Where would profit come from?

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Bigfoot

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I've about got my taxes together. It hasn't been a great year. I brought home a little bit, but there wasn't much meat on the bone. I thought this would make for an interesting topic:

If you had to only pic 2 or 3 things to focus on. Things would add to the bottom line, what would you choose?

I'd go with:
1. Fertility------She's gotta send one to sale barn every 12 months
2. Weaning weight--------You can knit pick around, and find weight ranges that are
Selling good. That's a crap shoot. My bigger calves brought
The most, and they always do.
3. Gotta fit in--------------Here you gotta make it in a graded pen (different other
places I know). You gotta fit in here to do good. That's a
black value added calf. Your calf is off colored or spotted,
and it's the kiss of death.

Tons of other things make up a good management program, but that's my 3.
 
Bigfoot":3w5ai1xx said:
I've about got my taxes together. It hasn't been a great year. I brought home a little bit, but there wasn't much meat on the bone. I thought this would make for an interesting topic:

If you had to only pic 2 or 3 things to focus on. Things would add to the bottom line, what would you choose?

I'd go with:
1. Fertility------She's gotta send one to sale barn every 12 months
2. Weaning weight--------You can knit pick around, and find weight ranges that are
Selling good. That's a crap shoot. My bigger calves brought
The most, and they always do.
3. Gotta fit in--------------Here you gotta make it in a graded pen (different other
places I know). You gotta fit in here to do good. That's a
black value added calf. Your calf is off colored or spotted,
and it's the kiss of death.

Tons of other things make up a good management program, but that's my 3.

All I can tell you what I do a cow has to deliver a calf that will grade every 12 months . Life is much easier with the better cow.
 
#1 consistent cows , they have a decent calf not the worst maybe not the best but constant crop yr after year in 12 mths.

#2 fertility and efficient

Too many people focus on trying to produce the extreme cows when middle of the road workers get the job done all day everyday. Cheaper to own and produce quality consistently
 
Profit..............it's an interesting concept, which includes your point of view. What do you truly consider to be profit? Money? Yes, I know.
I go in high, sell low, but make up the difference in volume.......joking!
There are more than one way to skin cats, but most business models suggest that cash in exceed cash out. There are exceptions. One is profiteering from your time and the joy of which we all value differently. Tough question BF
 
M-5":1mwsbpsi said:
#1 consistent cows , they have a decent calf not the worst maybe not the best but constant crop yr after year in 12 mths.

#2 fertility and efficient

Too many people focus on trying to produce the extreme cows when middle of the road workers get the job done all day everyday. Cheaper to own and produce quality consistently

The cows that don't stand out make me the most. Nothing fancy.

I would have to say fertility is pretty darn important.
 
Very good topic. For me the #1 and #2 areas of concern are fertility and good disposition. The frame and hide color is also very important.
 
1) Longevity is high on my list, which of course includes a laundry list of things.. they can't be falling apart at the hooves, udders, etc, have a calf that doesn't embarrass me every year, trouble free, docile, etc
2) Efficiency.. they don't need to be small cows, but they need to show for the food they eat.
3) Uniformity.. a nice pen of uniform calves always sells better than a mixed bunch
 
Penny saved = penny earned = control input costs
11 year study of 245 herds with an average herd size of 110 cows found the top 20% most profitable herds
had input expenses 12% lower than the average herd and 36% lower than low profit herds
feed costs were 7% lower than average and their interest expenses on borrowed money was 40% lower
In addition:
in high profit herds the pounds weaned per cow exposed was 10.5% higher than the average herd.
 
My bigger calves brought
The most, and they always do.
Sounds good. But not always true if you know what buyers want. Also bigger calves, the biggest in this thread, require more feed, more milk, more expense and I tend to believe that there is an environmental limit to weaning weight versus breed back % unless you own a feed truck. I'd rather raise breed back%, hold down WW, target calf type that excites buyers at lower weights and move on along. Profit has to be balances with both your labor and your financial inputs.
 
Adding value to the calves is a big one. Consider selling in odd times of the year, weaning, vaccinating, dehorning, castrating, etc. There are more than a few guys around here that make a living buying bawling bull calves and adding value to them and selling them into a better market. There's no reason for the original owner not to put that value into them.
Heterosis is another big one that lots of people miss. Even a little bit helps.
 
When prices are good, it seems like there's more of a difference favoring light calves than heavy ones.. when the markets crash, the heavy ones will do better relatively speaking...

2015 I got nearly $1/lb for my dinks than my beautiful big guys... 2016 I got LESS per pound for the dinks, never mind the reduced weight
 
Ebenezer":1t52aow6 said:
My bigger calves brought
The most, and they always do.
Sounds good. But not always true if you know what buyers want. Also bigger calves, the biggest in this thread, require more feed, more milk, more expense and I tend to believe that there is an environmental limit to weaning weight versus breed back % unless you own a feed truck. I'd rather raise breed back%, hold down WW, target calf type that excites buyers at lower weights and move on along. Profit has to be balances with both your labor and your financial inputs.
Might be why he listed fertility as #1? :cowboy:
 
Besides fertility would be hybred vigor it is the free gift from God.
Maximum this for your environment would be a no brainer I would think.
Lots of data through the test at major Ag universities on breeds that compliment each other.
 
Fertility. Everything else is secondary. If a cow won't bring a calf to the weaning pens, you can work to improve it. The single worst decision a producer can make is to give a cow a "pass", for any reason. They have ONE job, to raise a calf. If they fail at their single job, they need to be beefed.
 

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