  BeefTalk:
Positive Economic Benefits Possible by Studying Numbers
By Kris Ringwall, Extension Beef Specialist,
NDSU Extension Service
Do you ever look at numbers, just to look?
Successful beef managers review numbers in different ways to stimulate
thoughts and produce positive results. One example is the cost of stress at
weaning time. How much potential gain do calves lose when stress levels are
high? At the North Dakota State University Dickinson Research Extension Center,
each year the calves go on various research trials, which have a standard
procedure. Is there a cost associated with working up to the start of a trial or
shipping the calves?
There is misconception among individuals who don’t have the opportunity to
physically work cattle very often. They feel weaning is a morning event followed
by lunch and the opportunity to bond while breathing good, fresh air. Yet, the
economics of the beef business tells us otherwise. For us, weaning is a
week-long activity of moving, trucking, sorting and processing cattle.
Cow and calf pairs may be across the road, down the road a mile or two or in
the next township. In the spring, pairs are dispersed to the farthest corners of
the ranch and slowly brought toward headquarters as the grazing season
progresses. By the fall roundup, most of the cows are close enough to trail the
herd to the processing facility.
The cattle drive gives the riders, horses and cattle a chance to become
acquainted. Once at the facility, cows and calves are parted and sorted. Cows
are staged, in anticipation of being reworked the following week. Calves are
weighed, processed and penned.
As the sun sets, a late-night load of feed is delivered to each calf pen. The
sound of the tractor is overcome by the loud bellowing of homesick calves. Early
the next day, the steps are repeated with another group of cows and calves, and
again the third and fourth days.
Responsibilities shift as the lots fill up and choring takes longer as the
need to constantly watch for sick calves fills up the days. As a point of
interest, calf 1044, brought off pasture prior to weaning, is still in the sick
pen. That’s one of the difficult calves. The opportunity for profit has long
since disappeared, but animal husbandry still abounds.
Meanwhile, the cow pen has filled to overflowing and cows need to be
processed and sent back out to winter facilities. Cows are systematically
evaluated for physical soundness, condition of their teeth, temperament and
pregnancy status. Those that don’t make the cut are sorted off and the rest
are sent to winter programs.
Options abound: sell now, don’t sell, put some weight on those culls, add
some pounds to the second cut calves, send the first cut calves to the
neighbors, put good heifers in pen one, the light weight heifers in two, keep a
pen open for the sick calves, the bulls just jumped into the replacement
heifers. Darn, I forgot where the replacements even were. This is not the time
to offer frivolous advice to the seasoned cow hand. There is only so much any
one person can do and still maintain sanity. Yes, I could make more money with
option two than option one, but frankly, I just don’t have the time. Is it any
wonder why the cattle industry is steeped in tradition?.
Well any way, I started out wondering, "How much weight do calves lose
during the weaning process?" Generally, calf weight loss during weaning is
simply accepted as a part of business. But how much is too much?
Our calves weighed an average of 89 pounds at birth, 573 pounds at
pre-weaning vaccination, 638 pounds at weaning and 638 pounds five to seven days
after weaning. From a manager’s view point, I lost a week’s gain on the
whole calf crop. A gain of 2.2 pounds per day per calf pre-weaning on 347 calves
for six days amounts to 4,560 pounds of lost weight gain. A dead calf is easy to
see, but improved management during the weaning process is just as important.
Finding hidden loss is the manager’s pay.
May you find all your ear tags.
Your comments are always welcome at www.BeefTalk.com.
For more information, contact the North Dakota Beef Cattle Improvement
Association, 1133 State Avenue, Dickinson, ND 58601 or go to www.CHAPS2000.COM
on the Internet. In correspondence about this column, refer to BT0067.
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Source: Kris Ringwall, (701) 483-2427, kringwal@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu
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