February 2008

Hi everyone,

I guess you can say that we are getting plenty of snow pack this winter. Spring and early summer water supplies should be excellent. I can deal with the snow but the wind is another story. The snow drifts on my place are several feet deep.

This weather has made calving interesting for those producers that spring calve. Unless you have some barns, the calves have been really stressed. It will get better though, the mud month of March is coming and it should be really wet as this snow goes off.

This edition of Over The Wire has two articles in it that should be of interest to cattle producers. The first article on least cost winter cow rations is written by Dr. Jason Ahola, University of Idaho Extension Beef Specialist stationed in Caldwell. The information contained in the article is very useful and should help you plan for next year’s feeding season. The second article is one I have written on some new $ Value Indexes that you may be interested in. It seems like every time we turn around, there are new EPD’s and $ Indexes that we need to consider when purchasing replacement bulls and heifers.

I hope that this newsletter is useful to you. Feel free to contact me at 208-983-2667 with additional questions on these topics or on any related cattle subject.

Sincerely,

Jim Church
University of Idaho

Rules of Thumb for Winter Cow Rations
Considerations for feeding cows a least-cost ration in a new era of high forage prices
By Jason K. Ahola, Ph.D.

Without question, feed costs across the entire beef industry have increased substantially over the past 18 months. However, the rise in forage prices during 2007 has contributed to a dramatic increase in winter cow feeding costs.
Feed cost is the highest variable cost on most cow/calf operations. There are methods available to evaluate feedstuffs and create a “least-cost ration” for cows. However, less than 10% of cow/calf producers analyze their forages for nutrient content, based on USDA survey data. And, only about one-quarter of those producers actually develop a least-cost ration. As a result, many U.S. beef cows are receiving excess nutrients and/or a ration that is not least-cost.
Free Ration-Balancing SoftwareA free and easy-to-use computer ration balancing program is available for producers from Oklahoma State University – COWculator. The software and directions are available at http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/exten/cowculator/.
This Microsoft Excel-based software enables a producer to enter simple information about their cows (pregnancy status, body weight and condition, breed, etc.), along with forage analysis results (protein, energy, etc.). As a bonus, the “feedlist” comes ‘pre-loaded’ with typical feed values for common feedstuffs. The user develops a ration using feeds from the feedlist which are compared to cow requirements. Ultimately, a simple sheet can be printed off and used for daily feeding.
Development and use of a simple ration enables animal requirements to be met while ensuring optimum performance. But, more importantly it can reduce feed costs by avoiding overfeeding (especially protein, which is costly).
Information NeededTwo pieces of information are necessary to create a ration: 1) cow nutrient requirements (examples are in Table 1), and 2) nutrient composition of typical feedstuffs (examples are in Table 2). These tables include estimates for energy via Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) values and protein via Crude Protein (CP) values.

Rules of ThumbFor producers who don’t have a computer to use COWculator, there are a few simple rules of thumb for cow feeding. Several rations were developed using COWculator software for a 1,200 lb pregnant cow in late gestation to help provide insight into these “rules” (see Table 3).
A ration consisting only of good alfalfa (Ration 1) for a 1,200 lb pregnant cow should include up to 24 lbs and cost about $1.54/hd/day (if good alfalfa costs $130/Ton). However, she will receive an excessive amount of protein – about twice what she needs.
Cheaper and lower quality alfalfa could be fed instead (Ration 2) if a small amount of corn is added, costing about $1.44/hd/day (assuming fair alfalfa is worth $110/Ton and corn $170/Ton).

Grass hay, instead of alfalfa, can provide adequate energy to this pregnant cow, but protein may be deficient if the grass was mature at harvest. Interestingly, in many parts of the U.S. grass hay is more expensive than alfalfa hay on a ‘per pound’ basis (and much more on a ‘per pound of protein’ basis), but provides much less protein and similar energy. Nonetheless, a ration of only “good” grass hay (24 lbs) can meet the pregnant cow’s needs, while mature grass hay needs to be fed with a small amount of supplemental protein (1-2 lbs).
If low quality forage (e.g. straw or corn stalks) and corn can be added to an alfalfa-based ration, cost can be reduced (Ration 3) to about $1.37/hd/day (if straw is $60/Ton). This savings of $0.07/hd/day equals about $10/cow during a typical winter feeding period.
Ration 4, which consists primarily of corn stalks, can maintain body condition in a pregnant cow if protein supplement (containing about 30% CP) is also provided. If baled corn stalks are $75/Ton, it costs $1.35/hd/day. However, the stalks need to have a decent energy content (e.g. TDN of 54% or higher). Conversely, a straw-based ration (Ration 5) must contain about 4 lbs of corn and 4 lbs of a 30% CP protein supplement to meet a 1,200 lb pregnant cow’s requirements.
Interestingly, if straw is $60/Ton this ration would cost about $1.32/hd/day, which is truly the “least-cost ration” using the above feedstuffs.
The Bottom LineRation cost can be decreased by replacing high-priced feeds (usually alfalfa or good grass hay) with cheaper and lower quality forages (straw or corn stalks) and a small amount of corn and/or protein supplement – resulting in a decrease of about $0.22/hd/day, or more. Once a cow begins lactating, her energy requirement will increase and a new ration will be needed. Similarly, cows that are significantly larger or smaller than 1,200 lbs may need a different ration, as well as cows that should be gaining body weight and condition during late pregnancy. It would be valuable for a cow/calf producer to experiment with a free and user-friendly ration balancing program like COWculator in order to create a least-cost ration. Since forage prices will likely continue to increase in price, as they have done recently, it may be the only way to remain profitable in the future.
Dr. Jason Ahola is an Extension beef specialist with the University of Idaho. Contact him at jahola@uidaho.edu or 208-454-7654.

$ Values or Economic Indexes;
New Selection Tools for Cattle Producers
Cattle producers have been using tools to measure performance for many years. We started by weighing cattle and figuring the average daily gain. This led to the use of within herd ratios where we could compare the performance of one animal against another in the herd.

There was a need to evaluate cattle not only in herd but across herds from different states. This brought about the use of Estimated Breeding Values (EBV’s). Next in line were the Expected Progeny Differences (EPD’s) which do a great job of allowing us to compare one animal against other animals in the breed no matter where the animals are located. The most current measurement tool are the $ Values or Economic Indexes. These figures help us to determine the economic impact an animal will have on our herd compared to other animals in the breed. The goal of the index process is to assist commercial cattle producers in evaluating candidates for selection based on their economic merit.

Let’s take a look at some of these new $ Values. Below is a listing and an explanation of the $ Values for several of the major beef breeds:

$ Value Indexes = The $ Value is an estimate of how future progeny from a sire is expected to perform on average compared to progeny of other sires if the sires were randomly mated to cows and if the calves were exposed to the same environment.

Angus $ Values:

Weaned Calf Value ($W) – an index expressed in dollars per head that measures the average difference in future progeny performance during the preweaning period. This would include both revenue and cost adjustments associated with differences in birth weight, weaning direct growth, milk and mature cow size.

Cow Energy Value ($EN) – the difference in cow energy requirements expressed in dollars per cow saved. The higher the number, the more efficient the future daughters will be which relates to more money saved.

Feedlot Value ($F) – an index expressed in dollars per head for post weaning performance.

Grid Value ($G) – an index expressed in dollars per head for carcass grid merit.

Quality Grade ($QG) – represents the quality grade portion of the $G value. Marb EPD and ultrasound fat (%IMF) EPD contribute to the calculation of the $QG. This value would be used if the producer wants to place a high emphasis on quality grade in his selection criteria.

Yield Grade ($YG) – represents the yield grade portion of the $G value. It utilizes the ribeye area, fat thickness and weight for calculating an economic value for red meat yield. Producers needing to improve yield grade would concentrate on this value.

Beef Value ($B) - an index expressed in dollars per head that predicts the average difference in progeny for postweaning and carcass value performance compared to progeny of other sires.

Hereford $ Values:

Baldy Maternal Index (BMI$) – an index expressed in dollars per head that predicts the profit for producers that use Hereford bulls in a rotational crossbreeding program on Angus based cows and heifers.

Certified Hereford Beef Index (CHB$) – an index expressed in dollars per head that predicts carcass performance of crossbred Hereford/British calves when sold on a grid pricing formula in the Certified Hereford Beef program.

Calving Ease Index (CEZ$) – this index identifies the most profitable Hereford bulls when mated to yearling heifers.

Brahman Influence Index (BII$) – this index is similar to the BMI$ with one difference, the Herefords bulls are mated to Brahman cattle and the emphasis is on fertility, age at puberty, traits that are deficient in Brahman cattle.

Charolais $ Values:

Terminal Sire Profitability Index – utilizes economic and management descriptions of your ranching operation, along with EPD’s on available Charolais bulls to assist in identifying the most profitable sires for your unique operation.

Limousin $ Values:

Mainstream Terminal Index ($MTI) – takes both genetics and economics into account to rank animals in terms of expected profit per carcass produced from weaning to market endpoints of Yield Grade 1s and 2s and Select to low Choice quality grades.

Gelbvieh $ Values:

Days to Finish (DtF) – expressed in days to reach a constant fat endpoint, which is commonly used in the feedlot to determine when cattle are finished.

Feedlot Merit (FM) – measures the dollar value associated with the expected gain and feedlot efficiency of progeny when fed in a typical feedlot arrangement. Expressed in dollars per head.

Carcass Value (CV) – expressed in dollar value per head, comparing progeny of one animal to another in dollar differences when progeny are sold on a grid.

Simmental $ Values:

All Purpose Index (API) – evaluates sires being used on entire cowherd to produce both replacement females along with steers and heifers sent to the feedlot and on to the packing house. All traits with the exception of tenderness are taking into consideration in this index. Expressed in dollar value per head.

Terminal Index (TI) – evaluates sires being bred to females where all the offspring will be fed and sold on the grade a yield grid. Maternal traits such as milk, stayability and calving ease are not considered for this index. Expressed in dollar value per head.

In Summary:

These were the indexes I could find from the major breeds. I am sure that all the breeds have these indexes but because of space constraints I haven’t taken the time to research each breed.

As you can see, the amount of information available is staggering. The question becomes, how do I use these indexes to help me select a bull? Also, which indexes do I really need to use? I don’t have room in this newsletter to address these questions, however in the next issue of Over The Wire, I will try to give examples of how to use this data when making your selections.

In the meantime, if you need information on these indexes, access the various breed websites and do a little researching. You will be able to find the information you need. Also, call up the breed association and visit with their performance program director. They can be of great help. Also, feel free to give me a call. I will try to provide some assistance.

Information on the $ Value Indexes was obtained from the websites of the American Angus Association, the American Hereford Association, the North American Limousin Foundation, the American Gelvieh Association, the American-International Charolais Association and the American Simmental Association.