Is small cow size a myth?

Help Support CattleToday:

Blonde d'Aquitaine

Active member
Joined
Sep 29, 2013
Messages
43
Reaction score
0
Location
Hofheim, Bavaria, Germany
Do you believe that there is a "Magical Cow Size"?
Than please read this: http://bit.ly/CowSize
Troy Marshall in My View From The Country: "We have to be intellectually honest and admit that cow size is about matching production to resources and risk management, more so than there being some magical size that is more profitable or biologically efficient. I understand that economic efficiency and biologic efficiency are not always the same trait, either, but the math is neither that complicated nor as simple as some try to make it."
 
There are some seedstock operations here in the States promoting their cattle and emphasizing that their cows are smaller and thus more "efficient." However, Radakovich and Johnson (King Ranch Institute of Ranch Managemet) presented their research finding at the Beef Improvement Federation meetings a few years ago in Columbia, Missouri. They noted that just because a cow is smaller doesn't make her more efficient. They commented that there are big, efficient cows, and small, inefficient cows.

I also find it interesting that most of these seedstock operations that promote smaller, more efficient cows (and calving ease bulls) rarely discuss the value of their cattle further down the supply-chain (i.e. feedlot, packer, consumer). They seem to forget that once a calf leaves the ranch, it still needs to work for the rest of the segments in the cattle industry. There are large cattle feeders that have instructed their calf buyers to not purchase calves from ranches that use the smaller, more "efficient" bulls because the calves finish at too small of a size, are not as efficient in the feedlot, the carcasses are too wasty, and oftentimes the ribeyes are smaller than desired.
 
Absolutely, I agree with this article. People tell me that they would hate to feed my cows yet I notice a definite condition difference in my cattle and theirs when they post pictures. My cattle are fed enough feed in the winter time to keep Rumensin in the system along with good bermuda hay, and are on pasture alone during the summer. Their weight is not from over feeding. This year with the lower single digit temps held for days, and it rained and froze on the cows, I did feed them 5 lbs of grain on those days, as it was extremely cold. When it was in the 20's with the wind blowing hard, I feed 3 lbs per head. If the hay had of been good, and a normal winter, they would have received a pound of grain each along with the amount of Rumensin 80 pellets they needed to keep their systems in tune. I had to switch to a grainery that really messed up my Rumensin feeding at the end of my winter feeding deal. I have sense found a new source of Rumensin, and can fix the problem next year. My hay went through a very wet summer, and the ground stayed wet. It could only be cut when it went to seed. Then it would rain on it after it was cut. It was so disappointed in my hay crop last year, and knew that I would have to make up for the difference.

Good pasture, genetics, and how you take care of your cattle makes the difference. I think people compare larger framed beef cattle to large framed milk cattle where they slowly milk them to death.
 
A lot depends on your environment
The big heavy milking cow would never make it in the desert sw
The smaller desert cattle would under utilize the higher forage and it's potential of the south central US
 
Shanghai said:
A lot depends on your environment
The big heavy milking cow would never make it in the desert sw
The smaller desert cattle would under utilize the higher forage and it's potential of the south central US

Very good point Shanghai. Environments vary greatly. For example, cattle that work in Iowa may not work as well in Arizona and vice versa.

So often I hear guys comment that the calves out of their home-raised clean-up bulls out perform the calves out of the highly popular AI sires....why are we suprised by this? After all, chances are the home-raised clean-up bull was one of the top calves of his contemporary group and excelled under the environment and management of that ranch/farm.
 
there's a lot of people who don't really know how big or small their cows really are. For me I'm not too concerned about differences in size weight as the expectation is that they work in my system, don't make excuses for their failure, cull honestly, don't carry passengers. Time will sort them out.
 
Here is an article I wrote last fall. As this seems to be a hot topic. I feel there is way more to it, than just weaning off 50% body weight or running more small cows. You have to take everything into consideration. I want to point out each and every environment is different.

The 1400 lbs cow vs the 1100 lbs cow

There seems to be a huge push in the industry right now to make your cows small. We are told they are more efficient and you will make more money off a small cow because you can supposedly run 20% more cows on the same feed. We are also told a lighter weight calf will bring more per pound. Well that sounds real good. But let's dig into it a little deeper and make it an apple to apples comparison.

Let's start with the first argument. The industry tells us that you should be able to run 20% more cows on the same amount of feed when comparing an 1100 lbs cow to a 1400 lbs cow. So let's compare a ranch that can run 600 head of 1100 lbs cows compared to 500 head of 1400 lbs cows on the same feed resources.
After a 5% death loss, you should have 285 steers off of the 1100 lbs cow herd. If the calves weigh 44% of the cows weight, the average weaning weight will be 484 lbs with an average price of $190/cwt or $921/calf (by using the average price on Superior's Steam Boat Springs Sale). If you replace 15% of the cows a year, that comes to 90 cull cows that weigh 1100 lbs and sell for $.81 or $891 each. To replace those cows you will need to retain 105 heifers annually. Of the heifer calves you sell off the cow (after a 5% death loss) you will have 180 head that average $846 if they sell $10/cwt back from the steers. Of these replacement heifers in which you try to breed, you will cull 15%, or 16 head. If your cows mature out at 1100 lbs, then these heifers will be around 800 lbs. Taking the average Superior price of $135/cwt, they would be worth $1080 each. Now you will need 5 more bulls to breed these cows and heifers since you have more cattle (15 heifers and 100 cows), and I used our last year bull sale average of $4850 a bull. So after you add up all the income and expenses, the gross off of your 600 cows is $487,875

Now, let's figure the 500 head ranch full of 1400 lbs cows. After a 5% death loss you would have 237 steers that weaned off at 43% of the dams body weight, for an average weaning weight of 602 lbs with an average price of $172/cwt or $1035 per steer calf (by using the average price on Superior's Steam Boat Springs Sale). If you cull 15% of the cows, you will have 75 head of 1400 lbs cows to sell at the same price as the 1100 lbs cow of .81/cwt for a total of $1134/cow. You would need to retain 90 head of replacement heifers to replace the 15% of cull cows. So you would then sell 148 heifers to sell off the cow (after a 5% death loss) at $954 each, priced at $10/cwt back from the steer mates. If you have the same amount open as the other group, which is 15%, you would have 14 head to sell that will weigh 1000 lbs, and by using the average price for that weight on Superior, they would be worth $128/cwt or $1280 each. After adding everything up, the gross sales are $492,092.

So as you can see, it is actually the opposite of what they tell us. By these figures, the difference is over$4000 more made off the 1400 lbs cow. What isn't figured in yet is the extra calving facilities, labor you have at calving, pasture care, etc, plus the extra vet expenses you have to run the extra cows, or in this case, 100 head of cows and their calves and 19 replacement heifers. After you add that all up, it could cost you from $10,000 to $15,000 or more annually to have the smaller made cow. Plus, this type of smaller framed calf will not get the premium sale day just because he is lighter. The lighter calves that get the real premium are the second cuts of the medium framed cows, as the smaller framed calves will finish too small and have higher yield grade 4's as they get too fat too early which is a huge discount to the feeder.

We want you to know that we are not promoting or advocating a big cow, as you can get them too big. However, we think you need to run the right type of cow, the kind that your environment allows you to run and that maximizes your profit. We just wanted to point out that there is nothing wrong with a 1400 lbs cow if your environment allows it without pampering them. What we do think is important, is the type of cow you run. We feel it is real important to have an easy keeping, big bodied type cow, one that is sound, fertile, and has the performance in her to raise the type of calf that the feeder will want to feed. So, before you run out and change your program, do your own math and see what works for you. Remember, there is a reason why feedlots from all over the country come to this area to buy their calves, while paying a whole lot more for them here than they do anywhere else throughout the country.
 
A lot of people say certain cows are very efficient because they have good body condition. But how do you know if it didn't take a lot of feed to do that? Does anyone measure individual cow's intake? Do you feed cows individually so some don't take more than their share? The poor doers might be the light eaters, and the easy keepers might be the big eaters. So easy keepers might just be big eaters which isn't efficiency.

Efficiency is good condition and production on less feed.


Neither is calf size a good measure of efficiency. If a cow weans a 20% heavier calf, but eats 30% more to do it, that is not efficient.

Anyway, if you really want to measure efficiency, you have to do what this researcher is doing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6hSQMz8hyo
 
BRG, very good! And I agree with what everyone says that no one type of cow suits every environment. When I was running Shorthorns, I think my cows got too big, and still have 2 of them that are on the brink of 2000 lbs for the bigger ones, but most are around 1500... Next I went with Gelbveih and that really moderated the frame sizes, though I also noticed that the middle-of-the-road calves as far as frame size were the ones that you just wanted to take a steak of out and eat. With about 10 heifers to choose from a year, it seems that I'd cull the 2 heaviest (700+ lbs) because they looked like a Frame 8 maturing animal, and kept the next biggest 3 or 4, which were about 625-675 lbs. I made a mis-step last year in my judgement on one of them and will probably sell her has a bred heifer or young cow.. Because of her extra size, she's aggressive and pushy, and was the last to come into heat, though she's still got 3 months to breeding season.
I am moderating my herd to about a 1400 lb mature weight, and on the cows, I'd rather them pack the weight with a big belly, wide hips and short legs than being too tall. I now have a Limo bull, which *hopefully* won't throw my plans off too much, his mother was about 1500 lbs, and the build I like, so hopefully he'll pass that along.

BRG, I know there are infinite numbers of cost variables and you can't include them all, but you will have a greater choice of bulls when you run the bigger cows, as sometimes that really nice bull that gained well, just had too high a BW to run on a small cow. The BW is a double edged sword for people in cold climates, 100+ lb bull calves may have more heat reserves, but they're also usually a little slower to get on their feet, when you run 20% more cattle, you need more vaccines, implants, tags, etc.

I think all in all, it's rigged so that you'll never be more than a half step ahead of the curve... As soon as everyone gets 1100 lb cows, there will be a shortage of 72 oz steaks, making the big cows get a premium...

And yes, I've definitely noticed that smaller is not MORE EFFICIENT, it just eats less. I suspect my most efficient cow to be about a frame 6 to 7, 1500 lbs, usually the first to leave the manger, makes a 700 lb steer calf on time every year, and stays fat doing it. Around here, a small cow is typically LESS efficient because of the exact reason Shanghai mentioned... Them and their calves don't have the frame to be able to use up the energy from relatively lush feed, so they'll get fat rather than truly grow. A big cow on bunchgrass can't get her stomach filled with enough energy and will shrivel up.

Djinwa, I can't watch youtube from here, but one thing I've noticed is some cows don't chew each mouthful of cud as throroughly as others... I've seen from about 35 chews to 80, and not surprisingly, the one I just mentioned is chewing at least 60 times, thus mixing and grinding the feed better... I can't say if this is genetic or 'learned' from mother, but it seems to be fairly hereditary. Meanwhile, you'll get a discount on steers with pot bellies, but a well framed cow who's got a deep chest, I find benefits from a big belly... More time to digest the food is what it boils down to
 
I normally have mild winters, and put out little feed. My biggest eater is my smallest framed cow. She is not a tiny cow, but she eats like an Electrolux vacuum cleaner. Once she cleans up her area, she runs to another spot, and pushes the other cows off. There is one pound of feed in the trough with just enough Rumensin pellets per cow. I keep an eye on my cows and see what is going on.

I also had been saving 5 bales per cow through the winter because the bales were so tight and nice, but for the last couple of years, I have noticed that the bales are much more loose, and I have been saving 7 per cow. I have plenty left over to feed all the way through the summer along with the pasture and then I feed the remaining for the beginning of the following winter.

Also, my favorite cows are here at the house. It is a 10 acre pasture and in the summer, it normally has up to 17 animals grazing it. I have the pastures cut into two fields that I rotate. With the clover growing back so fast, I have no trouble with maintaining their body weight. So, I have a good idea how much they or how little they are eating.
 
Chuckie, I'm hoping you're counting big bales and not small squares, or I'm going to be a little jealous... I feed about 8000 lbs of hay per cow, per winter, that's Dec 1st to May 24th, and a bit of insurance if we get a heavy, early snowfall.

I had one cow that only fired on 2 of 4 quarters, and didn't make much milk on the good quarters either, She was a small cow, about 4 years old, would give you a 110 lb bull calf in the spring, and by fall he'd be about 450 if you were lucky... totally starved to death... One year I had a wet cow, and grafted her calf onto her, and once it took, I shipped her and I noticed how much of the food she was eating... Probably about 40-45 lb/day of good hay... The wet cow ended up dying of heat stroke on Aug 2nd, but the calf was 600 lbs at shipping time. I certainly didn't regret shipping that feed hog!
 
Chuckie":z8xvzanz said:
I normally have mild winters, and put out little feed. My biggest eater is my smallest framed cow. She is not a tiny cow, but she eats like an Electrolux vacuum cleaner. Once she cleans up her area, she runs to another spot, and pushes the other cows off. There is one pound of feed in the trough with just enough Rumensin pellets per cow. I keep an eye on my cows and see what is going on.

I also had been saving 5 bales per cow through the winter because the bales were so tight and nice, but for the last couple of years, I have noticed that the bales are much more loose, and I have been saving 7 per cow. I have plenty left over to feed all the way through the summer along with the pasture and then I feed the remaining for the beginning of the following winter.

Also, my favorite cows are here at the house. It is a 10 acre pasture and in the summer, it normally has up to 17 animals grazing it. I have the pastures cut into two fields that I rotate. With the clover growing back so fast, I have no trouble with maintaining their body weight. So, I have a good idea how much they or how little they are eating.

I find that you and I operate in a similiar manner. I have cows that are somewhat on the bigger scale and they maintain good condition. I have two cows who may be in the 7 and 8 range and they will not usually come to feed when I put it out. They prefer grass and hay. If you looked at my cows, you would swear I was feeding these two extra.
 
What a fantastic article BRG. I run bigger cows and have taken some heat from the neighbors about it. But I love it when I wean 800lb calves.
 
Nesikep, you are such a nut!! :lol2: I really do wish they were the little square bales. It sure would be a lot warmer to feed those than to ride up and down the road on the cab-less tractor. Brrrrrr!
But they are the larger bales, and I wish they were tighter.


I will be sending two of my mature cows, and one of my yearling heifers to the other farm as they are not producing the quality calves that I want for seed stock.
I am pretty rough on my cows as far as what I like and dislike on them. They aren't perfect, but there are some things that I do want.
 
BRG":2ddlwf56 said:
Here is an article I wrote last fall. As this seems to be a hot topic. I feel there is way more to it, than just weaning off 50% body weight or running more small cows. You have to take everything into consideration. I want to point out each and every environment is different.

The 1400 lbs cow vs the 1100 lbs cow

There seems to be a huge push in the industry right now to make your cows small. We are told they are more efficient and you will make more money off a small cow because you can supposedly run 20% more cows on the same feed. We are also told a lighter weight calf will bring more per pound. Well that sounds real good. But let's dig into it a little deeper and make it an apple to apples comparison.

Let's start with the first argument. The industry tells us that you should be able to run 20% more cows on the same amount of feed when comparing an 1100 lbs cow to a 1400 lbs cow. So let's compare a ranch that can run 600 head of 1100 lbs cows compared to 500 head of 1400 lbs cows on the same feed resources.
After a 5% death loss, you should have 285 steers off of the ..........huge discount to the feeder. ........

We want you to know that we are not promoting or advocating a big cow, as you can get them too big. However, we think .........hroughout the country.

BRG - your entire argument is based on the contention that you can only run 20% more 1100 pound cows than 1400 pound cows and you support the contention by saying the "industry tells us". You go on using two hypothetical herds based on that contention. Very clearly your hypothetical has 700,000 pounds of the larger cows with the same feed costs as 660,000 pounds of the smaller cows. There may be a few studies that support that contention but I don't believe there is an industry wide acceptance of that contention as fact.

First off, it's not intuitive that larger cows are more feed effective for growth, milk production, or body maintenance. It would seem individual animals may be more efficient at converting feed, but I don't for a moment accept the general statements you make.

Secondly, I've seen one paper that says larger cows are more efficient but there was no detail, no data provided to allow interpretation or analysis. I've not seen anything generally that supports that hypothesis. I have seen at least some information that would disprove the hypothesis. I would say that at best, this is unsettled science.

Thirdly, you say you are not promoting a big cow and they can get too big. That disclaimer flies in the face of statements you made early in your post. Are you saying 1400 pounds does not a big cow make? Does a graph of cow efficiency compared to weight rise as weight goes up to level off or fall at some weight? If there were industry acceptance of this hypothesis I would expect enough studies and data to show where that trend line begins to level. I would expect someone to actually describe that trend line mathematically and if they could support it with studies and numbers, then the industry might accept that hypothesis.

In the meantime you've setup an example where holding inputs constant, one gets the not surprising result that 40,000 more pounds of cows increase profitability.
 
His example also assumes one needs more facilities to calve out 100 more cows. Not everybody calves in the winter. Also not everybody pays your bull average price to breed those extra cows. Besides that, bull to cow ratio depends on the kind of country and pasture sizes one is using.

This debate probably gets down to cow "type" more than weight or even frame score. You can have moderate frame cows (3-5) that can push more than 1400 in good condition. The right type of cow can handle large swings in body condition and feed availability and still breed. Especially in western extensive places the ability to put back fat on and condition in good times and then live off those in bad times seems to be what efficiency really is to the cow calf guy. The area of emphasis of efficiency obviously can change with where one is located and their target market. Larger frame cattle take more feed to gain condition and maintain it especially with the ability for high milk output. Funny how one poster here talks about how their cows are big and easy keepers, then admits to taking a feed sack out when cold. Cold in TN? My cows nurse calves all through our WI winter all on hay only. I am not suggesting this is the only way, but if cows need a feedsack ever there is issue.

For the poster who suggested moderate framed cattle produce wastey and small carcasses, try using google now and then. Plenty of studies using lowline frame 4 steers produced acceptable industry carcass sizes with the same feed to gain ratio.

Nesikep, small cattle ran through conventional channels are probably a lost opportunity in northern climates. Sitting at a bale feeder for 6-7 months then grazing lush grass sure makes life easier for big cows.

One exception to this northern thing is marketing into grassfed where there is a clear advantage to frame 3-5 cattle.
 
BRG":1lsqop88 said:
Here is an article I wrote last fall. As this seems to be a hot topic. I feel there is way more to it, than just weaning off 50% body weight or running more small cows. You have to take everything into consideration. I want to point out each and every environment is different.

The 1400 lbs cow vs the 1100 lbs cow

There seems to be a huge push in the industry right now to make your cows small. We are told they are more efficient and you will make more money off a small cow because you can supposedly run 20% more cows on the same feed. We are also told a lighter weight calf will bring more per pound. Well that sounds real good. But let's dig into it a little deeper and make it an apple to apples comparison.

Let's start with the first argument. The industry tells us that you should be able to run 20% more cows on the same amount of feed when comparing an 1100 lbs cow to a 1400 lbs cow. So let's compare a ranch that can run 600 head of 1100 lbs cows compared to 500 head of 1400 lbs cows on the same feed resources.
After a 5% death loss, you should have 285 steers off of the 1100 lbs cow herd. If the calves weigh 44% of the cows weight, the average weaning weight will be 484 lbs with an average price of $190/cwt or $921/calf (by using the average price on Superior's Steam Boat Springs Sale). If you replace 15% of the cows a year, that comes to 90 cull cows that weigh 1100 lbs and sell for $.81 or $891 each. To replace those cows you will need to retain 105 heifers annually. Of the heifer calves you sell off the cow (after a 5% death loss) you will have 180 head that average $846 if they sell $10/cwt back from the steers. Of these replacement heifers in which you try to breed, you will cull 15%, or 16 head. If your cows mature out at 1100 lbs, then these heifers will be around 800 lbs. Taking the average Superior price of $135/cwt, they would be worth $1080 each. Now you will need 5 more bulls to breed these cows and heifers since you have more cattle (15 heifers and 100 cows), and I used our last year bull sale average of $4850 a bull. So after you add up all the income and expenses, the gross off of your 600 cows is $487,875

Now, let's figure the 500 head ranch full of 1400 lbs cows. After a 5% death loss you would have 237 steers that weaned off at 43% of the dams body weight, for an average weaning weight of 602 lbs with an average price of $172/cwt or $1035 per steer calf (by using the average price on Superior's Steam Boat Springs Sale). If you cull 15% of the cows, you will have 75 head of 1400 lbs cows to sell at the same price as the 1100 lbs cow of .81/cwt for a total of $1134/cow. You would need to retain 90 head of replacement heifers to replace the 15% of cull cows. So you would then sell 148 heifers to sell off the cow (after a 5% death loss) at $954 each, priced at $10/cwt back from the steer mates. If you have the same amount open as the other group, which is 15%, you would have 14 head to sell that will weigh 1000 lbs, and by using the average price for that weight on Superior, they would be worth $128/cwt or $1280 each. After adding everything up, the gross sales are $492,092.

So as you can see, it is actually the opposite of what they tell us. By these figures, the difference is over$4000 more made off the 1400 lbs cow. What isn't figured in yet is the extra calving facilities, labor you have at calving, pasture care, etc, plus the extra vet expenses you have to run the extra cows, or in this case, 100 head of cows and their calves and 19 replacement heifers. After you add that all up, it could cost you from $10,000 to $15,000 or more annually to have the smaller made cow. Plus, this type of smaller framed calf will not get the premium sale day just because he is lighter. The lighter calves that get the real premium are the second cuts of the medium framed cows, as the smaller framed calves will finish too small and have higher yield grade 4's as they get too fat too early which is a huge discount to the feeder.

We want you to know that we are not promoting or advocating a big cow, as you can get them too big. However, we think you need to run the right type of cow, the kind that your environment allows you to run and that maximizes your profit. We just wanted to point out that there is nothing wrong with a 1400 lbs cow if your environment allows it without pampering them. What we do think is important, is the type of cow you run. We feel it is real important to have an easy keeping, big bodied type cow, one that is sound, fertile, and has the performance in her to raise the type of calf that the feeder will want to feed. So, before you run out and change your program, do your own math and see what works for you. Remember, there is a reason why feedlots from all over the country come to this area to buy their calves, while paying a whole lot more for them here than they do anywhere else throughout the country.

I would like to note that this is really a case of Small cows VS Medium cows where large cows are 1700 lbs.

Source of Calf Prices (Approx.) - http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/lsddfss.pdf

First off you have 660K pounds of 1100#'s vs. 700K pounds of 1400#'s.To get to 700K lbs of 1100's you would get another 36 cows. That is 17 more steers.

636 1100 pound cows VS 500 1400 lb cows

I would change the %'s to be 46% and 40% (respectively). If your 1100's are frame 3 and 1400's are frame 5 then you would (Or I would) breed them each to 6 frame bulls for a terminal and the current frame score for replacements. SPECIALIZE. You would get a greater boost with the frame difference between 6 and 3 vs. 6 and 5. More % gained = more profit. At 25 cows to a bull and 4 years to a bull you have to buy 21 bulls for cows every 4 years. Heifer bulls are only used 2 years and you have to buy 5 of those every 2 years. This was the year you had to buy heifer bulls and cow bulls.
1100
The terminal calves would probably wean at 50% and the Maternal at 42%.
Steers. 151 550# steers and 151 462# calves. Terminal $174,000 + Maternal $153,000 = $327K in steers.
Heifers. 151 550# heifers (terminal) and 40 462# heifers. Terminal $166,000 + Maternal $38,000 = $204K
Culls. 95 cull cows $76K + 16 cull heifers $20K
Output = $627K
26 Bulls at $4,000 a head is $104K in bulls
Inputs = $104K
Profit = +$523K

Will return soon to do the 1400# portion.
 
BRG is going off what people say.. "you can run 20% more cows per acre when you reduce the size of the cow from 1400, to 1100 lbs". It's not a very scientific one indeed as it doesn't take into account individual traits, but I guess for a herd as a whole, perhaps it does run true. I don't consider a 1400 lb cow a large cow either.. that to me is about 1800+ lbs. The arguments wasn't based on how many pounds of cows you have, just the number and weight.

If you run more cows, you will need more bulls and more replacement heifers... I can't see anyone disagreeing with that too much. Agreed that not everyone has to buy bulls at market value, but that holds true for both the 1100 lb herd and the 1400 lb herd., which makes it a moot point... more cows do need more bulls.

AllForage.. lush grass and full round bale feeders make it easy for any cow, no? december through February I usually feed out my rougher, first cut hay at about 25-30 lb/hd/day, though a bit more if it's below 0F. The cows never get grain. We don't have round bales because we don't have enough cattle to be able to dole out the *right* amount of food per day. the last month and a half of gestation I increase the feed a little, and after calving they get better hay... I'm not in the business of throwing hay away, so they get just as much as they'll nicely clean up.
I think your market plays a huge role in what type of animal you select, as well your conditions.

Dega moo, don't forget to add in vaccine, ear tags, etc, and any way you cut the cake, it's going to take more time to do any procedure to 20% more cattle, so whatever costs you do have pertaining to that, do go up. The only thing we are holding constant here is the feed we give them.

Your argument for 636 head instead of 600 doesn't quite hold.. A cow that is twice as heavy doesn't eat twice as much, it is a little less than that. A lot of it is geometry, and this is a seperate from efficiency! So 636 head (700,000 lbs of cow) will EAT MORE than 500 head (700,000 lbs of cow) of the bigger cows.

No size is perfect, and I think the point of BRG's original post was to crunch your numbers well, and gives an instance where popular belief may not be quite as it seems. Your market, as is the case with AllForage, works better with the smaller animal due to different marketing approaches...
 

Latest posts

Top