Specialist gives 4 O’s for herd management

CLEVER, Mo. — Load ’em up and ship ’em out.

That’s the advice University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist Andy McCorkill gives on “crazy cows.”

Hay shortages have forced cattle producers to cull cows that aren’t a good fit for their operations. Short hay supplies press producers to tighten cow herds, but routine culling can improve herd management overall.

Even though the cull cow market has remained relatively stable, don’t carry unproductive cows through the winter, McCorkill says in a news release. Poor cows eat up more than hay. They eat up profit margins.

McCorkill calculated the daily feed costs for cows eating lower- quality hay and a feed supplement of more than $3 per head per day many times this winter.

“Sticker shock really sinks in when you look at the costs over the whole winter,” he says. “When you feed that way for 120-150 days year, it’s easy to have $400-$500 per head tied up in winter feed costs alone.”

McCorkill, like many other livestock producers who have been on the receiving end of an ornery cow, says he abides by the 4 “O’s” of culling cattle: open, old, ornery and other.

Select the right replacement heifers as you prepare to rebuild the breeding herd, he says.

With costs like they are now, it may even be smart to maintain current, smaller inventories and evaluate management before adding additional animals back into the operation, he says.

Here are some guidelines: