Reduce feed costs to improve beef herd profitability

DUBUQUE, Iowa — Cattlemen who reduce the feed costs for their cow-calf herd can improve the profitability of their operation.

“Feed costs are the biggest cost by far for raising a cow,” said Mark Hilton, veterinarian at Midwest Beef Cattle Consultants, West Lafayette, Indiana.

“So, when I am looking to improve profitability of a herd, the first brainwave thinks about cutting costs, but the dairy guys aren’t thinking that, they look at where they can increase production,” Hilton said during a presentation at the Driftless Region Beef Conference in Dubuque, Iowa. The event was hosted by the University of Illinois Extension, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension.

Approximately 95% of all hay and silage that is fed to dairy cows is tested, the speaker noted. “For beef cows it is 5%,” he added. “But corn is corn, so I do not see a reason to test corn because it is going to be pretty standard.”

However, hay and silage are quite variable in quality. “I have never had a hay sample come in at book value; it is either better or worse,” the veterinarian said.

To formulate cattle rations, Hilton uses the Beef Ration and Nutrition Decisions Software, or BRaNDS, from Iowa State University. “It is a wonderful program and it is simple to use,” he said. “It costs $100 to buy and it gives phenomenal results.”

A study in Illinois and Iowa looked at the variation in profitability of 225 cow-calf herds that utilized financial records. “The study found 56.7% of the variation between farms could be identified by the feed cost metric,” the speaker reported.

“I am not saying starve your cows,” Hilton stressed. “I want to give my cows everything they need, but no more than that.”

Full feeding hay is never the right answer, the speaker said, because once hay hits the ground, it’s bedding.

Purdue University researchers evaluated cows that were limit fed with round bales of hay. The cows were given access to the hay for various amounts of time ranging from continuous down to four hours per day.

At eight hours, hay disappearance was 17.6% less than when cows were given continuous access. “That tells me that cows getting access 24/7 were wasting 17.6% of the hay,” Hilton said.

“Purdue showed in the research that cows eat about 10 pounds of hay in one hour, 16 pounds in two hours and 25 pounds in four hours,” he said. “Most of our herds use six hours, which is about 30 pounds.”

Hilton showed examples of hay pads or heavy use areas for feeding the round bales of hay. “The key is to dig out eight inches of dirt and put down the geotextile fabric because that holds the rock,” he stressed. “If you don’t put down the geotextile fabric, you will be adding rock and limestone for the rest of your life.”

When limit feeding cows, Hilton said, every cow must have space to eat. “If you don’t have enough space, the smallest, weakest cow is not going to eat today and the same one is not going to eat tomorrow,” he stated.

The veterinarian encourages all cattleman to invite a forage expert to come to their farm to look at the pastures.

A farm in Indiana consulted with a forage specialist to set up a grazing plan and as a result the fertilizer costs were less. “And they added 40% more cows to the herd, with no additional acres,” Hilton reported.

“So now his tractor is allocated to 40% more cows, his fixed costs per cow went down and labor went down because the cows did more grazing and they fed less hay,” the veterinarian stated. “Get a forage expert to your farm because these people love to help you.”

As soon as cows are eating something from a bunk during the wintertime, Hilton said, they need to be fed Rumensin. “Rumensin saves 10% of your hay, so it is a no-brainer,” he added.

“In this study, they fed 200 milligrams of Rumensin, per head per day for 112 days,” the speaker said. “It cost two to three cents per day, that’s $2.50 and you get $17 back.”

Hilton recommends limiting the breeding time for heifers to 30 to 42 days. “Having a calf in the first 21 days of the cycle is a return on investment of 10.7% over her lifetime,” he reported.

The veterinarian is a big fan of DNA testing. “I spend $30 on all my heifers because if I get a heifer with low stayability, that means she is probably not going to be in the herd at six or seven,” he explained. “A late-calving heifer becomes an open cow or a late-calving cow and neither is good for your business.”

Cattlemen that have a strung-out calving season can use the Beef Management Calendar to get it under control. The calendar is available at www.mwbeefcattle.com.

“You put in the days you want to calve and it will tell you when to do everything,” Hilton said. “It will tell you when to put the bulls in, when to pull them out, when to vaccinate and when to wean.”

Semen testing bulls, Hilton said, is the most profitable task a veterinarian can do for a cattle operation. “The cost benefit is $73.88, so for every dollar you spend to semen check your bulls, your return is almost $74,” he added.

Hilton has been a veterinarian for 42 years. “Every year I’ve had a producer that has either had a herd or group of cows that were all open because the bull was no good and he did not have his semen checked,” he said.

“If that happens to you, you could semen check your bulls for the next 200 years and still not have made up the money you lost that one year,” the speaker said.

For a purebred bull, the age of the bull in months is the number of cows he can handle in 65 days. “Because of hybrid vigor, a crossbred bull will be about 20% higher,” Hilton said. “A purebred bull at 30 months old is good for 30 cows and a crossbred bull, about 36 cows.”