by Chris Hicks, Smith County Extension Agent:
“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going” … Beverly Sills
As any good cattle producer will tell you, efficiency is one of the keys to staying profitable in the cattle business. Producers who provide a high-quality product which buyers want with as few inputs as possible will fare better than those who don’t do a good job managing their costs.
The cattle industry is continually looking for ways to cut production costs while still providing a product that consumers will want to eat. Cutting costs where possible is part of being in business, but we must use caution and make sure that we are not cutting costs by taking shortcuts that lead us somewhere we don’t want to go.
For example, one might take a shortcut by buying a herd bull out of the sale barn, rather than one with proven genetics. While that “cheap” bull might save money on the front end, he might also have been in that sale barn for a reason. If this bull, which will provide half the genetics of next year’s calf crop, leads to fewer live calves, lower weaning weights, and lower calf value, then it really wasn’t a “cheap” bull after all.
What about the shortcut of herd health? Sure, we could save a few dollars per head by not vaccinating. And we could save quite a bit by purchasing the generic dewormer or buying none at all. But if the calves gain less weight because they’re sick or dead, the cows give less milk or don’t rebreed, and the bull doesn’t feel like coming out of the shade, what have we saved by this shortcut?
Along these same lines, it’s easy to take shortcuts when it comes to nutrition. Feeding trace mineral salt instead of a good repro mineral to the cow herd will save quite a few dollars on the front end. But when cows don’t breed back on time, or face other health issues because of a lack of proper nutrition, those dollars saved will be lost along with several more.
So where can we cut costs without taking shortcuts that cost us more in the long run? Fertilizing by soil test so that we are not overapplying nutrients comes to mind, as does forage testing and supplementing accordingly. Pre-ordering feed and fertilizer can save dollars as well, and of course every day a producer can efficiently graze rather than feed hay is money in their pocket.
You may have heard the saying “you can’t starve the profit out of a cow”, and that is certainly true. As you seek to manage input costs and increase efficiency, be sure that your efforts aren’t costing more to the operation in the long term.
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