MANAGEMENT FLEXIBILITY
The Key to Female Retention Strategies by Zach McFarlane, Ph.D., Beef Cattle Specialist, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo The keep or cull question is of even more important this year than ever before. Drought-stricken and wildfireravaged California rangelands need a flexible approach to female beef cattle management now more than ever. The decision to keep or cull heifers, cows, bulls or any other class of cattle comes around every year. Typically, this question is based on reproductive performance. Did bulls pass their breeding soundness exam? Is the cow bred? Decisions become more complex as ranchers face the mounting pressures in 2022 with extreme drought conditions, limited forage availability, scarce stock water and a tight hay market. “This year we have had to make tough decisions, in a normal year we could give a cow a chance if she weaned off a lighter calf or she had a bad eye,” states David Brandenberger, Brandenberger, Brandenberger Cattle Company, Stonyford, “but this year we have culled deep in the herd to be able to stay on the little grass we have available. The choice to keep heifers was even more difficult. Waiting an entire year before she calves is not feasible in the current drought conditions we are facing.” When you are in the corral today, the reasons to cull expand. Drought conditions in the fall of 2022 are severe when considering 98 percent of the state is experiencing severe to exceptional drought according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Some of the following questions come to mind when considering your culling decisions. Is the female structurally sound? When did she become pregnant during the breeding season? How did her calf perform? This final question may be one of the most important given the current drought conditions.
34 California Cattleman October 2022
RETAIN OR SELL HEIFERS? Strategic management can help make culling decisions for you. Heifers are the most fertile cattle in the herd because they do not have to cope with the nutritional stress of lactation during the breeding season. If heifers are not pregnant at the end of the breeding season, they will likely not be able to cope with rebreeding as a 2-yearold. At this age, they are required to partition nutrients towards the demands for growth and milk production which can reduce fertility. We know that heifers that calve and breed back early are retained in the herd at greater rates. A study conducted at the USDA Meat Animal Research Center using over 16,000 heifers indicated that heifers calving in the first 21 days of the calving season were retained at a greater rate in the herd. Additionally, these heifers produced heavier calves at weaning over their lifetime. Opportunity costs are a very important consideration in sever drought conditions. Choosing to retain a heifer for breeding removes the opportunity for her to be sold for profit. This cost is not paid back until that heifer has several calves, and this may not be a viable option in these severe drought conditions. However, the word “opportunity” is important because heifers provide an “opportunity” to focus on genetic improvement in your herd. Not only are they typically highly fertile, but they are the largest source of new genetics in your herd aside from bringing in new breeding bulls. If choosing to retain heifers this year, the following considerations are helpful to reflect upon when making this decision.