The effect of cow size on profitability

 

The Ideal Cow.   There are as many ideas about this as there are ranchers.   The best term I have heard to date is from Henry Gardiner......"pounds in the right package."    That says it all.   Since we are dealing with a meat animal "pounds" always will reign supreme.   We know that there is a huge difference between "pounds" of prime meat and "pounds" of select meat.    "Pounds" is the first thing a cow should produce to be an "Ideal" candidate.    And as much as possible. 

 

A very good cow produces 55 to 60 percent of her weight in "calf pounds" each year (205 day weight).   A decent cow can make 45 %.    One should cull those cows not producing 40 % of their weight.   This is the single most important criteria we have.   It is a direct reflection of what we are spending in feed relative to what we are selling in calves.    Weaning ratios do not factor in the cow weight and are useless.    A weaning ratio strongly favors the 1500 lb cow with the 600 lb calf (40 % efficient) and discriminates the 1000 lb cow with the 500 lb calf (50 % efficient).

 

The big cow will have a ratio of something like 110 and the little cow a ratio of 90.   The registered breeder will promote the first cow although she is clearly inferior.   She eats 50 % more feed to produce only 100 lbs more calf!!!   If you calculate the cost of your feed and what it just produced ($100 dollars worth of additional calf) it just doesn't make any sense.

 

Cattle, regardless of size or age, eat about the same amount of groceries per pound of bodyweight (3 percent on average per day).    The little cow only eats 30 lbs day MAX or 11000 pounds of feed per year at 3 cents per pound is 330 dollars in feed.   The big cow eats 45 lbs day MAX or 16425 pounds of feed per year at 3 cents per pound is 493 dollars in feed.   She cost an ADDITIONAL 163 dollars to feed for that 100 lbs of calf ($100).   No one has ever paid $1.63 for a 6 weight calf, but it happens all the time right out in the pasture.....if you look at the numbers.    (Actually, with the "slide" the additional weight would be worth more like 85 cents per pound because a 6 weight brings less per pound than a 5 weight).    So it's more like twice the amount of feed dollars than the calf's weight is worth.

 

Look at the typical rancher with 200 cows.   Rancher A has 200 of the nice, big, stout cows like everyone pays good money for.   They weigh 1500 like our above cow and produce 120,000 lbs. of calves annually (200 6-weight calves).   Rancher B opts for the smaller cows on his ranch and pays probably $150 less for his cows because no buyer at the salebarn wants a little cow.   (Note his smaller investment by $30000 for the same number of cows).   But notice that he wants to eat as much grass as his neighbor, Rancher A, with the same sized ranch next door.    He has just as much grass on his acreage and wants to get his use of it.   So, he buys 300 cows and stocks his place with the SAME number of pounds as the BigCowRancher.  (300 cows at 1000 lbs = 200 cows at 1500 lbs).  He weans his little calves at 500 lbs, 300 of them, is 150,000 lbs.

 

                                               

 

                                                     Rancher A (BigCows)                                   Rancher B (LittleCows)

 

           

             Number of Cows             200                                                       300

 

             Cow Purchase              $ 200,000 (200 @ 1000)                       $255, 000 (300 @ 850)

 

            Calf Weight and Price    120,000 times $.85                               150,000 times $1.00

                                                    (200 6-weight calves)                            (300 5-weight calves)

            

 

             Calf Income                  $102,000                                             $150,000

 

            Cowherd Weight             300,000 lbs                                           300,000 lbs

 

 

             Feed Cost                    $99,000                                 $99,000

 

                                                   ($330 per 1000 lbs of cow), exactly the same for both herds                                 

 

In almost 1 year Rancher B's additional income will have paid for his 100 additional cows.   He has the rest of his cowherd's life to receive more income for his exact same feed cost as his neighbor, rancher A.   Rancher A will continue to brag that his calves "wean off" heavier than his neighbor, but Rancher B will buy the new pickup!    This is entirely possible with only a 10 percent difference in cowherd efficiency.   In the real world, I believe a 15 percent difference is achievable. 

 

We can ignore feedlot efficiency (conversion), feedlot performance (ADG), grade and yield and cutability, calving ease and many other factors that cattlemen like to argue about and NEVER achieve the kind of profitability that a sensibly-sized cow can make.