Management
be adequate to cover costs of holding non-
productive cows? Cows retained this summer for
breeding are essentially replacement animals.
They won’t be providing any income from calf
production till the fall of 2020. Does this added
cost fit into your herd management plans and
the number of productive cows you want to
have in the herd for the next several years?
4. Bio-security risk of bringing in
bred cows or cow-calf pairs.
Bringing in outside cattle into a herd brings with
its bio-security risks. Use care when purchasing
bred cows or cow-calf pairs and then integrating
these new purchases into the herd. Young calves
can be especially susceptible to disease risks.
5. Selling cull cows and purchasing
cow-calf pairs.
Selling a cow that has lost her calf and buying back
a cow-calf pair is an option that many producers will
consider. Besides the bio-security risk, evaluating
this option financially involves comparing the value
of a cull cow today, against the price of a cow-calf
pair and the expected value of a weaned calf in
the fall. Then take into account the additional cost
of carrying a cow-calf pair through the summer
and early fall versus a dry cow. Assuming the
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