Producers like you who read Progressive Cattleman are oftentimes already devoted to best management practices for improved profitability. However, in the constant up and down of calf prices, it is easy to get sucked into the negativity and pessimism. Be encouraged to know September is a big “payday” for many cattle folks.
The fall-calving herds are about to have a serious payday. All of those calves that hit the ground and nurse are future dollars for the operation. When bull calves are castrated, that’s an extra $30 per head for male calves. Country boy math calculates that to be $750 dollars for every 25 castrated.
Implant all your terminal calves and net another $15 per head, conservatively. Hopefully, fall calving 2017 is a big success. Your work is not in vain.
Now, the folks weaning this fall have a closer payday. All the nutrition gathered and supplied over the course of the last year for the mature cow herd and this calf crop is about to be realized. Whether it is the tele-auction, video sale or progressive sale barn that gets you paid for “value-added” management, buyers will demand your calves because they are pre-conditioned and ready for the next segment of the beef industry.
These calves are healthy and ready to grow. The time and investment spent in sire selection ensures solid performance in the feedlots and above-average quality and yield on the rail.
The simple fact progressive producers have earned Beef Quality Assurance certification is another marketing feather in their caps. BQA training is either inexpensive or free (BQA.org). Either way, it will pay dividends to the operation.
It’s also the right thing to do. For anyone who asks you why BQA matters or makes the comment that it’s old news, remember that we are food producers – food producers first and foremost. Although we may identify as grass farmers, and rightly so, we are most certainly food producers that make beef for the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. We are American beef producers. Be encouraged and may God bless you and your operation this September. 
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Jason Duggin
- Beef Extension Specialist
- University of Georgia
- Email Jason Duggin
