Most of us think that cattle breeds have changed over the years but we might ask by how much? Research at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center sheds some light on this question. Comparisons have been made of 1960's - born and 1980's - born sires of three breeds. Over that time the average of Angus and Hereford sired black baldies increased 5 lb in birth weight, 26 lb in weaning weight, 2% more difficult births, 4% more death loss to weaning, 0.2 lb higher feedyard ADG, 4% fewer Choice, no difference in fat or yield grade, and cows weighing about 85 lb more. In Brahman sired, out of Angus or Hereford cows, birth weights increased 5 lb, weaning weights 8 lb, hard calving 5%, death loss 3%, ADG 0.1 lb, no change in quality or yield grade, and F1 cows are about 50 lb heavier. Charolais sired showed no change in birth weight, 18 lb more weaning weight, hard calving and death loss decreased 4%, ADG went up 0.1 lb, Choice dropped 6%, fat and yield grade stayed the same, and crossbred cows increased 60 lb mature weight. Another source of data is American Angus Association records. From 1972 to 1996, birth weights increased from 67 to 80 lb, weaning weight from 460 to 582 lb, yearling weight of bulls from 856 to 1086 lb and of heifers from 630 to 810 lb, and average frame scores have increased from 2.5 to 5.5
"There are no premiums in the cattle business, only discounts".
How many times have you heard that? Is it true?
How much premium should a cow-calf producer expect?
Maybe that depends on premiums received later in the production cycle.
Taking one factor, let's say you produced calves that will grade 75%
Choice instead of the current industry average of about 50%.
The long-term average difference between Choice and Select carcass price is about $5/cwt.
Using average carcass weights, that makes Choice carcasses worth $35-40 more than Select.
But, if you increase Choice from 50% to 75% you're changing grade on only 1/4 of the cattle.
So, the increase in average value per head is $9-10, still a significant
number to a cattle feeder. How much of that extra value is the
cow-calf producer due? If you say half then that's $5/head or $1/cwt for
a 500 lb calf. So, if you get just $1/cwt more for
calves that will grade 75% Choice when fed that's probably about all you're "due". On the flip side, Standard carcasses average about $12-15/cwt discount to Choice. That is just one reason why poor quality cattle are discounted more than high quality cattle are rewarded.
It has long been know that thin cows and those losing weight suffer in reproductive efficiency. The primary cause for this effect has been thought to be delay in expressing heat after calving. Recent research from Clemson University in South Carolina has identified another problem. Cows weighing about 1250 lb in body condition score (BCS) 5 were fed to maintain weight and BCS or lose over 300 lb to BCS 2. Some of the weight loss cows showed heat but produced abnormal follicular growth and corpus luteum development. So, even though these cows cycled and bred they did not conceive.
