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)


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