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Top 10 Most Popular Beef Cattle Resources for Producers in 2023
Over the past 12 months, Canadian beef cattle producers navigated their farms through a variety of different circumstances, each with its challenges and opportunities. To aid producers in making informed decisions, the Beef Cattle Research Council developed over 60 new science-based beef cattle resources. This information ranged from interactive calculators to articles and webinars that highlight new research and provide practical information on relevant topics and issues impacting cattle producers.
As we bid farewell to 2023 and steer into the year ahead, we look back at the 10 most popular BCRC articles for Canadian beef cattle producers:
Today, animal injection best practices have become widely known in the beef industry as “just the right thing to do.” These cattle injection techniques are recommended to help farmers produce safe beef for the consumer and maintain Canada’s high reputation for beef quality.
CowBytes is an easy-to-use ration-balancing software program that can assist cattle producers in developing rations and improving their herd nutrition. In 2023, the BCRC assumed the CowBytes trademark, ensuring it will continue to be available for cattle producers. The software can be purchased through www.BeefResearch.ca/CowBytes.
Pain management for beef cattle has evolved significantly over the past two decades, and producers are integrating pain mitigation strategies into their routine cattle management practices. Beef producers share their perspectives on how they practically manage pain on their farms.
Integrating cattle and cropland is not new, however, there are fewer mixed farming operations now than in the past. This, coupled with recent rises in input costs, have beef producers exploring ways to incorporate cropland in their operations. Learn more about agronomic and animal considerations of grazing crops.
One family shares their story of dealing with an outbreak of Cryptosporidium on their operation, and the animal and human health approach they implemented to overcome it.
The BCRC invests in projects that ensure research is being done in areas that directly impact the Canadian beef industry and the priorities laid out in the Five-Year Canadian Beef Research and Technology Transfer Strategy. This post highlights 12 projects funded for 2022/2023.
In the summer, the BCRC launched a two-part series exploring the opportunities and challenges of dairy-beef cross calves with perspectives from across the value chain including cow-calf producer, backgrounder, feedlot and processor.
There are many factors during calving season that must come together to ensure a healthy calf hits the ground. It is essential that a producer be prepared to assist a cow with a difficult birth, including knowledge of how and when to help. The BCRC created a video that walks producers through the critical steps in assessing and managing a difficult calving.
Understanding the cost of developing replacement heifers is crucial to help producers make informed decisions. The BCRC launched a new Replacement Heifer Calculator in September to allow producers to evaluate the costs of raising replacement heifers compared to purchasing them.
Producers from across the country faced extreme dry conditions, drought and wildfires again this year. While the elements themselves cannot be managed, several decisions can be made to reduce the impact of dry conditions now and in the future.
The BCRC team is planning even more practical, science-based resources for beef producers in the new year. Comment below with topics and tools you’d like to see in 2024.
Click to see the most popular posts of 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Sharing or reprinting BCRC posts is welcome and encouraged. Please credit the Beef Cattle Research Council, provide the website address, www.BeefResearch.ca, and let us know you have chosen to share the article by emailing us at info@beefresearch.ca.
The BCRC is funded by a portion of the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off.
Your questions, comments and suggestions are welcome. Contact us directly or spark a public discussion by posting your thoughts below.
Sharing or reprinting BCRC posts is welcome and encouraged. Please credit the Beef Cattle Research Council, provide the website address, www.BeefResearch.ca, and let us know you have chosen to share the article by emailing us at info@beefresearch.ca.
The BCRC is funded by a portion of the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off.
Your questions, comments and suggestions are welcome. Contact us directly or spark a public discussion by posting your thoughts below.
Raising Replacement Heifers -- What Does It Cost?
Understanding the cost of developing replacement heifers is crucial for informed decision-making. The most significant factor in heifer development cost is the opportunity cost of forgoing revenue from selling calves at weaning. Each heifer kept for the breeding herd is one less calf to sell in the fall – the cost of the opportunity for fall revenue that’s being given up.
With cattle prices currently at record highs, the opportunity cost is at its peak. Producers should consider the long-term economic implications of raising replacement heifers and remain aware of potential market volatility throughout the heifer’s lifespan.
Are you looking for a simple tool to calculate the cost of developing replacement heifers? We’ve got you covered! The new BCRC Replacement Heifer Calculator is a decision-making tool adapted from a calculator originally developed by the Western Beef Development Centre.
Replacement Heifer Calculator
The Replacement Heifer Calculator estimates the costs of developing a replacement heifer from weaning, through breeding to preg-checking. The calculator provides estimates of total development costs and a break-even selling price for bred heifers when you input relevant information such as weaning date, cattle prices, expected breeding performance, feed and nutrition costs, veterinary expenses and other associated costs.
Key cost components considered in the calculator include:
Opportunity cost (forgoing shorter-term revenue from the animals)
Feed and bedding costs
Grazing cost
Breeding cost
Other expenses
Health and veterinary expenses
Yardage
Capital cost
Death loss
The total cost is adjusted by conception rate and open heifer sales. Bred heifers will bear the cost of developing the opens, while the cost to develop bred heifers will be decreased by the expected revenues from selling the open heifers.
Example: 2022-born heifers
For instance, let’s consider an example with 2022-born heifers. Suppose there were 50 potential replacement heifers selected at weaning on November 1, 2022, with an average weaning weight of 550 pounds. The opportunity cost of keeping these heifers was $1,238/head, based on an average heifer calf price of $2.25/lb in Alberta.
After weaning, the heifers go on feed for 212 days (November 1 to June 1). Assuming these heifers were fed 18 pounds of hay and 3 pounds of grain per day with hay price at 8 cents per pound ($176/tonne) and grain at 14 cents per pound ($309/tonne), winter feed cost is at $394/head. Adding the cost of bedding at $15/head (500 lbs at 3 cents per pound), and year-round minerals at $30/head, total feed and bedding cost adds up to at $439/head.
Assume pasture turn-out date will be on June 1, 2023. The heifers will be exposed to natural breeding with bulls during the grazing season and preg-checked on October 15. The grazing period from June 1 to October 15 is 136 days, with grazing cost projected at $1/head/day for a total of $136/head. The cost of natural breeding is based on breeding bull price ($5000/head), number of heifers serviced per year (20 head), number of years used (4 years), annual bull cost ($500/head), semen test and vaccinations ($125/head), less bull salvage value ($2,280/head). The estimated breeding cost is $65/head.
Other expenses to be considered are veterinary and medicine costs of $15/head for vaccines, preg-checking and other medical expenses; yardage at $191/head; capital cost at $35/head (3% interest rate for weaned calf value for the wean-to-preg-check period), and cost of a 2% death loss at $25/head. The total cost in this example amounts to $2,144 per heifer being developed. Adjusting for a 10% open rate, the cost for each bred heifer would be $2,382 assuming bred heifers will bear the cost of developing the opens. If open heifers are sold after preg-checking, bred heifer development cost is partially offset by revenue from open heifer sales. With a projected revenue of $2,280 per open heifer ($2.40/lb x 950 lb), the cost is reduced to $2,129 per bred heifer developed.
Remember, the example above is intended to demonstrate the calculation steps. Make sure to adapt the calculations to your operation and use your own on-farm numbers.
What does it mean?
When choosing whether to retain or purchase replacement heifers, understanding the development costs is crucial. In the example given, opportunity and feed costs make up close to 80% of the total expenses. These factors, particularly current calf prices and feed costs, greatly influence the feasibility of raising replacement heifers. Since calf prices and feed costs fluctuate annually and within seasons, closely monitoring these costs becomes vital, as it significantly impacts the level of investment required.
Keep in mind that the example above is based on the 2022 calf crops. Cattle prices have surged significantly since then to new record highs. In May 2023, heifer calf prices surpassed $3/lb, up 52% year-over-year. If a producer’s projected heifer calf price is at $2.80/lb in the fall, the opportunity cost of retaining the 2023-born heifers would rise to $1,540/head. This leads to an estimated cost of $2,482/bred heifer, while keeping other variables steady, including feed and bedding at $439, grazing at $136, breeding fees at $65, other costs at $281, and adjusting for opens.
Record-high calf prices now do not equal record-high returns in the future
Raising replacement heifers is a substantial financial commitment with long-term profitability implications. The cost of development is only one side of the equation; returns over the heifer’s lifespan must also be considered.
If a heifer is weaned in the fall of 2023, it typically takes two years until she produces her first calf which would be expected in the spring of 2025. Considering the current record-high prices, producers should exercise caution due to potential downside risks in the future.
Assuming the average price during the heifer’s lifespan is $2.77/lb for 550 lb calves (a 25% increase from the 2014-2022 Alberta steer and heifer average of $2.21/lb), with an annual cow cost of $1,000/cow, it would require seven consecutive productive years to recover the initial development cost of $2,482 for this heifer.
If average calf prices increase by another 10% to $2.99/lb, the pay-back period is estimated at six years for the 2023-born heifers.
However, if average calf prices only increase 15% from the 2014-2022 levels to $2.54/lb, the pay-back period increases to eight years.
Adjusting the cost assumption for a lower-cost operation so that annual cow cost is at $800/head and cattle prices still increase by 25% from the 2014-2022 levels, the pay-back period is estimated at five years.
In addition to raising replacement heifers, producers should be open to alternative options such as purchasing breeding heifers, cows or cow-calf pairs.
The decision involves more than just economic factors; it also takes into account land, labor and capital capacity, as well as feed, pasture, facility availability, biosecurity and disease risks. Long-term goals for genetics and cattle performance should also be carefully considered.
Sharing or reprinting BCRC posts is welcome and encouraged. Please credit the Beef Cattle Research Council, provide the website address, www.BeefResearch.ca, and let us know you have chosen to share the article by emailing us at info@beefresearch.ca.
The BCRC is funded by a portion of the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off.
Your questions, comments and suggestions are welcome. Contact us directly or spark a public discussion by posting your thoughts below.
Attention Extension Agents: Upcoming Online Meeting About Call for Letters of Intent
The current BCRC Call for Letters of Intent (LOIs) related to technology transfer and production economics focuses on three challenge statements related to: grazing management/forage rejuvenation, optimizing reproductive rates and the Code of Practice for Care and Handling of Beef Cattle.
Join us on Thursday, July 7, to discuss potential extension strategies to employ in these areas, as well as an overview of the funding application process and guidelines for LOI submissions.
The virtual meeting will be held on Thursday, July 7, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. MT.
10:00 a.m. in BC
11:00 a.m. in AB and SK
12:00 p.m. in MB
1:00 p.m. in ON and QC
2:00 p.m in NS, NB, PE and NL
To join the Zoom meeting, you must register in advance.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing details about joining the meeting. To allow adequate time to log in, please join five minutes early so that we can start promptly at the top of the hour. When you log in, you’ll have the option to join with video turned on plus two options for audio: your computer audio or dial in over the phone.
Interested but not available at that time? Register anyway! This webinar will be recorded and can be shared upon request.
Sharing or reprinting BCRC posts is welcome and encouraged. Please credit the Beef Cattle Research Council, provide the website address, www.BeefResearch.ca, and let us know you have chosen to share the article by emailing us at info@beefresearch.ca.
The BCRC is funded by a portion of the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off.
Your questions, comments and suggestions are welcome. Contact us directly or spark a public discussion by posting your thoughts below.
Attn Extension Agents: BCRC Opens Call for Letters of Intent
The Beef Cattle Research Council invites letters of intent (LOIs) for technology transfer and production economics projects. The application deadline for this call is August 19, 2022, at 11:59 PM MT.
The purpose of this targeted call is to achieve specific objectives in the Canadian Beef Research and Technology Transfer Strategy and the National Beef Strategy. This call for technology transfer LOIs is made possible by the recent increase in the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off in most provinces. Approved projects, funded by Canadian cattle producers through the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off, will be required to use the industry funding to leverage additional funds from government or other funding organizations to fulfill project budgets.
Through extensive consultation with research teams and industry stakeholders to identify critical needs and key areas where the BCRC can have the greatest impact, target outcomes have been clearly defined for the call. Please refer to the problem statements listed within the documents linked below before deciding whether to submit an LOI.
Technology Transfer and Production Economics Funding Application
Proposed projects up to two years in length may be submitted. The BCRC will provide a maximum of 50% of the project budget, with a maximum BCRC contribution of $50,000 per project. Refer to the documents below and watch for a webinar announcement in the coming weeks for more information.
Sharing or reprinting BCRC posts is welcome and encouraged. Please credit the Beef Cattle Research Council, provide the website address, www.BeefResearch.ca, and let us know you have chosen to share the article by emailing us at info@beefresearch.ca.
The BCRC is funded by a portion of the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off.
Your questions, comments and suggestions are welcome. Contact us directly or spark a public discussion by posting your thoughts below.
