https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/jrm/article/download/20057/19679

Economics of Flexible Versus Conservative Stocking Strategies to Manage Climate Variability Risk

Delaying calving season from late winter to late spring has been suggested as a way for producers in Wyoming and other high elevation areas of the West to reduce feeding costs. We hypothesized that shifting calving season to a later date would reduce feed costs by providing a closer match between cow nutritional requirements and nutritional quality of grazable forage. The objectives of this study were to estimate the cost of feeding a cow under 5 alternative calving month scenarios (February through June) and to identify alternative lower-cost forage practices that could replace feeding hay. Mixed integer programming models were constructed for each calving scenario with the objective of minimizing the cost of providing energy and protein to a mature cow. Objective function values from each model were compared to identify the low feed cost calving month. The ration was balanced for each month of the year, with requirements dependent on the interaction between the reproductive cycle and environmental conditions. Fat reserves were included as an alternative energy source and body condition was allowed to fluctuate. Under average weather conditions, June was the lowest feed cost calving month with a reduction in annual feed costs of $43 cow-1 over February calving. The cost reduction was a result of a shift from mechanical to stock harvested forage, with the cow being maintained at a lower average body condition during the winter.

/pdf/relative-costs-and-feeding-strategies-associated-with-winter-2logg9hvx1.pdf

Relative costs and feeding strategies associated with winter/spring calving.

Lifetime productivity of fescue grasslands (Festuca scabrella var. campestris Rydb.) is enhanced by fall and winter grazing as opposed to summer grazing. However, forage quality is below the maintenance requirements of cattle and weathering losses will reduce available forage. Cows tend to lose weight and backfat prior to calving if their only feed source through fall and winter is native grassland. Maintaining adequate cow condition for spring calving is important to prevent long term losses associated with reduced calf birth weights, lower cow fertility and reduced cow longevity. Cow condition can be improved by having cows graze annual forage in the fall or by supplementing the cows with grain screenings. Alternatively, cows can be fed in a feedlot prior to calving to restore body condition lost in grazing native grassland in the fall and winter. Results from a 3-year experiment showed that winter wheat pasture grazed in the fall, supplemented with grain screenings was generally the least expensive alternative (ranging from $70 cow(-1) at low barley prices approaching $.051 kg(-1), to $97 cow(-1) at high barley prices approaching $0.175 kg(-1)) for maintaining cow condition prior to calving. Restoring cow condition in a feedlot prior to calving was less expensive that provision of fall annual pasture when grain prices were low (barley price below $0.14 kg(-1).

/pdf/economics-of-maintaining-cow-condition-on-fescue-prairie-in-2npus4j8gb.pdf

Economics of maintaining cow condition on fescue prairie in winter

Integer programming models were used to examine optimal monthly feeding strategies and costs for March and May calving alternatives. Body condition scores were allowed to fluctuate throughout the year except for calving and breeding periods. The May calving strategy decreased annual feeding costs by $20 per cow.

Optimal Feed Cost Strategies Associated with Early and Late Calving Seasons

Objective—To determine whether beef herds could increase profitability by reducing production cost per 100 lb (hundredweight [CWT]; ie, 45.4 kg) of calf through implementation of advice from teams of veterinarians and county extension agents supported by university specialists. Design—Longitudinal study. Sample Population—6 commercial cow-calf herds comprising 1,927 cows. Procedure—Teams of veterinarians and county extension agents provided advice on 25 profitable ranch management practices to herd owners for 3 years. Use of each practice in herds was measured on a scale of 1 to 5 for baseline year 1999. Similar measurements were made at the end of each year for comparison with baseline values. Outcomes were measured by standardized performance analysis. Results—Mean weaning weight of calves per exposed cow of the 6 herds increased significantly from 1999 (2000, 26.8 kg [59 lb; 17%]; 2001, 49.1 kg [108 lb; 31%]; and 2002, 43.2 kg [95 lb; 27%]). Mean cost per CWT of calf decreased significantly from the 19...

Impact of the Texas Beef Partnership in Extension Program on profitability of beef cow-calf herds

OBJECTIVE: To determine gross income lost that was attributable to thin cows in a beef cattle herd, to estimate the cost of added nutrition necessary to prevent thin cows in the herd, and to determine the financial outcome of the improved nutritional practices. DESIGN: Prospective, observational study. ANIMALS: Four hundred and twenty-two Santa Gertrudis cows and their calves. PROCEDURE: At pregnancy examination in the fall of 1992, cows were assigned a body condition score (BCS), using a scale of 1 (emaciated) to 9 (obese), and the ratio of the productivity of BCS-3 and BCS-4 cow groups (thin cows), compared with the mean productivity of BCS-5 and BCS-6 cows (cows in good condition), was determined. Measures of productivity evaluated included pregnancy rates, weaning weights, and prices per hundredweight of calves. The performance ratios of BCS-3 and BCS-4 cows were multiplied by the mean gross income of BCS-5 and BCS-6 cows to calculate their gross income. This was then subtracted from the mean income of BCS-5 and BCS-6 cows to estimate the amount of lost gross income per thin cow. The cost of a nutritional program that would prevent thin cows in the herd was subtracted from the lost gross income of the thin cows to yield the amount of increased net income that could be generated from a nutritional program that would maintain cows in the herd at a BCS of 5 or 6. RESULTS: Cows with a BCS of 3 were 0.48 as productive, and cows with a BCS of 4 were 0.74 as productive as the average of the BCS-5 and BCS-6 cows combined. Each BCS-3 cow generated $215.06 less, and each BCS-4 cow generated $107.53 less gross income than the average gross income of BCS-5 and BCS-6 cows. The added cost of nutrition that would have reconditioned BCS-3 and BCS-4 cows to a BCS of 5.5 was $91.48/BCS-3 cow and $43.67/BCS-4 cow. Implementation of the reconditioning nutrition program the previous fall would have resulted in an extra net income of $123.58/BCS-3 cow and $63.86/BCS-4 cow, received over a 2-year period. The 262 thin cows in the herd accounted for a total net income loss of $19,897. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The time of pregnancy examination is a strategic intervention point to estimate the past negative economic impact of thin cows and to implement a plan to prevent these losses in the future. Pregnancy examinations should be performed at least 100 days before the beginning of the calving season, and thin pregnant cows should be sorted into a special group and fed a reconditioning diet that will improve their body condition to an average BCS of 5.5 by the onset of the calving season.

Use of performance ratios to calculate the economic impact of thin cows in a beef cattle herd.

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Use of performance ratios to calculate the economic impact of thin cows in a beef cattle herd.