– Garth Ruff, Beef Cattle Field Specialist, Ohio State University Extension
Have you developed a marketing plan?
Summer is here, and there is no shortage of things to be done around the farm to keep producers busy. Spring born calves are growing and bulls are either turned out or will be in the near future. Summer is a time to manage pastures and continue making stored forages.
This is the time of year to start thinking about what your marketing plan for the spring calf crop may look like. It’s never too early to have this discussion. As calf prices remain high, I have gotten the question a couple of times asking about the return on investment with regards to preconditioning cattle in 2024.
My answer remains the same. “If it is the right thing to do when cattle prices are lower, it is still the right thing to do when cattle are selling high.” It’s your reputation and the perception of your cattle management program at stake. While cattle are selling well in the current market, any value-added practices implemented now will reduce the risk of cattle getting sick, or not performing for the next owner.
During the summer it is easy to get a case of corn planter-itis or hay baler-itis and not think about marketing calves that are still on the cow. I am guilty of it too; the last 60 days have been an absolute whirlwind.
What are those things that a cow-calf producer or backgrounder can do to add value to their calves? These practices are not new or earth shattering, just good calf management to add value to a calf crop.
- Manage Heath – It’s 2024 and we are still talking about vaccination strategies for beef herds. Vaccinating against core diseases with at least two rounds of the core vaccinations to add value to calves. The core vaccinations we often talk about include BVD, Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex, and a clostridial (blackleg shot). Pinkeye seems to be raring it’s head in parts of the state again this summer, thinking about whole herd protection in the way of autogenous vaccinations has provided relief in some herds in Southeast Ohio. Work with your local veterinarian to ensure calves are heathy when they leave your farm.
- Wean with Intent – With feeder cattle prices still high, there is significant value in low-risk calves. Having calves weaned at a minimum for 45 days (or 60), healthy, and broke to a feed bunk provides some insurance to the backgrounder or feedyard that may purchase them. Buyers remember the cattle that performed well and those that didn’t. When we use the term reputation cattle it often used in the positive, for those groups of cattle that performed well and therefore the buyer would purchase again.
- Sorting – Not all cattle of the same age should be marketed at the same time if there are significant differences in weight, size, type, and kind. Buyers are looking to put together as uniform of groups of cattle as possible. Work with whoever you market your cattle with, to see where the demand is for a given group of cattle at a given time.
- Think About Next Year – As it relates to uniformity, lot size is a limiting factor to the price buyers are willing to pay. Data out of the University of Kentucky shows that lots of 10 head of cattle bring a significant premium over single animals. Cows that calved late in 2024 are likely to calve late in 2025 without significant intervention such as a presynchronization program. Culling late calving cows or cows that have the smallest, lowest performing calves is one way to improve uniformity going forward.
- Overcome Tradition – Just because you have always sold a group of calves on August 14 every year, doesn’t mean that is the right thing to do this year to maximize profit potential for you calf crop. Watch the markets and plan accordingly.
At the time of writing this, the forecast appears to call for some hot and dry weather in the coming weeks. If pasture and forage quality begins to regress more than the usual summer slump, feeding any left over hay from 2023 or purchasing corn may be a short term supplementation strategy.