cypressfarms
Well-known member
Hi all,
I'm really not trying to sound like a "know it all", so if comes accross as such, please forgive me. From all of the "newbie"type questions lately, I thought I would post a small version of how I keep track of cows/calves:
The name of the game for a commercial cow/calf producer is pounds at weaning, and price per pound. Each year I analize all of the data I can get a hold of to evaluate any changes that I need to make.
To start off, you need a reliable way to identify each cow's calf. I put in a ear tag with the moma's number plus A soon after birth so I can monitor them better.
When I bring them to the stockyard, I am meticulous. I write down each calves sale number (the sticker #) so I can correlate it to their ear tag number. This allows me to gather data like the following:
This year's results:
Avg sale price $1.17 per pound
Avg sale weight 453 pounds
Avg sale price $525.58
Avg Daily gain 1.99 pounds
205 Avg weight 482 pounds.
I calculate Avg daily gain by using the following formula:
sale weight - birth weight (I usually just use 75 lbs) divided by the numbers of days old the calf was at sale day.
205 weight is a common age for weaning weights. This lets me judge calves against each other. For this the formula is:
Avg daily gain multiplied by 205 plus birth weight.
This is just a brief summary. It allows one to make more informed decisions about which cows to keep or cull. This year, the bottom three calves in ADG and 205 weight were from first time heifers, so they will get a break, as cows first calves are normally smaller.
Thought it may help some. I'm not a math expert, but you gotta find a way to see what your cows are doing for you. After all, they are your employees.
I'm really not trying to sound like a "know it all", so if comes accross as such, please forgive me. From all of the "newbie"type questions lately, I thought I would post a small version of how I keep track of cows/calves:
The name of the game for a commercial cow/calf producer is pounds at weaning, and price per pound. Each year I analize all of the data I can get a hold of to evaluate any changes that I need to make.
To start off, you need a reliable way to identify each cow's calf. I put in a ear tag with the moma's number plus A soon after birth so I can monitor them better.
When I bring them to the stockyard, I am meticulous. I write down each calves sale number (the sticker #) so I can correlate it to their ear tag number. This allows me to gather data like the following:
This year's results:
Avg sale price $1.17 per pound
Avg sale weight 453 pounds
Avg sale price $525.58
Avg Daily gain 1.99 pounds
205 Avg weight 482 pounds.
I calculate Avg daily gain by using the following formula:
sale weight - birth weight (I usually just use 75 lbs) divided by the numbers of days old the calf was at sale day.
205 weight is a common age for weaning weights. This lets me judge calves against each other. For this the formula is:
Avg daily gain multiplied by 205 plus birth weight.
This is just a brief summary. It allows one to make more informed decisions about which cows to keep or cull. This year, the bottom three calves in ADG and 205 weight were from first time heifers, so they will get a break, as cows first calves are normally smaller.
Thought it may help some. I'm not a math expert, but you gotta find a way to see what your cows are doing for you. After all, they are your employees.