Raising cattle requires wise decision making

By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition

Dr. Jason Cleere, Extension beef cattle specialist, speaks to people after his speech on buying vs raising replacement heifers at the Beef Cattle Short Course at Texas A&M University. Photo by Mindy Poehl

August 12, 2004 - Deciding if it is better to raise one's own replacement heifers or buy them is still a decision causing much debate for cattle ranchers.

Dr. Jason Cleere, assistant professor and Extension beef cattle specialist with the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University, discussed the factors that influence the decision, during the Beef Cattle Short Course held Aug. 2-4 at Texas A&M University.

The factors for deciding whether to raise replacement heifers or buy them depends on the size of the herd, number of pastures, size of working facilities, time that can be devoted to caring for heifers and how much capital can be invested, Cleere said.

"There is not a simple answer when we're thinking about this issue," Cleere said.

Heifers are young calves that are growing and require more management than cows.

"Those heifers need tender love and care," Cleere said.

Management of yearling heifers affects them not only when they have their first calf, but also when they are three, four and five years old.

While raising heifers, they will need to be placed in different pastures from the cows due to higher nutritional requirements. Heifers also need sound fences and holding facilities to keep them from escaping and to keep them away from the bulls, Cleere said.

"While raising replacement heifers, you need to keep 30-40 percent more than what is needed, due to the 20 percent culling rate," Cleere said. "The average rate of conception of heifers is 85 percent."

Many producers want to raise their own heifers for biosecurity because they do not want to introduce diseases into the herd. Cleere said spreading diseases can be avoided by buying from reputable sellers who keep records and regularly vaccinate their animals.

When thinking about raising or buying replacement heifers, economically "make sure to factor in everything," Cleere said. Include factors such as opportunity costs, feed costs, interest, labor, facilities, tax advantages, conception rates, replacement costs, bull costs, cull rates, etc., when analyzing the cost.

Crossbreeding improves the productivity through breed complementarity and heterosis, said Cleere. Raising replacement females becomes a challenge because continuous crossbreeding (composite) is required. Purchasing replacements will simplify crossbreeding because of continuous or terminal crossbreeding (rotational) is required.

Cleere summarized by stating that replacement heifers are an eight to fourteen year investment. But, "raising replacement females also allows producers to exercise definite selection control over production criteria," Cleere said. "There is no definite answer. The solution lies in you. What you will need to do is match that cow to the environment."

Dr. Ernie Davis, regents fellow and professor at A&M, and Extension livestock marketing economist, spoke about rebuilding the U.S beef herd.

The beef cow inventory was at its peak in 1995 with 36.10 million head of beef cattle. Since 1996, the beef industry has had a herd reduction because of the drought.

"Our market is flat right now," Davis said.

The beef cow inventory of 2003 was at 33.6 million, and lies at 32.8 million in 2004. But, beef cow replacement had a six percent increase between 2003 and 2004, Davis stated.

"The high corn prices in '96 also made beef production go down and prices go up," David said. "When production is up, prices go down. In '99, there was an increase in demand because of value-added products."

Davis says the beef market will increase soon.

"With the Atkins Diet and the South Beach Diet craze, the market will rise. Krispy Cream can eat their own products, now," Davis joked.

Texas forecasted prices for 2004 for fed cattle at $84-85, and $109-110 for 5-6 feeder cattle. The forecasted prices for Texas in 2005, for fed cattle, is $83-87, and $102-112 respectively.