Maximize the Economic Success of Your Beef Operation

See tips from a UF/IFAS blog for steps to take to make the most of high cattle prices and maximize the economic success of your beef operation.

UF/IFAS blog askes “With cattle prices at very high levels, what are some things you can do to maximize use of this added income?” It recommends making investments in your operation rather than “hasty purchases.” Read the recommendations for maximizing the economic success of your beef operation below.

Tips to Boost the Economic Success in Your Beef Operation

The blog shares the following options to take advantage of the economic success in your beef operation, saying “There are a few things you can do that will pay huge dividends and right now are a bit easier to do:”

Invest in good bulls. “Actually, good bulls are a wise investment anytime. Obviously, on a yearly basis, each bull has an impact on the calves he sires. If you are keeping replacement heifers from bulls, 87.5% of the genetics in the cow herd (after 3 generations) can be traced to the bulls utilized. In either case, you can take average cows and create big impacts in the calves they produce. Producing calves that move your calf crop from a muscle score 2 to a muscle score 1 can pay off. So, now while you can afford it, buy sires that will pay you back for years to come. Good quality, highly productive, docile bulls are much more available than they were in the past…”

Follow a good culling program. “Culling poor performing cows is necessary no matter if the market is high or low. Inputs never decline in price. A cow that does not produce a calf or produces poor calves is utilizing resources and spending your money. Cull those cows now and cash in. With cull prices at these extremely high levels, selling these under-productive cows makes even more sense.”

Improve your pasture. “Many times, our pastures are pushed to the brink of disaster. Letting our pastures recuperate and providing some soil fertility and weed management will help improve your forage production. Cull poor performing cows and use that revenue to provide some weed management or fertilizer to all or some of your pastures. If down the road you see that your stocking rate can be adjusted (because you culled heavily), you can purchase new females (and the prices may have come back down).”

Griffin Fertilizer is committed to helping both growers and ranchers make sound agronomic and economic decisions in order to maximize the health of their grove and pasture. As a full-service custom dry & liquid fertilizer blender and crop protection product distributor, we will continue our mission to further advance Florida agriculture. For questions -or concerns about your farm or pasture, contact us and one of our team will be in touch.

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