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Making the most dollars from culls

published: May 9th 2008
by: Martha Hollida Garrett

The term cull is negative by definition and for producers cull cattle are a management problem, but they are also about 20% of the total U.S. beef production and can in fact be 15 to 20% of a producer’s revenue, ba-sed on figures from the latest National Market Cow and Bull Quality Audit.

Since culls represent that much of revenue, increasing that by just a third can improve a ranch’s overall revenue by as much as nearly 6%, according to Jeff Carter, assistant professor University of Flori-da’s North Florida Re-search and Education Cen-ter, Marianna, Florida. He explains that cows with a higher body condition score, and more weight, optimize economic returns by delivering both a higher carcass value and a higher live value.

The most competitive environment for selling cull cows is still the local auction facility and prices of culls can routinely have a large spread. A quick survey of weekly markets for the last week of April showed as much as $30 per hundredweight difference for cull cows, which shows that producers can take steps to maximize the price. In addition, when culls are sold is critical to receiving the best prices. Tradition-ally from October to Fe-bruary represents the lowest prices while, spring and summer sales are usually higher as runs are smaller. Producers normally have grass available in the summer and elect to keep them and then sell in the fall, thinking the added weight will net them the most dollars, even with the lower prices.

Ron Gill, extension livestock specialist with Texas A&M, offers the following advice for producers to get the most from their culls:

1. Add weight to thin cull cows before selling. This is particularly valuable when cows are BCS 3 or lower at culling. High quality forage efficiently replenishes muscle mass on cows. Extremely old cows may not gain as efficiently as younger cows. Target a BCS of 5 for light muscled cows and BCS 5-6 for heavier muscled cows.

2. Cull old cows before they lose their teeth, decline in body condition and fail to breed. Besides having lower cull weight and value, such cows have also weaned lighter calves than the younger cows for probably at least two

years.

3. Explore selling directly to a packer on a prearranged price. Caution should be exercised! Bids are more competitive at local auctions. Only a knowledgeable producer should attempt to market good quality cows directly to a packer.

4. Market crippled cattle directly to a packer, without going through usual marketing channels. Cows with other blemishes, such as bad eyes, probably should also be sold directly to a packer.

5. Sell cows before they become fat (BCS 8-9). Fat cows are discounted for low lean yield regardless of their potential to classify as Breaking Utility.

6. Sell cows outside seasonal marketing trends. Cull cow prices are normally lowest in October and November. If possible, consider marketing between February and September when slaughter rates are lower.

7. Consider cull cows as a valuable asset and handle them as such. Bruising is a major problem with cull cows. Most bruises are caused by rough handling and hauling from the time they are sorted at the ranch until they are processed at the cow plant.

8. Be cautious and concerned about withdrawal times when marketing cows which have been treated with animal health products.

Producers should sell early before all that is left is a shell of a cow and they should avoid marketing cows that are too thin or too fat. In addition they are advised to sell before blemishes become problems and to sell crippled cattle and cows with obvious blemishes directly to the packer.

Small-framed cows should be eliminated, which produce less pounds of saleable product of less value to the ground meat processor--a double loser. Reasonable cow weights should be 1000-1250 pounds. Moderate framed cows (frame score 5) with average muscling in a BCS 5 should weigh from 1150-1250 pounds at maturity. Obviously light muscled, early maturing bulls should not be purchased in the first place. However, cull bulls should be marketed with as much muscling as possible and as little fat as practical.

Producers should also understand the four broad marketing categories for cull cattle: Canner, Cutter, Utility and Commercial. Canners are thin, emaciated cows which have lost muscle mass due to poor nutrition or health. Cutters are thin to moderate in flesh. Little muscle mass has been lost but no excess condition is being carried. Cows grading Utility carry higher levels of condition. Utility is further divided into Boning and Breaking classification as well. Cow tenders, strips and top round can be and often are, pulled from cows grading Boning Utility.

Breaking Utility cows have sufficient intramuscular fat (marbling) and muscling for the primals to be used outside the ground meat trade, which greatly increases the carcass value of these cows. Carcasses grading Commercial are normally from younger cows that fall into C maturity and primal cuts are routinely pulled from these cattle and used in restaurant trade. Canners bring a lower price per pound than Cutter, Utility or Commer-cial. Cutters normally have a higher price per pound than Canner or Utility. Utility cows bring a price per pound that is usually intermediate to Cutters and Canners, but will often have more total dollar income due to extra live weight. Producers should target cows for the high yield Cutter or Boning Utility Grade.

In conclusion, with in-creased operating costs, producers should take ad-vantage of the good slaughter cow market and cull low performing cows from their herds as this allows them to reduce their stocking rate and still keep the most efficient cows in the herd.