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ARS Home » Plains Area » Miles City, Montana » Livestock and Range Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #167581
Title: EVALUATION OF BEEF CATTLE OPERATIONS UTILIZING DIFFERENT SEASONS OF CALVING, WEANING STRATIGIES, POST-WEANING MANAGEMENT, AND RETAINED OWNERSHIP

Author
item KRUSE, ROSANE - MSU BOZEMAN
item TESS, M - MSU BOZEMAN
item Grings, Elaine
item Heitschmidt, Rodney
item Phillips, William
item Mayeux Jr, Herman

Submitted to: Western Section of Animal Science Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2004
Publication Date: 6/15/2004
Citation: Kruse, R.E., Tess, M.W., Grings, E.E., Heitschmidt, R.K., Phillips, W.A., Mayeux Jr, H.S. 2004. Evaluation of beef cattle operations utilizing different seasons of calving, weaning stratigies, post-weaning management, and retained ownership. Western Section of Animal Science Proceedings 55:122-125.

Interpretive Summary: This research evaluated the impact of season of calving, weaning strategy, post-weaning management of replacement heifers, and retained ownership on enterprise profitability. Seasons of calving evaluated were late winter (Feb), early spring (Apr), and late spring (Jun). Feb and Apr calves were weaned at 6- and 8-mo of age; Jun calves were weaned at 4- and 6-mo of age. Post-weaning management of replacement heifer strategies included one treatment intended to allow heifers to grow at a constant rate from weaning to breeding and the second intended to minimize harvested feed inputs. The retained ownership options included backgrounding in El Reno, OK and backgrounding in Miles City, MT utilizing two different diets. The data utilized were collected during a 3-yr study conducted at the Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory near Miles City, MT. Production systems were modeled to characterize each possible combination of factors. Economic performance of each system based on animal performance and variable cost inputs. Point estimates of animal performance were used regardless of statistical significance. Systems were analyzed at each level of production (cow-calf, backgrounding, and finishing). There was no difference between systems utilizing the different post-weaning management of replacement heifer treatments. For cow-calf enterprises selling calves at weaning, the Jun late weaned yielded higher ranch gross margin (RGM = gross revenue minus variable costs) than all other systems, and the Apr early-weaned system was lowest. All other systems were not statistically different. When steer calves were backgrounded after weaning, few differences were found among possible backgrounding scenarios, and Jun calving remained superior to other seasons.

Technical Abstract: Production data from a 3-yr study conducted at Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory near Miles City, MT were utilized to evaluate impacts of season of calving (SOC), weaning strategy (W), post-weaning management of replacement heifers (PWM), and retained ownership of steer calves (RO) on enterprise profitability. The SOC evaluated were late winter (Feb), early spring (Apr), and late spring (Jun). The Feb and Apr calves were weaned at 6 and 8 mo of age; Jun calves were weaned at 4 and 6 mo of age. The PWM strategies included one treatment intended to allow heifers to grow at a constant rate from weaning to breeding and the second intended to minimize harvested feed inputs. The RO options included backgrounding in El Reno, OK and backgrounding in Miles City, MT utilizing two different diets. Production systems were modeled to characterize each possible combination of factors. Economic performance of each system was based on animal performance and variable input costs. Data were analyzed at each level of production (cow-calf and backgrounding) with system and year included in the model. There were no differences between systems utilizing different PWM. For cow-calf enterprises selling calves at weaning, Jun systems yielded higher ranch gross margin (RGM = gross revenue minus variable costs) than all other systems, and were statistically higher than Apr early-weaned system (P<0.05). When steer calves were backgrounded after weaning, systems utilizing Jun calving yielded a significantly higher gross margin than those utilizing Feb or Apr. There were no differences between backgrounding treatments within calving season. The SOC had larger impact than W, PWM, and RO on the enterprise profitability. Our results suggest that, in systems managed similarly to those modeled here, feed costs and time of marketing may have important effects on profitability.