For the last 40+ years, land-grant universities and status quo beef producers have been single-mindedly focused on increasing pounds per cow (bragging rights) — at the expense of pounds per acre (profit). Consequently, cow size has increased by 40% — and ranch profits have decreased substantially.
It was quite refreshing to read an article written by a University of Wyoming Extension educator in a status quo beef publication that came very close to getting it right on Optimum Cow Size. You can Click Here to read this article in its entirety. Since very few of our subscribers are clickers, I will provide some bullet points from this article.
- Today, the average mature cow size in the U.S. is about 1,400 pounds, whereas the average mature cow weight in 1975 was about 1,045 pounds.
- Research has established, as cow weight increases, feed efficiency and reproductive efficiency decrease. Research has also shown as cow weight increases, dry matter intake also increases.
- A study at Utah State University compared economic differences of mature cow weights — 1,000, 1,200 and 1,400 pounds — grazed at various resource bases common in the Intermountain West. The results of this study showed the smaller cows were the most efficient group and yielded the highest net returns across all resource bases.
- Larger cows have been known to have less longevity compared to smaller cows. Oklahoma researchers found 1,400-pound mature cows have up to one less calf in their lifetime compared to 1,100-pound cows.
- Smaller cows have also been known to grow their calves more efficiently, as their calves gain weight faster relative to dam weight compared to calves from larger dams.
- Larger cows require additional nutrients for maintenance. Therefore, if stocking rates are not adjusted accordingly, this could quickly lead to overgrazing and/or thin cows and/or calves that don’t perform well.
No matter how good or how bad your environment is, you can run a higher number of moderate-sized, low-maintenance cows on the same forage resources. Compared to the status quo (high-maintenance) cows, the smaller cows will always produce MORE TOTAL POUNDS that are worth MORE PER POUND. If you are concerned about PROFIT, this should be a NO-BRAINER!