Cull cows – what are your options?

There are several options available to farmers when culling cows.

Some farmers will sell cows straight from the parlour, while others will dry off cull cows and sell them soon after. Many may store them over the winter months and sell them in the springtime when they carry a little more flesh.

Others will feed the cows intensively over the winter and slaughter once fit. Many dairy farmers have had to house cows earlier than normal due to poor ground conditions and reduced grass supplies.

This has placed increased demand on already tight supplies of fodder. To reduce fodder demand, many dairy farmers are considering their options carefully when deciding what route to take with cull cows.

1) Estimate fodder supplies

Before choosing whether to sell or hold on to cull cows, you must first estimate how much fodder is present on the farm for the winter period and evaluate if there is enough to feed them. If fodder supplies are tight, then holding on to culls may not be an option.

A) Calculate available fodder: To estimate the volume of silage in a clamp, multiply the length by width by the average height of the clamp − this will give you the number of tonnes of silage present. Length (m) X width (m) X average height (m) = tonnes.

To convert baled silage to tonnes depends on the dry matter content and the weight of the bales. The average round bale contains approximately 750kg of silage. Multiplying the number of bales of silage by 0.75 will give an estimate of the number of tonnes of silage available.

B) Calculate the fodder requirement: Table 1 shows the amount of silage consumed by various types of dairy stock per month. Multiplying the number of stock in each group on the farm by the average number of months they will be fed, should give you a rough estimate of the total silage requirement for each group of stock.

C) Is there a surplus or deficit: Subtracting the silage requirement from the total volume of silage present on the farm will give a good estimation of whether or not there will be sufficient fodder supplies for the winter.

If there is a deficit, then it may be advisable to decrease fodder demand by reducing the number of non-priority stock on the farm. An easy way of doing this may be to sell cull cows live once dried off.

Cull cows - top three options

The three basic options available to farmers with cull cows are: 1) Sell live once dried off; 2) Store on ad-lib silage over the winter and sell live in the springtime; 3) Intensively feed over the winter months and slaughter once fleshed.

1 Selling cull cows live once dried off: Many farmers cull cows straight from the parlour once dried off in the autumn. In some cases, farmers tend to sell culls simply because they may over complicate a simple system, others sell them due to stocking rate, housing and labour constraints.

This year, the larger problem pushing farmers to sell cull cows live may be a fodder shortage. If the fodder budget calculations have been followed (see left) and there is a fodder deficit on the farm, then, naturally, non-priority animals such as cull cows and surplus in-calf heifers will, in many cases, be sold to reduce fodder demand.

Before choosing to slaughter cows after drying, farmers should consider the live trade through marts and establish which will leave the greatest margin. A sizeable number of culls are sold annually through farm to farm movements. In areas of the country where there is a strong concentration of dairy herds, there has been an increase in the number of cull cows passing through mart rings.

The live trade for cull cows can be variable, but it depends mainly on the weight, age and the cover of flesh on a cow at the time of sale. Thin, boner type cows straight from the parlour are currently selling from €0.50-€0.70/kg (€350-€450/head), while freshly dried culls carrying some flesh are selling from €0.70-€0.85/kg (€420-€500/head). Well fleshed culls and younger cows carrying flesh are making from €0.90-€1.20/kg (€500-€700/head). There is a price premium available for younger cows as they are more efficient converters when finishing, and, in some cases, farmers are buying young cows to put back in-calf and calve down the following year.

2 Storing over the winter on ad-lib silage: Where silage supplies are adequate, some farmers may opt to store cull cows over the winter period on good quality ad-lib silage and sell live in the spring or finish them off grass next summer. Silage is an expensive commodity, so, before doing this, it is advisable to complete a simple budget to assess the costs.

Table 3 shows the costs of feeding a cull cow ad-lib silage over the winter period. The average 600kg cow would eat approximately six tonnes fresh weight of silage over a five month winter. Taking a silage cost of €30/tonne, the cow would cost approximately €180 on silage alone over the winter period.

Assuming that good quality first cut silage of 68-70DMD is fed, it would be expected that the cow would gain 0.3kg liveweight per day on average. Over 150 days, the 600kg cow should have gained condition and increased in weight to 645kg by sale time next spring. If we assume the 600kg cow would have made €0.75/kg if sold live when dried off, she would have been worth approximately €450. To break even over silage costs alone over the winter, a sale price of about €0.97/kg would be required in spring.

3 Intensive feeding over the winter period: Another possible option which is open to farmers with cull cows is to dry them off and gradually increase them onto approximately 6kg concentrates and ad-lib good quality silage for a period of approximately 120 days. Table 4 details the estimated inputs and costs over a 120 day finishing period, from drying off to slaughter, for a 600kg cow.

As above we have estimated the value of the cow at drying off to be approximately €450, based on a 600kg cow worth €0.75/kg. Over the course of the 120 day finishing period, it is estimated that the cow would eat approximately 4.8 tonnes of silage at a value of 30 tonne. Total silage costs are estimated to be €180/head.

Given a meal feeding level of 6kg per day, at a cost of €330/tonne, the cow would consume 0.72 tonnes of meal over the finishing period − costing approximately €237.60. Total feed costs are estimated to be €417.60. Mortality has been taken into account at 2%, which would increase costs by about €17.35/head and transport and marketing costs would add a further €20/head. Total costs of the 120 day finishing period, including the original cow value at drying off of €450, are €904.95.

Allowing for a margin of €100 per head to go towards labour costs, the farmer would require a beef price of at least €3.14/kg to cover direct costs. It should be noted that fixed costs have not been taken into account.

Estimating fodder requirement for cull cows

An animal’s silage intake will be driven mainly by body weight. The average 600kg dry cow, if offered ad-lib silage, will eat approximately 40kg fresh weight of silage per day, or 1.2 tonnes of silage per month.

Silage quality

The above calculations are based on the cull cows being fed good quality 68+DMD silage over the winter period. Given the wet summer and delayed cutting dates, the quality of silage available to farmers may be less than budgeted for above and this would need to be taken into account when completing budgets, as additional supplementation with concentrates may be required to achieve the same levels of gain.

Tom Kelliher, Roxboro, Firies, Killarney, Co Kerry

It has been a very tough summer here in Roxboro. Local Met Eireann statistics show that we had only seven dry days in the months of June July and August.

As a result of low temperatures and high rainfall, grass growth was well back on previous years. Our local B&T adviser, Grainne Kelleher, told our discussion group that, on average, the farms she is dealing with grew 29% less grass this year than in 2009. Because of the poor grass growth, the quantity and quality of my silage is back on previous years.

I normally would start to supplement cows with silage from mid-October onwards.

However, this year I had to start supplementing cows in September. Also, due to poor grass growth, I had to continue to feed 3kg/head/day of meal right through the summer months.

I estimate that I have approximately 360 tonnes of silage available to feed to stock on the farm and meeting demand will be tight. Normally I would have milked the empty cows on through the winter while feeding them well and then sell them in the spring when buyers are more plentiful.

With the shortage of silage and to keep within the nitrates stocking rate, I decided that this year it would be better to off-load the empty cows now. I sold five empty cows last week.

They were mostly fourth and fifth calver’s. They weighed from 595kg to 626kg and sold from €595 to €710 per head (€1.08/kg - €1.19/kg).

I was happy with the prices, as all the cows were supplemented with concentrates through the summer. As a result, the empty cows were carrying flesh and were in good condition for sale.

I have extra cows and heifers calving down next spring. I thought about selling them now, but I think I will have enough silage to carry them through the winter and I feel that there will be a better trade for them on the point of calving than selling them now.

Tommy Roach, Firies, Castleisland, Co. Kerry

I normally milk cull cows on over the winter months and sell them in March or April. I knew in August that I was going to be tight on silage and, with the high concentrate cost, I decided to sell the culls.

I have 12 sold so far and another three to go. I started selling them in Castleisland mart from August onwards. The first of the culls left me with the most money as there were plenty of buyers for cows at that stage.

Since then, the prices I have received for cows decreased steadily and the last ones I sold made just under €1.00/kg.

I think I should have enough fodder for the milking cows and other stock on the farm. I still have cows out at grass by day and this is helping to reduce fodder demand.

I have continued to feed the cows ration and this has helped to reduce forage demand as well.

I am not highly stocked either and this has given me flexibility over the wet summer. Grazing is still difficult at the moment due to a lack of drying. From September to November I think we had only four dry days.

Tom McCarthy, Mart manager, Bandon Mart, Co Cork

Cull cow numbers have increased in the past week. This week’s sale saw over 100 cows on offer.

There were higher numbers of cull cows available earlier last year, but I think this mostly was due to the milk quota situation.

The improvement in weather conditions in our locality over September and October and farmers being under quota has resulted in farmers milking cows on later than last year to make up lost ground over the summer, and I think that is why cow numbers are only starting to increase at this stage.

Over the coming weeks I would expect cow numbers to increase to 150-160 on a weekly basis as we reach the peak cull cow trade.

Cows that are coming directly from the parlour, or very recently dried off, are not in as good condition as they were in previous years. I think the weather conditions and poor grass growth has mostly contributed to this.

Cows that have had some time dry are coming out in good condition and are in strong demand.

What your cow is worth

One thing I would like to stress to farmers is that if they are considering selling cull cows, they should go into their local mart and look at what cows, similar to their own, are making in the ring.

Then they will have a better idea what their own cows are worth and can decide what the best option is for them.

Even though cull cow numbers have increased in the past week here in Bandon, demand has also increased and prices have improved slightly as a result.

There has been increasing demand from factory agents for fat cows.

Feedlots and farmers seem to be more active for feeding cows.

Fleshed cull cows at Monday’s sale sold from €1.00/kg to €1.20/kg.

Recently dried, thin boner cows sold from €0.70/kg upwards. Naturally, younger cows are receiving a price premium as there is slightly less demand for old cows.

improved farmer activity

There has been slightly improved farmer activity for thin cows also, where farmers are looking at storing them over the winter months and putting them back out to finish off grass in the summer.

There are also a number of farmers that are looking for good quality young empty cows to put back in calf next year.