Director column

IBC director's monthly column featured in Cattleman Magazine. Archives
Denise Schwab, interim IBC director	December 2024 Preparing for 2025 As we wrap up 2024 and prepare for 2025, I like to step back and evaluate the farm business beyond just getting our balance sheet ready for the lender and tax records ready for the accountant. For cattlemen, look beyond just the economics of the enterprise at some long-term profit impacts. Start with your calving book. What was your calving distribution last year? We typically consider the start of the calving season as 285 days following the bull turn-in date. Count how many cows calve in the first 21 days, second 21 days, etc, then calculate the percent of the herd in each timeframe. A standard objective is 63% of the mature cow herd should calve within the first 21 days, 87% by 42 days, and 96% by 63 days of the calving season. Why is this important? Because a calf that is 21 days older than its herd mates weighs about 40 pounds more at weaning, resulting in more income on sale day. Calculate your first calf heifers separate from the mature cows because they have different starting dates, and to better determine your most profitable females. Research has shown that heifers that calve early in their first calving season, tend to calve earlier throughout their lifetime, and that equates to heavier calves worth more money in your pocket. Next look at the cows you culled and why they were culled. USDA-APHIS reports the number one reason for premature culling of cows in commercial beef herds is infertility. Imagine how much herd improvement could be made if you had the opportunity to cull for performance beyond just conception. Often infertility is caused by a mismatch of environment and genetics. Are low early conception rates caused by inadequate pasture forage, mismatched stocking rates, other nutritional stresses on the cow, or health issues? Once the problem is measured, you can begin to manage to improve it. One very important aspect of profitability is cow longevity. It takes about six calves for a cow to recoup her development cost and reach a profitable level. Evaluate this by listing the existing cows in your herd by age. What percent of cows reach that 7-year-old point or older? Reproductive traits tend to be lowly heritable which also means they are heavily impacted by environment and management. They also respond well to heterosis from crossbreeding. The real value of crossbreeding is in the cow herd, particularly the F1 cow. Commercial cow herds that have become predominantly straightbred over time would benefit from a crossbreeding program. Small herds may benefit from purchasing F1 replacement heifers rather than raising their own. Dr. Troy Rowan from the University of Tennessee shared a great presentation on fertility and longevity at the recent Applied Reproductive Strategies for Beef Cattle conference. He concluded that fertility and longevity are two of the most economically important traits to commercial beef operations, and the most straightforward way to improve fertility and longevity from a breeding standpoint is to utilize structured crossbreeding. Dr Rowan will present more information on cow longevity and crossbreeding at the Driftless Region Beef Conference in Dubuque on January 23-24, 2025. Join us to hear more from Dr. Rowan. Our busy winter meeting season is starting, so watch the calendar of events in our Growing Beef newsletter, and watch for upcoming BQA programs at www.iabeef.org/cattlemens-corner/iowa-bqa. If you aren’t already receiving Growing Beef, sign up at https://go.iastate.edu/UIQJTM or by clicking the QR code. Our major conferences happen next month, so plan to attend those closest to you. January 14 - Feedlot Forum, Sioux Center January 15 - 3-State Beef Conference, Greenfield January 23-24 - Driftless Region Beef Conference, Dubuque January 24-25 - Cornbelt Cow-Calf Conference, Ottumwa And be sure to take time to enjoy your family during the holiday season. The IBC at Iowa State University serves as the university’s extension program to cattle producers. Our center comprises a team of faculty and staff from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. We work together to develop and deliver the latest in research-based information to improve the profitability and vitality of Iowa’s beef industry. If you’d like to be notified of updates on progress of research projects or programs that might be coming to your area, please subscribe to our “Growing Beef” newsletter by following the link on our website, www.iowabeefcenter.org. If you have a question, use our “Ask our Experts” link. Also, feel free to call us at 515-294-BEEF or email us at beefcenter@iastate.edu. You can follow @iowabeefcenter on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

IBC director's monthly column featured in Cattleman Magazine. Archives

Denise Schwab, interim IBC director

December 2024

Preparing for 2025

As we wrap up 2024 and prepare for 2025, I like to step back and evaluate the farm business beyond just getting our balance sheet ready for the lender and tax records ready for the accountant. For cattlemen, look beyond just the economics of the enterprise at some long-term profit impacts.

Start with your calving book. What was your calving distribution last year? We typically consider the start of the calving season as 285 days following the bull turn-in date. Count how many cows calve in the first 21 days, second 21 days, etc, then calculate the percent of the herd in each timeframe.

A standard objective is 63% of the mature cow herd should calve within the first 21 days, 87% by 42 days, and 96% by 63 days of the calving season. Why is this important? Because a calf that is 21 days older than its herd mates weighs about 40 pounds more at weaning, resulting in more income on sale day.

Calculate your first calf heifers separate from the mature cows because they have different starting dates, and to better determine your most profitable females. Research has shown that heifers that calve early in their first calving season, tend to calve earlier throughout their lifetime, and that equates to heavier calves worth more money in your pocket.

Next look at the cows you culled and why they were culled. USDA-APHIS reports the number one reason for premature culling of cows in commercial beef herds is infertility. Imagine how much herd improvement could be made if you had the opportunity to cull for performance beyond just conception.

Often infertility is caused by a mismatch of environment and genetics. Are low early conception rates caused by inadequate pasture forage, mismatched stocking rates, other nutritional stresses on the cow, or health issues? Once the problem is measured, you can begin to manage to improve it.

One very important aspect of profitability is cow longevity. It takes about six calves for a cow to recoup her development cost and reach a profitable level. Evaluate this by listing the existing cows in your herd by age. What percent of cows reach that 7-year-old point or older?

Reproductive traits tend to be lowly heritable which also means they are heavily impacted by environment and management. They also respond well to heterosis from crossbreeding. The real value of crossbreeding is in the cow herd, particularly the F1 cow.

Commercial cow herds that have become predominantly straightbred over time would benefit from a crossbreeding program. Small herds may benefit from purchasing F1 replacement heifers rather than raising their own.

Dr. Troy Rowan from the University of Tennessee shared a great presentation on fertility and longevity at the recent Applied Reproductive Strategies for Beef Cattle conference. He concluded that fertility and longevity are two of the most economically important traits to commercial beef operations, and the most straightforward way to improve fertility and longevity from a breeding standpoint is to utilize structured crossbreeding.

Dr Rowan will present more information on cow longevity and crossbreeding at the Driftless Region Beef Conference in Dubuque on January 23-24, 2025. Join us to hear more from Dr. Rowan.

Our busy winter meeting season is starting, so watch the calendar of events in our Growing Beef newsletter, and watch for upcoming BQA programs at www.iabeef.org/cattlemens-corner/iowa-bqa.

Growing Beef newsletter sign up. If you aren’t already receiving Growing Beef, sign up at https://go.iastate.edu/UIQJTM or by clicking the QR code.

Our major conferences happen next month, so plan to attend those closest to you.
January 14 - Feedlot Forum, Sioux Center
January 15 - 3-State Beef Conference, Greenfield
January 23-24 - Driftless Region Beef Conference, Dubuque
January 24-25 - Cornbelt Cow-Calf Conference, Ottumwa

And be sure to take time to enjoy your family during the holiday season.

The IBC at Iowa State University serves as the university’s extension program to cattle producers. Our center comprises a team of faculty and staff from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. We work together to develop and deliver the latest in research-based information to improve the profitability and vitality of Iowa’s beef industry. If you’d like to be notified of updates on progress of research projects or programs that might be coming to your area, please subscribe to our “Growing Beef” newsletter by following the link on our website, www.iowabeefcenter.org. If you have a question, use our “Ask our Experts” link. Also, feel free to call us at 515-294-BEEF or email us at beefcenter@iastate.edu. You can follow @iowabeefcenter on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.