up leftover or lower quality forage. With that said, they are not the most effi cient feed converters. Cows will typically have a feed conversion of 10 to 12 pounds of dry matter per pound of gain; therefore, the feed- ing program has to be designed and evaluated very carefully. In the winter, producers face a relatively high maintenance cost and the po- tential of bad weather. It is possible that cows fed on a low quality diet may gain little or no weight at all. Producers who fi nd themselves
with extra forage and cull cows should consider the opportunity cost of feeding the forage to the cows. Is there another class of live- stock that offers a higher potential profi t margin? Could the producer make more money by leasing out the pasture? In a feed lot setting, the cost per pound of gain for cows is fre-
quently higher than the sale price per pound because cows are likely to be heavier than steers and less ef- fi cient. Seasonal price fl uctuations, in themselves, may not be enough to justify a high-energy diet; the greatest returns occur when carcass grade is improved.
Where should I sell them? The auction market offers the
most competitive venue for cull cow sales, Homeyer says. Unless produc- ers have a lot of experience dealing with packers, it is generally better to go through the auction market. The exception to that comes in the form of blemished cattle. Cattle that have cancer-eye, crippled cattle or cattle at high risk for becoming downers should be marketed directly to the packer. Editor’s Note: This is the seventh in a 12-part series focusing on using
partial budgets to answer questions in a technique commonly known as “penciling it out.” Because Texas and Oklahoma are so diverse and each ranch is unique, the series was not designed to provide a one-size-fi ts- all answer. Instead it was created to help producers become familiar with a handy tool that can be used to strengthen the bottom line. The series has been developed in col- laboration with Carl Homeyer, state ag economist for the USDA Natu- ral Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Temple. Homeyer earned his bachelor’s degree in range science and his master’s degree in land eco- nomics and real estate from Texas A&M University. Before joining the NRCS in 2009, Homeyer operated his family’s Burleson County ranch, which also includes broiler houses, while owning and running several small businesses.
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251.431.8050 July 2013 The Cattleman 31
BEFORE
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