November 2024 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN 25 Call 800-778-6014 Full range online shearwell.com Excellent retention High quality products Multiple print layouts We have a full line of management & USDA approved HDX electronic tags NEW XL BOS Tag WORLD FIRST MET Tag FREE applicator o er with your first tag order T&Cs apply NC Trade Show Exhibitor calf weaning weight, which accounted for about 35 to 40 percent of the variability in profitability. To help manage cow cost in operations, Lalman recommended “building a better cow.” Designing cattle that are genetically predisposed for characteristics such as performance, feed intake and efficiency can improve production efficiency during the post-weaning phase. Weaning weight, post-weaning growth and carcass weight are all indicators that many producers rely heavily upon when selecting genetics. “The big picture is that our industry has improved tremendously in terms of beef production per cow, and that comes from two general categories,” Lalman said. “The improvement of genetics over time and the improvement or adoption of technology in all segments of the industry, but with a more intense focus on the post-weaning phase of the business are those categories.” It is important to take into consideration the ideal cow size for your operation when selecting these growth traits. Lalman warned that by continuing to aggressively select for growth genetics, mature cattle size may affect your stocking rates as larger framed cattle requiring more resources may actually take away from your production or output in the long run. “Over a 30-year career, assuming a ranch manager used herd sires representing only industry average growth and carcass weight, the operation’s cows would weigh about 230 pounds more today,” Lalman explained. “That increase in mature cow body weight relates to about a 13 percent reduction in stocking capacity to apply the same grazing pressure on a given land base.” Many breed associations publish mature cow weight in their EPDs, which can be useful to producers when selecting their genetics for the upcoming breeding season. Lalman shared data that feed intake EPDs collected by some breed associations are a helpful indicator to control feed intake in cow herds. Some of the data that he shared looked specifically at 353 proven Angus CONTINUED ON PAGE 26
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