Extension cow-calf specialist talks at Cattle U

Recovering from the drought and historic low cattle numbers is a concern on the minds of all cattle producers these days. Jason Warner, Extension cow-calf specialist at Kansas State University, spoke about these topics as well as herd nutrition at the 2023 Cattle U event in Manhattan, Kansas. Warner said although the drought conditions are lifting in some areas, certain parts of Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri are still experiencing dry conditions without relief.

“We’ve received some nice rainfall here to start off this growing season this production year, but the question we have to ask ourselves is, is that enough and where are we going to be at later on as we get into the latter part of summer and fall?” he said.

Warner also pointed to the fact we are experiencing the lowest numbers of cows in the last 60 years from a national perspective. He compared the current cow number situation to 2012 and 2013 when cattle producers were working to rebuild the herd after the severe drought in 2011.

“I think there’s going to be some opportunity for us to continue to grow our industry back,” Warner said. “The key will be is when that occurs.”

In the meantime, the value of replacement heifers is a great concern for cattle producers. With the liquidation that occurred in the past year, females will be in high demand, but high input prices will complicate the rebuilding of the herd.

“Beef demand and costs are higher, that’s not news to anyone, but the important thing is understanding a higher cost structure in terms of where we are production wise, how that fits in and how we make important management decisions as we go forward.”

Warner believes some technologies like sexed semen could play a large role in rebuilding the cattle numbers and is an opportunity to capitalize on demand that potentially could be there for females down the road. Additionally, Warner said when producers make the decision to take females out of production, like many were forced to during the drought, they must understand the cost of bringing those females back in.

Costs, costs, costs

Forage prices across the United States are highly variable right now depending on drought in certain locations.

“In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been seeing some prices here in northeastern Kansas asking for over $300 a ton on good alfalfa hay,” Warner said. “Just from a nationwide perspective, our hay harvest is the lowest it’s been in a really long time. So, we’re just going to have to work through those prices for the next several months.”

Warner urges producers to know their cow-calf expenses so they can be more efficient during times of high-cost structure. It is almost impossible to improve the cost of production if those expenditures are unknown.

“We really need to understand where we are coming from on a cost-per-cow basis,” he said. “We can use that information to be able to make really informed and key management decisions. Obviously, costs vary tremendously depending on what your forage price is, how you value grass and what your overhead prices are in equipment. We really need to make any good, concerted effort over the next 12 to 18 months in this era of higher operation costs.”

Warner recommended some free, K-State decision support tools to producers who need assistance with determining their production costs. A forage inventor calculator can be found at www.agmanager.info/hay-inventory-calculator and a production cost budget program that can be found at www.agmanager.info/farm-mgmt-guides/livestock-budgets/ksu-detailed-cow-calf-budget.

Additionally, Warner said one of the most effective ways to manage cows on reduced forage due to drought and improve body condition score is to wean calves early.

“Depending on the level of milk production in that cow and when you wean that calf off, the difference in their nutrient requirements of energy and protein will be reduced anywhere from 20% to 35%, depending on the base requirements of that female,” he said. “Every 2.5 days a calf is weaned equals one day of grazing for dry cows. It’s the greatest improvement in BCS for young and thin females.”

Warner said 120 to 150 days is the most ideal age and size for weaning. Additionally, he said calf management is extremely important for early weaned calves. They require palatable, high quality grass hay and their intakes of weaning ration will be low initially.

Another point Warner made was the significance of forage quality and the value of forage testing. The results of forage tests can be surprising during drought years and it’s crucial to know the quality of forage before it is offered to cattle.

“One thing that I think is important to keep in mind when thinking about managing cows in drought situations, is that often we assume that forage quality in a drought situation is going to decline really quite rapidly,” he said. “But we can see really high variation in terms of forage quality, in terms of protein and forage digestibility when we have drought years and we compare those to wet years.”

Another tip Warner offered is to perform pregnancy checks early in the season. If there are open cows, it is a good idea to market them now before they consume more feed inputs since that cow will not raise a calf that year.

“It all goes back to planning and I think for me that’s the key,” Warner said. “Being able to be really strict on holding yourself accountable to your plan, and just being flexible with it and adjusting as things go. I think that’s definitely critical for us going forward.”

Lacey Vilhauer can be reached at 620-227-1871 or [email protected].