Cull cows: what are the options?

With scanning currently taking place in most spring-calving suckler herds, many farmers will face a decision as to what to do with empty cows.

Cows with problems would have been earmarked for culling prior to breeding.

So any cow that scans empty now will be a major disappointment, as they were intended for breeding.

Teagasc figures show that the cost of keeping a suckler cow is €750/year

It is for this reason that, in some cases, there will be a tendency to hold on to empty cows and give them another chance next year.

Is that the right thing to do? Absolutely not.

Teagasc figures show that the cost of keeping a suckler cow is €750/year.

If she doesn’t deliver a calf in a year, the reality is she will likely never pay for herself over her lifetime.

The right option is to sell this cow and bring in a heifer next year instead.

The options to sell are as follows.

Sell immediately after weaning

Thanks to a good spring and an excellent summer, most cull cows should be in reasonably good condition and should actually be coming fit for sale in a lot of cases.

This means there is an option to sell some cull cows in the mart or slaughter immediately after weaning.

You need to make a final decision on this option soon though.

Any cows that are due to be sold after weaning should be fed concentrates now.

With nights getting cold, grass quality in decline and strong calves still suckling, there is a risk that cows, particularly older animals, will start to lose condition quickly.

On top of that, offering concentrates will also have the added benefit of introducing calves to ration.

Allocating 3kg to 5kg/cow and 0.5kg to 1kg/calf of a high-energy (minimum 0.94 UFL/kg as fed) medium-protein (14% to 16% CP) ration will suffice. The medium protein is to cater for the growing calf.

2. Sell prior to housing

For beef cows that are slightly under-fleshed or too light, there is an option to wean them early, get them dried off and get a 40- to 50-day finish on them for slaughter prior to housing.

Calves need to be weaned in the next 10 days and cows dried off for 10 days.

Starting in the last week of September, feed 4kg to 5kg of a high-energy (minimum 0.94 UFL/kg as fed) low-protein (12% to 14% CP) ration and offer the best-quality grass possible.

With a target slaughter date of early- to mid-November, that gives time for a 40- to 50-day finish.

Recent weather conditions in some parts have made feeding concentrates outdoors difficult.

Ideally feed on a hard, stand-off pad or firm ground in a part of a field. You should avoid poaching at all costs.

By early November, consider selling any under-finished cow at the mart instead.

3. House and finish

Where feeding outdoors is not practical, cows can be housed, finished indoors and slaughtered between December and February.

Ideally, have all cull cows sold prior to calving. Good-quality 70% to 75% DMD or above silage, plus 6kg to 7kg/head of concentrates (3kg to 3.5kg fed twice daily) will give high weight gains.

If silage is only of moderate quality (less than 70% DMD), consider feeding concentrates ad-lib to animals during finishing period.

The ad-lib option will significantly limit the profitability of indoor finishing, so the decision of whether to house may be largely based off the quality of silage available.