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The Value of Record Keeping and Pregnancy Chekcing to Aid in Culling Decisions
March, 2023
Kalan
Royal, Livestock Agent, UF/IFAS Extension Highlands County
John F. Kennedy once said, “In a time of turbulence and
change, it is more true than ever that knowledge is power.” As cow-calf
producers manage increased input costs (feed, fertilizer, fuel) they must
also analyze the economic feasibility of carrying unproductive cows. The
more knowledge you have about your cattle, the more power you will have to
make sound business decisions regarding culling decisions.
For cattle producers, culling, is the practice of
removing underperforming cattle from the herd. There are many different
culling strategies that can be used. Selecting which cattle to cull is
generally done based on the use of records to evaluate performance or
through pregnancy checking cattle.
Make Informed Management Decisions with Records
The importance of record keeping on cattle operations
to help make management decisions cannot be overstated. Keeping records can
seem like a daunting task if it is something that has not been done in the
past, however, the information you can gain by starting will be invaluable
to your operation. In order to be economically viable, producers rely on
cows to get bred, deliver a healthy calf and wean a productive calf. As a
producer, you can use whole-herd record keeping or individual animal record
keeping. If culling decisions are going to be made via record keeping using
the individual animal record keeping method will provide the most
information. The use of individual animal identification, either through
branding or tagging, will be needed to keep accurate records employing this
method.
Collecting production records allows you to evaluate
whether cows are having calves, a cow’s calving interval and calf
performance. Aside from collecting reproductive information, other records
that may be of importance for making culling decisions are the age of
cattle, body condition scores, and health history. When using records as a
guide for culling decisions you will often have to wait until after calving
season or until weaning to record the data before being able to make these
decisions.
Using Reproductive Performance in Decision Making
Pregnancy testing cattle can offer you the opportunity
to make culling decisions before spending additional money carrying an open
cow through calving season. As of 2018, only 19% of producers in the
southeastern United States used pregnancy detection as a tool to make
culling decisions.
There are a few different options you can use for
pregnancy testing the cattle herd. A veterinarian can ultrasound or palpate
each cow, or blood can be drawn to be tested by yourself or hired labor.
Utilizing ultrasound equipment or palpation provides you with the
option to make decisions to cull or keep without having to rework cattle.
Blood samples must be sent off to a lab for analysis which means cattle will
need to be reworked to sort out culls. All three options provide high
accuracy and allow you to make culling decisions sooner. When
analyzing the cost of carrying an open cow using pregnancy testing as a
culling decision should prove to be a significant cost savings for you.
Being able to make management decisions regarding culling quicker also
provides you ample time to analyze how many replacement heifers you will
need to keep to maintain herd size or shop around to find replacement cows
or heifers.
Increase Confidence in Culling Decisions with
Knowledge
Culling decisions are management decisions that need to
be made to maintain the productivity and profitability of the cattle
operation. Utilizing the knowledge gained through a combination of record
keeping and pregnancy testing to make culling decisions allows producers the
ability to eliminate underperforming cows, aging cows, and open cows from
the herd. Making culling decisions early through pregnancy testing will help
reduce input costs and conserve resources for cows that will calve and
provide a source of income.
If you would like additional information on the
importance of culling cattle, the economic impact of open cows or further
information on record keeping for the beef cattle operation check out these
resources:
AN208/AN208: What Is the Economic Impact of Infertility in Beef Cattle?
(ufl.edu)
AN323/AN323: Culling and Replacement Rate in the Beef Cow Herd (ufl.edu)
Beef Cattle Record Keeping Basics - Alabama Cooperative Extension System
(aces.edu)
Production Records for Commercial Cow-Calf Operations, G2045 | MU Extension
(missouri.edu)