Management
of feed to a pound of gain. About half of the OSU
herd is Angus; the other half is black baldy.
“Also, recent research points out that modest
selection pressure to reduce the genetic potential for
milk production will likely better match commercial
cows to their forage resources and reduce cost of
production,” Lalman says. He explains it takes 30 to 60
pounds of milk to get one more pound of weaning
weight gain. And it can take 80 to 90 pounds of cow
feed (or forage) to get 1 more pound of calf gain.
“One possible explanation for flat weaning weights
is that the potential of grazing resources to support
more milk production in a commercial beef cow may
be maxed out in a lot of situations,” Lalman says.
He points to increasingly accurate selection
tools and the plethora of available curve-
bending genetics that enable producers to
reduce cost and add value at the same time.
“We can make progress on low-cost cows while
making progress on postweaning performance
and quality. We can improve the reputation
and price for the calf, while making cows that
are pretty low-cost. We need to understand
that we can do both,” Lalman says.
Capturing genetic value
Supposing weaning weight remains stagnant, and
costs are already whittled to a nub. There’s added
incentive to capture the value of genetic potential
for superior postweaning performance, as suggested
by the study. Many producers already are, of course.
Arguably, there’s never been more market-
based differentiation than there is today. Price
differences continue to be cleaved by cattle
of the same weight, sex and class, based on
everything from making calves eligible for specific
breed- and management-based value-added
programs to documenting the genetic potential
of calves for feedlot and carcass merit. LT
This article was reprinted with permission
from the BEEF Magazine.
126 | JUNE/JULY 2019
Photo by Sarah Johnson