Why Efficiency Matters in the Feedlot and Your Cow Herd

Publish date: 9.20.24 

It is truly impressive what beef producers have been able to accomplish over the past 5 decades. Despite being faced with a shrinking cow herd, you all have been able to increase beef production and create high-quality cattle that consumers demand. However, as we select for more production, we can see that it impacts areas like efficiency. In this blog, we will dive into why efficiency matters not only in the feedlot but also in your cow herd.  

Efficiency doesn’t always mean the textbook definition of pounds of feed required to produce a pound of gain. Overall efficiency is much more than just feed efficiency. Efficiency in a feedlot and at the cow-calf level are two very different things.  

1. Feedlot efficiency tends to be a straightforward proposition driven in most cases by increased output. 
2. Efficiency for cow-calf operations is more nuanced and complex and tends to be influenced by our ability to control inputs.   

When defined like that, efficiency becomes a bit more complicated than just feed efficiency. Nonetheless, efficiency is a huge part of both sectors and their profitability.  

Feedlot Efficiency 

There are two ways to improve feed conversion in the feedlot. Increasing the rate of gain relative to the amount of feed consumed is the first way, and the second is consuming less feed but still gaining the same. The second path is more efficient as the animal eats less. Being able to measure both feed intake and weight gain makes feed efficiency easy to grasp.  

The first path is more desirable as it results in fewer days on feed and less feed per pound of gain, but resource availability drives its favorability. However, a feedlot generally has little restriction on feed availability. That’s why high-performing and good converting cattle will always be demanded by the beef supply chain.  

Cow-Calf Level Efficiency 

Efficiency at the cow-calf level is just as important and should not be overlooked. It is likely becoming more important at this level as the beef industry’s carbon footprint becomes a recurring topic of discussion and represents an opportunity for improvement.  

In fact, an estimated 74% of feed resources used to produce a pound of beef are attributable to the cow-calf sector (Rotz et al., 2019).

For cow-calf producers, resources are usually a limiting factor as compared to feedyards. Cow-calf producers typically operate in a state of constraint and are always concerned with pasture conditions, hay yields, and the weather. That’s because land and grass are coveted in the cow-calf business. Efficiency is negatively impacted by anything that hinders reproduction. Cow-calf efficiency depends on selecting for cows that adapt to your limited resource base.  

So, our recent push to increase milk production and increase growth could require more inputs than you get in outputs of weaning weight. While necessary to a certain point to produce a robust healthy calf, selecting solely for increased milk can become a drag on feed and pasture resources and negatively impact reproduction. The unintended consequence of selecting for increased growth is a steadily increasing cow size. In the end, maintaining a heavier cow will require more feed resources. 

Build an Efficient Cowherd with These Tools 

Understanding the traits that drive efficiency is a great starting point for making improvements in your cow herd. Breeding and management decisions that improve the herd’s reproductive rate and decrease the replacement rate hold the potential to yield the greatest returns.  

For example, choosing to run a crossbred cow and take advantage of hybrid vigor can yield significant improvements in reproduction and longevity. Emphasizing traits like Stayability and Sustained Cow Fertility should yield longer-term improvements in overall reproductive efficiency. On the flip side, while the beef supply chain continues to reward producers for high-quality carcasses, it would be beneficial for cow-calf producers to monitor their selection for growth traits, especially in breeding decisions that result in replacement females as it influences cow carrying costs.  

Here are some tools that you have in your toolbelt to build an efficient cowherd:  

• Manage sire selection to balance improvements in carcass traits while keeping traits like mature weight and dry matter intake in check.  
• Use sexed semen as a tool to decouple maternal and terminal breeding decisions in a herd.  

It is critical that improving efficiency is everyone’s goal across all segments of beef production as it seems inevitable that the efficiency and carbon footprint of your cowherd will receive continued scrutiny from outside entities. Hence, building a documented, efficient herd may set you up for future premiums, market access, and increased profitability. 

Learn more about efficiency in the feedlot and for your cow herd by reading our  article originally published in Progressive Cattle.