Cull Hard, Keep the Right Cows

Everybody wants to talk about bulls. But a bull is one animal, and your cow herd is a hundred. The cows you keep each year, and the ones you load on the truck, decide what this ranch looks like in ten years. Culling is how you make that decision on purpose.

Skip the magic number

You will hear men say they cull a fourth of their cows every year. I could not trace that to a source, so I will not hand it to you as a rule. And it should not be a rule. A fixed percentage is a good way to sell good cows or keep bad ones. Set your standards and let the number fall out. A young herd with good fertility may cull few. A rough herd may cull a lot and still not be done.

Why it works

Progress comes from how big the gap is between the cows you keep and the average cow. Keep nearly everybody and you have no gap. Keep only the best and you do. The American Angus Association's Angus Journal profiled a Colorado cattleman who makes heifers prove themselves on his range before he puts more into them, and an Oklahoma cattleman who matches females with bulls using trait data. That same article says the Oklahoma man's steers went from 13 percent Prime in 2012 to a range of 50 to 75 percent Prime now (Angus Journal). That is his ranch, his grass and his program. Your results will differ, but the lesson holds: steady selection adds up.

What it costs to cull

Raising a replacement heifer is not cheap, and she does not pay you back until she weans a calf. Cull too hard and you are spending a lot on replacements. Cull too soft and you are feeding cows that do not earn it. Figure your numbers. Cutting cost per cow shows where the money goes.

What gets a cow sold

She is open

No calf, no place. Same for the cow that calves late two years running, because she drags your whole calving season behind her.

Her calves are at the bottom

Compare weaning weights, adjusted for the age of the calf and the age of the cow. If her calf is always in the bottom of the group, she is not paying.

Bad feet, bad bag

Crooked feet, broken-down udders and teats too big for a calf to find do not get better. They also get passed on.

Bad attitude

A cow that will hurt you will usually raise a calf that will, too. Sell her. Do not wait for the day she gets you hurt.

Trouble year after year

Prolapse, mastitis, hard calving over and over. If she costs you more than she brings in, she is done. Read about when to pull a calf and when to call the vet if you are seeing too many of those.

Pick replacements on purpose

Every cull opens a slot. Fill it with a heifer out of a good, fertile cow, sired by a bull that fits your plan, who grew well and is built right. If you have more heifers than you need, a DNA test can help sort them. See whether DNA testing is worth the money before you pay for it.

Sorting day, step by step

Here is how I would run the sort. At preg-check, pull every open cow and every cow due in the last third of the season. At weaning, line up the calf weights next to the cow numbers and flag the bottom group. Walk the cows through the chute and look at feet, bags and eyes while you have them. Anything that shows up twice on your list goes on the truck. Anything that shows up once gets watched. By the end you have a list built on what happened, not on who you feel sorry for. It takes an afternoon, and it is the most profitable afternoon of your year.

Write it down

If you cull from memory, good cows go to town and the bad ones stay home. Ear-tag every cow and keep a book: calving date, calf weaning weight, preg-check result and any trouble. Go through it at weaning and again at preg-check. The University of Nebraska beef program and the Beef Research site have record-keeping help.

Watch the market

Cull cow prices move and so do replacement prices. When replacements are dear you might ease up on the marginal cows, but never on the ones that are clearly wrong. Check USDA numbers at the Economic Research Service before you sort cows.

Who benefits

A herd that culls well raises more calves per cow for less feed, and calves that grade fit programs like Certified Angus Beef. For the money side, read farm.fm's page on financial planning for Angus producers, and use the agriculture directory to find a vet or buyer near you.

Prices and recommendations change, so check with your vet or county agent. This site is independent and not affiliated with the American Angus Association or Certified Angus Beef.