Cattle producers across the country recognize the value of collecting and using data in order to make good decisions in the management of their cattle. The data that most people have used up to this point have concerned production traits leading up to weaning. Expected progeny differences (EPDs) for birth weights, milk, weaning weights, yearling weights, etc. have become widely available and are used by many commercial producers. These data have proven valuable to ranchers in making breeding and selection decisions. The consideration that must be made is that getting the calf weaned is only one half of the story.

Data collected up to weaning reveals how much the calf will weigh at the time of sale. Data collected after weaning impacts calf value at the time of sale. The value of the calf after weaning includes growth potential, final weight, ability to convert feed to meat, carcass composition, and tenderness. Following is a discussion of how each factor might be used in a selection program.

Growth Potential
Post-weaning growth potential will have an impact on what someone is willing to pay for a calf. If the producer of the calf has no data, then the buyer will rely on visual appraisal and assign some average growth rate to the calf as they determine how much they are willing to pay. If the data exists to show a buyer how the full brothers of the calves in question performed the previous year, their evaluation of the calves will be changed by that data. The buyer is actually more comfortable evaluating data since buying cattle without data is similar to driving a car with no speedometer. You can make an educated guess about how fast you are going, but without the speedometer, you don’t really know if you are exceeding the limit or just putting along. This is not the only factor a buyer will take into consideration in establishing value, but it is probably the largest component of the decision.

 

Market Weight

Final weight of the calf is also part of the value equation, because it tells a buyer how much more weight a calf can put on, which influences the buying cost. A calf may have an acceptable weaning weight, but if the buyer can only add another 400 lb before the calf becomes finished enough for sale, the calf will have less value than one that can gain 600 lb before it is finished for slaughter. This allows a greater rollback in first cost and thus a higher first cost. Anything can be taken to extremes. If the buyer perceives that the calf will need to be taken to finish weights that will cause discounts for overweight carcasses, the value of the calf will be reduced.

 

Feed Conversion

The ability to convert feed to meat (or the feed-to-gain ratio) is important because it determines the calf’s cost of gain. The feed cost of gain is the second largest expense after purchase cost. A more efficient calf is worth more because of the lower feed expense relative to pounds gained. Trying to use visual appraisal to estimate this trait is difficult and has caused buyers, over time, to look for mismanaged cattle that might have an efficient compensatory gain. Current data indicates this condition may also be tied to cattle with lower quality grading potential, which has put buyers in a quandary. The only way to select and purchase cattle with excellent conversion potential and high-quality grades is through the use of data from previous years. In past years, a seller had to spoon-feed data to buyers and they may have exhibited little interest in the data. Today, buyers will ask for data and spend time evaluating it before determining value.

 

Grade

The quality grade issue brings us to carcass composition. The use of grid selling by more than half of the sellers of fed cattle has created a demand for cattle that not only have the ability to marble for quality, but also have the ability to marble without becoming overly fat at the same time. In order to select cattle with these traits, it is an absolute necessity to use historical data. Visual selection will not allow even the most experienced cattle producer to evaluate cows and bulls for their quality and yield grade characteristics. The data from offspring is the only way to make calves more valuable to a buyer. A set of data from the previous calf crop can help sell the current crop better than any testimonial or salesmanship can hope to achieve. In the absence of data, a buyer is just going to assign an average value and hope he/she doesn’t get burned.

 

Tenderness

Tenderness is a trait that is controlled through genetics and management. Currently, this data is difficult to obtain. As branded programs become more prominent, more and more cattle will be tested for tenderness as part of the quality control for the branded product. This data will start to become available in the near future and will have an impact on the value determination of calves.

 

Conclusion

Data has proven its value in preweaning traits. Post-weaning data helps determine value. Data has been difficult to obtain and difficult to use because of segmentation within the beef industry. Currently, many organizations are taking steps to help producers collect, summarize, and use data from their calves. The job in front of us is to turn data into information and information into profit.