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Increasing production efficiency in the cowherd without in

Increasing production efficiency in the cowherd without increasing inputs
The cattle markets over the past few years have been very strong, but at the same time they have been faced with high production costs. With cattle selling at record high val-ues a lot of producers have expressed interest in increasing their herds, but have been hesitant due to the increased cost of produc-tion. A comment from Dr. Jude Capper sparked the topic of this article. Dr. Capper made the following statement at the American Feed Industry Associations annual meeting, “An increase in calving rate is probably where the beef industry can have the greatest influence on sustainability.” The USDA-APHIS Beef 2007-08 Part II: Reference of Beef Cow-calf Management Practices in the United States reports a 91.5% calving rate for all size cattle operations across the entire United States. The eastern region in which Louisiana is included had a calving rate of 87.4%. So in other words there is room for improvement across the US. If we consider the original comment by Dr. Capper (hopefully one I haven’t taken out of context) that the greatest thing we can do as cattle producers to in-crease our sustainability is to increase our calving percentage. I would say that she is absolutely correct, at least from a short term perspective. This leads us to the main question “What are ways to increase our overall production without increasing inputs?” As with many topics we try to address there really isn’t a simple answer to this question.
Ultimately, we need production records to give us benchmarks in our operations. Without benchmarks there is no true way of know-ing the strengths and weaknesses of our operations. Once we have benchmarks in our operation we can then start analyzing it to see where we can improve.
Every operation has areas that it could potentially improve in regards to increasing calving percent. There are many factors including nutrition, health, and genetics that will directly and indirectly influence calving percentage in the herd. First and foremost we need to get the cowherd bred and then get a healthy calf on the ground. It is very unlikely that most operations will be able to consistently year after year have a 100% pregnancy rates.
From a nutrition standpoint the best measure we have to gauge the cowherds status is the 9-point body condition scoring (BCS) sys-tem (1=emaciated and 9 = obese; Lemenager et al, 1991). Ideally, the mature cowherd should be approximately a BCS of 5 at calving to give them the most economical ability to maintain them in a BCS that gives them the best chance of rebreeding in the subsequent breeding season.
Reproduction is the key to this whole discussion. Not to start the “which came first the chicken or the egg conversation”, but without a bred cow we cannot get a calf. Reproduction is lowly heritable and strongly influenced by nutrition and health. If your records show lower conception rates, evaluate body condition scores prior to and at calving and discuss your operations health program with your local veterinarian. A ranch manager must also pay attention to the herd bull(s). A bull that is not sound could drastically affect the reproduction in the herd. Purchasing bulls from reputable breeders and making sure they have been through a breeding sound-ness exam before each breeding season are good management practices.
Historically, we are producing more pounds of beef with fewer cows, but cattle producers still have the potential to increase produc-tion through genetic selection. Through selection change is possible but the change will not be instant. Genetic research in the area of feed efficiency will influence production efficiency, but is still a long way from having an industry wide influence. We are trying to find the animals in the population that use the least amount of feed to get the most amount of gain. Many operations could still take advantage of genetic improvement, but at the same time you run the risk of increasing inputs and that’s not necessarily the goal in this discussion.
We need to remember that there are many factors that influence calving rate and they start at least a year before that calf crop hits the ground. In order to improve calving rates we must have a record keeping system in place to benchmark production. From there we can make improvements in areas that seem to be weak or need improvements. - Source: Karl Harborth, Ph.D., Beef Cattle Extension
Specialist, LSU AgCenter.