tc806 - ...stop and think if it. [If it] Costs that much to keep a cow then where is there any profit out of selling 500# calves?... Tim, you hit the nail on the head with that statement!!! If we accept the Manitoba Ag data that it costs about $550 per year to maintain one cow and If that cow produces one calf during that year and If we sell that calf at 500 lb for $1.10/lb = $550 (which would be thought of as a "good" price many times) not even allowing any sale costs, comissions, trucking etc, THEN We have worked all year and made a big fat ZERO.
Now we can argue that it doesn't really cost $550/year to carry a cow...but I bet the folks in Manitoba are not too far off. Especially when you include in that $550. the cost of maintaining the calf for much of that year.
This is the way the cow/calf economics work out in our current system. Zero profit. Or close to it. Since we don't see much we can do on the selling side, we post here arguing about the cost side. Because if we accept Manitoba Ag's numbers or anything close to them we are really not making a dime.
And if you should happen to lose a calf or carry an open cow who produces NOTHING saleable for a year, then we are less than zero and fit further into the "hobby" category. The only way this works out for many folks is to have the crop operations pick up/hide some cow/calf costs.
My personal solution to this dilemma is to NOT sell 500 lb calves but in that year get them up to 1050-1100 lb then sell them retail. I figure my live weight target net per steer at $1.30/live lb x 1050 live lb = $1365. less $550 for the cow for the year + maybe less $250 additional from Nov weaning to approx April 1 "finish" the calf on my standing strip tilled continuous corn over the winter = about $565 profit per cow/steer unit per year.
Once I get my herd up to full strength I will treat the heifers same as steers.
Here are some pictures from today. I moved the wire to expose more ears. My bull and a steer are shown grubbing for ears on a used area. I like this but want the steers especially on fresh corn for the next few weeks up to processing. My plan is to have the cows and heifers come back and clean up the area further. As the snow melts there are some husks and a few ears on the ground they can cleanup.
I have a few cows mixed in with the steers to make better use of the corn and use less purchased hay. These are my lighter cows and I don't think they are getting too fat. They are about a month from calving. The steers pictured are 10 months to 10-1/2 months old. Picture 2882 is a couple cows coming over to see what I was doing as I was putting up a new divider wire to expose more corn. I have been concerned they might be getting too fat on corn ahead of calving but they look ok so far. Calves will tend to be bigger than normal but I think they can handle them. My heavy cows are in another hay-only group with last spring's heifers to be retained.
I put the BWF heifer that lost the calf back with this group on corn today ahead of processing but after I took these pictures.
Jim at Dawn
Edited by Jim 3/5/2010 10:35
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IMG_2895_mix of steers and cows on corn 030410_2.jpg (69KB - 61 downloads)
IMG_2897_mix of steers and cows soaking sun in corn_030410_3.jpg (93KB - 64 downloads)
IMG_2898_Steer entering fresh corn 030410_4.jpg (70KB - 53 downloads)
IMG_2882_5.jpg (73KB - 57 downloads)
IMG_2885_cow40 on-off corn-not too fat 030410_6.JPG (99KB - 61 downloads)
IMG_2886_7.jpg (70KB - 57 downloads)
IMG_2890_trimmed_T21 and Steer 030410_8.jpg (95KB - 56 downloads)
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cost to keep a cow
