The month of October is here and usually that means weaning spring born calves and culling for many producers across the country. During this time producers face some tough challenges when it comes to culling cows. Is she good for another year? Will she keep enough body over the winter in order to rebreed next year?
Making decisions on which animals to get rid of can be difficult without an ability to see into the future. This is where having an overall plan of where you want your operation to go comes in handy. The key is you want to sell ones that are costing you money without providing and revenue to offset the costs.
Pregnancy status
Reproductive rate is one of the greatest profitability determinants in your cow-calf operation. Open cows are a drain on your resources because they consume resources (feed, forages) without providing a marketable calf. You should cull any cows that are open at the end of breeding season. Another group that should be looked at for potential culls are late calving cows. Late calvers are less likely to be rebred within the controlled breeding season.
Poor Performance
Cows that posses inferior genetics for economically important performance traits are potential culls. Any cow with EPDs that do not compare favorably with breed or herd averages in the traits that you want should be removed because they will pass those less desirable traits to their offspring. This again is a management decision based on where you want your cows genetics to go.
Cull Age
This one is highly subjective because the productive lifetime of a cow can vary based on geographic region or even the breed of that cow. Research done in Florida has shown that there is a decline in reproductive performance after the cow reaches 10 years of age. They have also shown an even deeper decline in performance after she has reached 12 years of age. Ideally cows should be culled for advancing age prior to the sharp decline in reproductive or maternal performance.
Structural Soundness
Structural soundness is important from the standpoint of functionality. Problems here can hamper how well she moves around the pasture or if she is able to get enough to eat to maintain proper body condition. A study of five large western feedlots showed that lameness accounted for approximately $121 loss per lame animal.
Annual inspection of her teeth and mouth is highly recommended when working cows. Smooth mouthed cows can result in poor body condition despite adequate available nutrients. Cows with no teeth may dribble feed and have a hard time consuming adequate quantities of feed or forages.
Udder soundness affects milk production, milk consumption, and ultimately calf weaning weights. A proper udder in a beef female is important for a long, efficient, productive life.
Disposition
Highly excitable cattle are dangerous to other animals as well as you and should be prime candidates for culling. Culling for unacceptable disposition reduces the risk of injury for both cattle and people. Colorado State University studies have also shown that excitable cattle are more likely to produce dark cutter carcasses. Because calves inherit a genetic component of temperament as well as pick up bad habits from their dams during nursing, bad attitudes can be spread within the herd without selection pressure for more calm cattle.
