Wean or Sell Calves? A Management/Marketing Optionfor Feeder Calf Producers

PhilOsborne
Animal Husbandry Specialist
WVU Extension Service
7/00

West Virginia beef producers wrestling withmanagement and marketing options for feeder cattle. Specifically,what is the economic feasibility of selling calves early versusweaning and feeding them for 60 days until the Quality AssuranceFeeder Calf sales? Less than ideal weather conditions can playhavoc with well-designed plans for marketing feeder cattle.However, a sound plan that is easy to adjust is better thanhaving to react hastily, as those without a plan so often do. Thechallenge is to keep cows in a body condition score 4 to 6 andstill sell a calf in the fall that will cover annual productioncost.

Some of the options available for varioussituations:

Gather and sell the calves at theauction market and feed the dry cows. The weakness ofthis option is that you have fewer pounds to sell and thereforereduced income. You hope that a number of buyers appear on saleday needing the weight and kind of cattle you have. The optionwill at least allow the cow herd to recover before winter andhold out-of-pocket expenses to a minimum. This may well be thebest option for producers who have a handful of cows and nofacilities or who have not been part of one of a calf marketingpool. Marketing calves in a calf pool or in partnership withother producers allows for some substantial savings. A dozen orso weaned calves generally will not realize a market advantageunless assembled in a larger, uniform lot or trailer load .

If you were fortunate to have made enough hayfor the winter and still have pastures or hay meadows to grazeuntil sale day, you may creep feed the calves to improvemarket weights. Grain is relatively inexpensive thisyear. Creep grazing meadows is an effective, low-cost managementoption that increases returns. If pastures are in short supply,the cows must be in good body condition because as the calvesincrease in weight, the condition of the cows is pulled down.Once calves are worked on to creep, if pasture is short, you canbegin to feed the cows as though they was in late gestation. Thebody condition of the cow should not get much below BCS 4 whileshe is nursing a calf for her to avoid going into the winter inthe same condition (Table3).

Weaning the calf and feeding the drycows maybe the option for making the best of a badsituation and still adding value to your calf crop. Early weaningallows cows to maintain or improve body condition before goinginto winter. This is extremely important since available winterfeed supplies are short. It is much cheaper to feed dry cows thanlactating cows. Removing the calf reduces the cow's nutrientneeds by nearly 45%. If calves are weaned early enough, most cowscan recover at least one condition score before winter onavailable forage with little or no supplementation. Most cows notalready bred probably should be sold.

Early weaning allows for cows already markedfor sale to be removed from the herd at a time when the price ofcull cows is seasonably more favorable than later in the fall.The early weaning calves may be the only option for manyproducers that have run out of grass or whose grass has beenforced into dormancy. Early weaning trials in Ohio, Illinois, andMichigan have shown the practice to be far more beneficial thandetrimental. The feed efficiency and conversion of anearly-weaned calf is at the most economical level. Some of theweaning trials conducted in West Virginia with Southern StatesCooperative have yielded average daily gains in steers of betterthan 3 pounds per day for 30 days. Trials in which calves werelimit fed a preconditioning pellet at 1.5% of their body weightand allowed to graze, re-growth meadows averaged 2.75 ADG over a40-day period. Research at Virginia Tech yielded similar resultswith calves weaned on pasture and grain versus calves weaned onhay and grain producing ADGs of 2.36 and 2.12 respectively. Somepreliminary data have shown that early-weaned calves also haveheavier carcasses and were more efficient with a higher percentgrading choice than conventionally weaned calves.

Many producers are reluctant to wean calvesbecause they lack facilities or fear sick calves. Weaninghome-raised calves is far simpler in comparison to calves thathave been assembled and transported from several sale barns. Salebarn calves are exposed to a greater number of stresses and oftenlack the pre-vaccinated immunity that helps to diminishhealth-related problems.

It takes the following to put together asuccessful preconditioning program with some of the associatedcost involved. The health program is the key to being able tohandle stress. The Quality Assurance Gold health program has beentested and proven to be successful in the feedlots. All calvesshould be pre-vaccinated at least 14 days prior to removal fromthe cows. Then, when the calves are weaned, a booster vaccinationshould be administered. Table1 outlines the vaccination programs forthe Quality Assurance Sales health programs.

Table 1.

The following budget shows potential returns onweaning a set of calves this summer (Table 2 ). The table startswith a 410-pound calf valued at $ .90/lb, vaccination cost (Gold)at $ 7./head, preconditioning feed at $ 200/ton and hay at $25/1000 bale. The calves will be fed for 40 days and sold in theQuality Assurance sale. A conservative estimate of 2.5 lb.average daily gain or 100 lbs. of gain over the 40 days will beused.

Table 2.

Projected Weaning Budget
Item	Cost ($)
Feeder calf (410 lbs @ $.90)	369
Vaccination program	7
Preconditioning feed (8lbs/head/day)	32
Hay and Pasture	_____4
Total Investment in 510 lb calf	412
_______________________________________________	_________
Breakeven on 510 calf	$81/cwt

If a weaned 510 lb calf brings$89/cwt in October the value would be $454
$ 454 - 412 = $ 42 return per head

Return on your investment would be (42/412*100) a 10.2 % for 40 days. Certificates of deposit are paying3.85 % on 30- to 90-day investments. This is not too shabby areturn on your investment or as a means of adding value to yourfeeder calves. Now, of course, you will have to complete yourmarketing plan to ensure that you receive the highest marketprice for your calves. That has been one of the advantages ofmarketing through the feeder calf pools in the state. Producerspooling resources or buying in volume will realize cost savingslower those in the estimated budget. Marketing calves in trailerload lots in the Quality Assurance Sales program has helpedattract buyers who are seeking calves prepared for feedlot orbackgrounding programs .

Weaned calves are better prepared to handlestress and the risk of losses due to sickness are reduced. Weanedcalves allow the producer more flexibility when marketing.Weaning will keep you from having to sell calves when otherproducers are selling them because of the drought.

When crop yield is low, weaning calves providesyou more market flexibility, allows the cows to recover beforewinter, and helps ensure that cows will breed back faster thenext year. Contact WVU Extension county agents or specialists forassistance.

Table 3