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To Buy or retain heifers

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Soapweed-

Your "Middle-of-the-Road" protocol is one which more breeders should have been using years ago, rather than spouting the old cliche' over and over that "...we are selling pounds aren't we??" That tired platitude didn't take into consideration the COSTS involved in feeding large, unprofitable cows, and chasing the wrong EPD's indiscriminately with little thought as to the ultimate consequences - too much Milk results in lack of Fertility, too much YW results in cows that mature at 1600 lbs or 1800 lbs, or too darned big for any profit from their calves! Low BW ( -1.5 or even less) sounds wonderful, but it parallels High Milk, and resulting loss of Hind Quarter Muscle Mass (FUNNEL BUTTS!), and you KNOW what I think of Funnel Butts!

"Middle of the Road" is a fine goal to pursue, IF you select Bulls which are moderate framed, but possess strong Functional traits, and retain Marbling and Rib Eye characterstics, and carcass merit - without exacerbating Frame Size and excessive YW. It is a fine line that is drawn to keep a correct balance within all of the characteristics which determine PROFIT!

When the high sounding phrases are all finished (just as in Politics), the bottom line results are what REALLY count. Selecting the wrong Bull (just as selecting the wrong Presidential PARTY)) can be the cause of disaster and chaos! When you get right down to it - - it is important as to how INFORMED the people are who make the final decision and selection!!

DOC HARRIS
 
Both retaining replacements and buying replacements have their own set of merits. When raising replacements I believe the biggest advantage to my operation is the development of heifers that excel under my local conditions, ie. type pasture, my management scheme, and most importantly the environmental and feed inputs the cattle receive. When raising replacements you have to wait longer to get a return on your investment, but DON'T forget that you're also creating value dollarwise in that animal, for example a weanling calf will usually double in value in the following year that she becomes a bred heifer (worth $500 today but more than likely double that in a year as a bred), so you are getting a return on your investment just as soon but the value remains in the cow herd rather than going to the bank. Also there is value in knowing the animals, knowing how they are bred, knowing for sure turn in dates, etc. The benefits of buying breds are that you get a quicker cash inflow, you can introduce new genetic diversity to your herd. With all the negatives expressed here about buying them I can say I've generally had good luck buying breds. As stated earlier I think it pays $$ to buy from dispersals or from reputation outfits, some keep replacements of their own on a gate cut basis so you would be getting basically what they are keeping. Other times they'll sell all the replacements if drought affected. If you have luck with one outift buy from them again! Several years ago I bought 158 bred heifers out of one lot, only had to pull 7 calves--you can bet I watch for their cattle at the bred sale if I'm looking for any!! All in all, do what is right for your operation in any given year, last year I sold all my calves and bought breds this past spring, this year I'll keep a good number of replacements because I have enough hay and because heifer calf prices are what I feel is too low ! Operating conditions change continually, your operating strategies should change as well !! I prefer to raise replacements but when operating as a business with debt to pay down sometimes it makes more sense to buy. Everyone's situation is different, figure out which approach pays out the best for you.
 
I prefer to keep our own heifers. I think the cost of raising a heifer is similar to what you have to pay for a bred heifer (I figured it out once). But, I have found in the long run it is cheaper to keep my own. I am pretty strict on what stays in the herd, and more often than not over 50% of the purchased heifers will be gone from our herd before they are 5 years old. With my own, I have production records on the dam, and the calf. I know which are more likely to be the good ones and which aren't. Try finding good records on animals you want to buy. They may be out there, but I have never been able to find them.

We have bought 'reputation' cattle that had a 75-80% cull rate in one year. We have done that more than once, not with the same cattle, but when you are spending $1200 on a so called reputation heifer that either raises a 300lb calf or comes up dry (or both), you don't make much profit. We have also had good luck buying bred cattle, but those ones seem to be few and far between.

Now, I am not saying every heifer we have kept has turned out as we thought, but they tend to stay around a lot longer than purchased cattle.
 
I don't believe cows that raise the biggest calf are the most profitable cows , its the cows with longivity that are profitable. As for enviorment I can admit In 2004 I Bought 5 cows off a dispersal from South Dakota ,here in southeas Iowa are pastures mainly fescue Three of the five could not hold condition and came back open the following fall.
 
There are a couple of large outfits here that crop share their older cows to a less rough and tumble operator, breed them to a terminal bull and get three more years out of them. It is profitable for both parties. Using ranch raised redundancies reduces risk in raising robust replacements. :)
 
This is nothing new and it may be a too simplified version of an estimated replacement heifer cost, but here is an example:

Value of heifer @ weaning (550 x $1.00/lb) = $550
Cost of Gain: Weaning to breeding ($.50/lb x 200 lbs) = $100
Bull cost (bull cost-less salvage/25 cows/3 years) = $20
Interest @ 10% = $38
Grazing and feeding cost: Breeding to calving = $220
Vet, med, vaccinations = $30
Death loss, 1.5% = $15
TOTAL = $1,039

These figures are obviously based off some assumptions, but it is a useful tool anyone can use to come up with a number.
 
We sell breds with a full garantee-so far after probably a 1,000 heifers sold I've replaced two. One the vet missed her calving date and she was a bit late-one calved on a semi headed to Ontario-the buyer dawdled sending a truck for his cattle. The heifer came off having calved but no calf was in the truck-I think the trucker peddled it or something. There are too many auction mart queens bred to cheap bulls that are peddled as breds-we usually sell A'I sired heifers bred back A'I to HORNED HEREFORD none the less. I've A'I'ed some large bunches of glossy paper reputation cattle for other people-they were fat and shiny but not much more-I'll take a wrung out hay raised ranch heifer putting on weight on grass-she'll breed like a rabbit and last till your sick of her.
 
I haven't bought an animal to go into my herd since 2001.

As for buying replacements, I THINK that who you buy from, their management practices, and the similarity of their environment/natural resource is most important.

I would think twice about buying bred heifers that are bred 'right' to calf at two...they are still growing, having to raise a calf, adjusting to a new herd, environment, and management...and we expect them to raise a good calf and breed back. You are stacking the deck against her, but the ones that do it, will be good ones.

Soapweed is offering the best deal...proven cows from a good herd...most all their heifers should be keepers...probably some good bull calves worth using(I would), but that's a different debate.

Doc Harris is right...you got to know where you are going before you will know how to get there.

My reasons for keeping replacements...consistency of production and, over the long term, reduced herd expenses and high rate of weaning percentage.
 

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