Cow-Calf Operations

Makenna RamosApril 10, 2012

Animal Science

What is Cow-Calf Operations?

0Cow-Calf Operation is a method of raising beef cattle in which a permanent herd of

cows is kept by a farmer or rancher to produce calves for later sale.

How does it work?

0The producers role is to produce a calf to be used in the beef market. They can only produce one calf every 12 months.

0A cow carries a calf for 9 months before it gives birth. Then she nurses it for another 6 months before it is weaned and sold. We can rebreed a cow 3 months after she has given birth that way she is carrying her next calf while she is nursing one.

Different types of Cow-Calf Operations

0Commercial Operations-Generally involves cross-bred cows that are bred to produce

calves that are mainly for beef production.

0Seedstock Operations- Where producers raise a favorite breed (sometimes more than one) and breed cows to get calves that are grown and sold to other producers for replacement

stock.

Advantages/Disadvantages

0 Forages:0 Forages are the man food source for all cow-calf operators.

0 Less labor requirements:0 Most all of the labor required is for maintenance of the ranch.

0 Low death loss:0 Insures good profits and cattle just don’t lose their offspring.

0 Don’t convert grass as good as feed:0 Cattle don’t convert grass to body weight as quickly as they do

with feed.0 High cost to start an operations:

0 It cost more to get started with cattle than any other species.

EPD Basics0 EPD stands for Expected

Progeny Difference.0 EPD’s predict the

performance of future offspring from an individual animal.

0 Each EPD is an estimate of the individual’s genetic merit for producing future progeny.

0 A bull with “superior” EPDs does not guarantee you superior calves.

What EPD’s are Not

0Predict average differences between sires- not actual performance.

0EPD’s do not predict uniformity or variation in calf crop.

0Not an absolute guarantee.0Not static.0Breed Average EPD for any trait is not

necessarily.0Not Directly comparable across breeds.

Challenges with EPD’s

0Balanced trait selection0 Which traits?0 Proper weighting

0Economic value of each EPD0 Relative to a unit change0 Relative to its importance in selection

Facts about Cow/Calf Operations

0Based on the U.S. Census of Agriculture, less than 3 percent of all cow-calf producers obtained all of their income from farming.

0Producers on operations with 50 beef cows devoted an average of 28.9 percent of their work time to the operation compared with 47.3 percent for operations with 50 to 99 beef cows.

0Small-scale cow-calf operations.0There is over 200 by products that come from

a cow.

Facts about Cow-Calf Operations Continued

0 Cow-Calf Operator- conception to weaning = 15 months.

0 Backgrounder- raises the weaned calves until they are ready to go to the feedlot. This process takes about 4-6 months.

0 Feedlot- fattens the cattle until they are at slaughter weight (1400-1600 lbs.) which takes 5-6 months.

0 Total time that is required to get the beef to the consumer: 0 First thought of the next calf crop to the table- just over

2 years.0 From the birth to the table- right at 16-17 months.

Bibliography0 "Cow-Calf Operations." Glen Rose Arkansas FFA. Arkansas FFA. Web. 16

Apr. 2012. <www.glenrosearkansasffa.com/Cow-Calf%20Operations.ppt>.

0 Greiner, Ph.D., Scott P. "Expected Progeny Differences (EPD's) & Indexes." Louisiana-Mississippi-Alabama Beef Cattle Genetics. Web. 17 Apr.

2012. www.lsuagcenter.com/.../EPDsIndexesLAMSALshortcourseNov05.p.0 Hansen, Gary R., and David G. Riley. "Expected Progeny Differences in Beef

Cattle." IFAS Extension. University of Florida. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. <http:// edis.ifas.ufl.edu/an164>.

0 Karin. "How to Start up a Beef Cow Calf Operation.” WikiHow. 30 July 2011. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. <http://www.wikihow.com/Start-up-a-Beef-Cow-Calf-

Operation>.0 "Understanding Hereford EPD's." Star Lake Herefords. Web. 17 Apr. 2012.

http://starlakeherefords.com/articles/understanding_hereford_epds.

0 Womach, Jasper. “Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition.” Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.