they were this time last year). A yearling feeder heifer is probably worth 10% less than the value of a steer, which would be $1800. A high quality bred yearling heifer could easily be worth 10% more than a steer, which would be $2200. The extra value of a good bred heifer should easily offset any additional cost incurred, such as bull or AI expense. In our own operation, any surplus bred heifers can usually be sold at a fair price for both buyer and seller.
One of my philosophies of ranching is to always keep our cattle in "saleable" condition. I like to take care of livestock as I would like to be cared for if I was one of them. Anytime a person sits ringside at a cattle auction, there are always certain cattle that look better and sell for a premium. Ample feed and adequate salt and mineral go a long ways in having cattle that show good condition. If certain cattle are worth more on sale day, I like to have the cattle at home look the same because if they are worth a premium to someone else, they are worth that same premium to me, even though they will just stay on the ranch.
Good nutrition can take the place of a lot of fancy genetics, and the best genetics don't amount to a hill of beans without good nutrition. Fat can cover up a lot of "sins" in conformation of cattle. Another consideration is in having "liquid" assets. If cattle are in good condition, they can be sold at any time for top dollar for the day.
Uniformity is another point to not be overlooked. Buyers seem to pay a premium for uniform lots of cattle. Having tried several breeds through the years, my preference is Angus. They tend to be very functional and useful cattle. The Certified Angus Beef promotion has been a great selling point for the breed. Angus are naturally polled. It is easier to breed off horns than it is to deal with dehorning. Angus tend to have good udders and good feet. If crossbreeding is desired, Angus cross very well with any other breed.
It is always interesting watching new females become part of a ranch cow herd. It is even more satisfying to see home-raised heifers join the group. They make the transformation quite easily, because they already know the ways of the ranch.
