Preconditioned Calves Make Better Stockers
A good vaccination and weaning program pays
By Larry Stalcup
Many stocker operators are placing new calves onto wheat pasture, native grass and other forage or backgrounding facilities. They have a choice of buying calves fresh off their mamas, or those that have been through a good vaccination and preconditioning program. If you are in the group that is procuring stockers, here is a word to the wise from a regional stocker cattle specialist: “Do not underestimate the value of preconditioned calves.”
Kevin Johnson, assistant director of the Texas Christian University Ranch Management Program and an Abilene stocker producer, further notes that feedyards want to buy cattle that have been weaned at least 2 to 3 months before leaving the ranch.
“Years ago, 45 days was enough time post-weaning,” he says. “Today, 60 days is a minimum and 90 is the minimum preferred by most yards.”
Ted McCollum, Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist in Amarillo adds, “Health is the first management challenge faced by stocker cattle producers. We have some of the best vaccines and technology available to us, but the mortality number has continued to rise.”
Earlier this year, CattleFax projected 550-pound calf prices to range, on average, between $190 and $200 per hundred pounds (cwt) for 2016. With the increase in the cow herd and more calves, the cattle consulting service indicated that grazing and backgrounding operators should see more cost-effective breakevens. However, with calves still at $1,000 or higher per head, they better work if profit margins are to be met.
What is your breakeven?
Johnson encourages stocker guys to run their breakevens and budgets before laying out that $1K or more per calf. “Let’s use good conservative projections in developing breakevens and budgets as we look at the CME [Chicago Mercantile Exchange] and historical market data,” he says. “No need to go any further if we do not feel we have an opportunity to make money.”
Breakevens should include everything associated with getting those stockers placed. The breakeven should include what you pay for calves, medicine and other animal health needs, supplemental feed costs, pasture rental or lease, labor, vet and nutritionist fees, fuel used to check them out regularly, marketing fees and other potential input costs. Measure those breakeven costs against an expected sale price and possible premiums or discounts. It is hoped that there is a decent margin to satisfy the banker.
Johnson says that from a performance standpoint, the fact that you run preconditioned calves will virtually always pay off. “I like to say there is the market and then there are discounts,” he says. “I feel preconditioned cattle are the market. Depending on the time of year and the overall market, there can be some big discounts.
“What does it do to your market when 1 or 2 big purchasers of feeder cattle will not bid on your cattle because of days weaned or overall lack of health? Reputation sells feeder cattle. Detailed health history, pregnancy status, nutrition history, genetics, sort and weigh-up are crucial when establishing a reputation.”
Scrutinize green calves
Johnson says that handling high-risk fresh calves may be okay if you have done your homework and are an experienced stocker producer. “If I can get these cattle to eat, drink, avoid viruses, limit exposure to disease and keep stress down — I have a chance,” Johnson explains, noting that “cattle health” is the No. 1 issue in buying, then grazing or backgrounding calves.
“For fresh calves, it depends on the source of these calves and how much stress they have been subjected to, and what diseases and parasites they have been exposed to,” he says. “Any type of stress is bad, no matter the species. A producer really needs to understand the process and logistics of buying this type of calf.”
Morbidity increases dramatically for sale-barn calves. And it’s getting worse. “In the 1970s we figured a 2 percent death loss,” Johnson says. “Now, we pencil in a 4 to 8 percent death loss on breakevens, depending on the class of cattle and where they are from. You need to have a lot of expertise in reading the health of calves to purchase green calves. The more about the process you know and control, the better off you are.”
McCollum estimates that with 2016 costs, every 1 percent increase in morbidity or incidence of disease in a set of calves reduces profit by $1.43 for every calf in the group. “Breaking it down further, 62 percent of the $1.43 is attributed to mortality of the calves that became sick,” he says. “Another 21 percent is attributed to reduced performance of sick calves. About 17 percent is attributed to costs of treating the sick calves.”
Viral infections are a major concern for all calves, especially those that have not been vaccinated and preconditioned. “Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) is a herpes virus that’s everywhere,” Johnson says. “Calves can be exposed to it from other cattle, or the virus can lay dormant and break back out from carrier cattle that are stressed. IBR has a short incubation period and it can go through cattle extremely fast. It can be a precursor to bacterial pneumonia.”
Bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) is a huge problem and hits beef producers and feeders with hundreds of millions of dollars in losses every year. “BVD is hard on cattle and suppresses the immune system,” Johnson says. “The incubation for BVD is longer than IBR but it generally shows up seven to 12 days post-exposure. A lengthy suppressed immune system can keep calves from responding to treatment.”
Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) and parainfluenza virus-3 (PI3) also create conditions for bacterial diseases in calves. Johnson adds that bacterial pneumonia, whether it is Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida, Histophilus somni or Mycoplasma bovis “are always lurking in the background.”
“These bacterial diseases are just waiting for an opportunity; stress, viruses, dust, diesel smoke or something else out there will help set them off. In addition, parasites can also be really hard on the immune system. Internal and external parasites can set up some real problems in fresh cattle.”
What is a good preconditioning program?
Many stocker operators know the reputation of the ranchers who supply them with calves. They know the type of animal health and weaning programs the calves have seen. But what if you aren’t familiar with a ranch? That is where the cow-calf operator’s detailed records, and maybe even a third-party verification, are essential.
“I want to see that the calves were part of an aggressive animal health plan that included virals (IBR, BVD, PI3 and BRSV),” Johnson says. “Pneumonia vaccine with Mannheimia haemolytica and Pasteurella multocida is a must. I may also need to see Histophilus somni or possibly Mycoplasma bovis, depending on location and situation.
“Make sure calves received 2 rounds of viral vaccine and that vaccine label instructions were followed. In addition, 2 rounds of vaccinations to prevent blackleg are needed. In addition, in certain areas, vaccination against the clostridial disease redwater [bacillary hemoglobinuria, caused by Clostridium haemolythticum] may be needed. Early vaccination is crucial to protect their health, especially where lung disease is concerned. Also, a proper program for deworming and external parasites is necessary because they can severely impact the immune system of calves.”
Find out if cattle have been exposed to other diseases, such as anaplasmosis. “Good vaccination and doctoring records are an absolute must,” Johnson says. “Processing maps are necessary also. Having a vaccine and doctoring protocol in writing is necessary and keeps everyone on track. Antibiotic use must be tracked for BQA (Beef Quality Assurance program standards) and to help you manage any sickness in the calves. Knowing your success rates, re-pulls and performance data are keys to being profitable.”
McCollum and Johnson agree that with pressure on producers to use fewer antibiotics, it is even more important to know the type of preconditioning program they had. “How were they managed before being sold?” McCollum asks. “What did they go through during procurement and transportation? What are the conditions, labor availability and management processes after they arrive?
“The restrictions on some of the tools we have to treat and manage cattle with, specifically antibiotics, are being tightened, so we need to know what we can do from a management standpoint to improve handling and reduce the stressors that lead to health problems.”
It is important to know what type of nutrition was provided to calves during and after weaning. Depending on the time of year and location, vitamin and mineral supplementation may be needed when they arrive. McCollum says stocker operators should be ready to ease cattle into their new environment. “Comingling, nutrition, handling and processing can be addressed post-arrival by the owner and others tending to the calves,” he says. “Address those factors that can reduce the stress load on the calves.”
Johnson points out that it is important to know the order buyer. “If I am purchasing sale barn calves, I want to get possession of those calves ASAP,” he says. “How these calves are physically handled and the sanitation of the facilities and trucks are crucial.”
Buying fresh calves can provide profit potential. “If you have the ability to handle fresh calves, including labor, expertise, facilities and a good stocker cattle veterinarian, sometimes there are some really good opportunities out there,” Johnson says. “Just be sure you have the experience and help to handle these calves. There is nothing wrong with capitalizing on other people’s poor management.”
“Better Stockers” is excerpted from the September 2016 issue of The Cattleman magazine.