Better herd bull will boost calf crop, profits

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

Dr. Larry Boleman, Extension beef cattle specialist, detailed a topic that interests most - the bottom line - during the Kollege of Knowledge event during the Santa Roundup. -- Staff photo by Taylor

May 20, 2004 -- "Buy a good bull; it's one of the simplest and cheapest things to do," explained Dr. Larry L. Boleman, professor and Extension beef cattle specialist.

Boleman was the lead speaker at the "Kollege of Knowledge X," held in Schulenburg, and sponsored by the Santa Roundup and Santa Gertrudis producers, on May 7.

Attendees to the Santa Roundup heard Boleman talk about the importance of cow/calf management and the bottom line concerning producers' net income.

At this time, cattle continue to sell at the highest rates in many years. Some contribute the high selling prices to the hold on Canadian cattle, and some believe it relates back to the drought suffered several years ago in Texas and other cattle states.

Whatever the reason, Boleman tried to help individual producers decide just what the best plan of action is for their individual herds. In literature handed to each producer, it states there is " ... no simple way to make investment in a cow-calf enterprise that is highly profitable for a sustained period of time."

"You cannot be in the cattle business unless you think about costs and what you will sell and value," offered Boleman, who also serves as associate department head for Extension animal science for the Texas Cooperative Extension in College Station.

He explained that values and expenses vary from year to year and depend on which part of Texas the herd is located. While some areas of Texas do not need fertilizer (such as West Texas), the producer does need to be assured of enough forage/pastures are available to rotate the cattle.

In the "Texas Cow-Calf Standardized Performance Analysis - SPA West Versus East" prepared by James M. McGrann, Lawrence Falconer and Stanley Bevers, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University on March 15, 2004, they state that in 2002, the average size of 78.2 percent of Texas herds had between 1 and 49 head of cattle.

In January of 2003, Texas was still the national leader with 16.6 percent of the total cattle in the United States.

A good calf crop is still a most important issue in herd management, as well as the bottom line of income.

Boleman suggested producers should consider that what one-fourth of the calves sell for will usually pay for a pasture lease, thus leaving the three-fourths of the income to help with other expenses. He said a good calving rate is between 85 and 86 percent. Without that, the cost/benefit ratio will suffer.

Producers were reminded that all across the state of Texas, purebred herds must be tested for tuberculosis (TB) by August. The testing effort is to help the state regain a "TB-free status" and thus be able to freely move cattle across borders. He added the first test is done free.

During a discussion concerning healthy herds, someone spoke of "worming" cattle as "de-worming." Boleman laughingly said, " ... if you are de-worming them, you're just adding to the problem!"

Finally, Boleman discussed the choice of artificial insemination (AI) versus a good bull. He summarized that good semen produces better calves, which will produce more income for the producers.

In closing, the literature presented stated there are three questions that need to be addressed before action is taken in analyzing and interpreting economic conditions: "Number 1 - What is the current financial and production status of the business? Number 2 - What are the owner's goals and objectives for the business? And, finally, Number 3 - What are the different ways to reach the desired goals?"

Once all of this can be decided on an individual basis, producers should be able to set realistic goals and be able to communicate better concerning their herds.