Jordan Thomas

Progressive Cattleman — When lecturing to the beef production capstone course in the division of animal sciences at the University of Missouri, I like to ask uncomfortable questions. Here's one of my favorites: "How many cows does it take to make a living off a commercial cow-calf operation?"

Drovers — This is a busy time of year. But then again, when is it not? When bumping into a farm or ranch neighbor, have you ever noticed the conversation is peppered with a bunch of ____ing words? No, I am not talking about profanity (although I suppose that might depend on which neighbor you bump into). I am talking about gerunds, or words that end in -ing. We always share how we are calving, branding, weaning, doctoring, planting, harvesting, clipping, mowing, raking, baling, feeding, chopping, hauling, spraying… the list is endless. We are always busy with something. Then there is another topic of conversation: costs. Whether it’s feed, fuel, fertilizer, lumber, or equipment, costs are up this year. All could be big challenges depending on how you operate. Those of you in the western U.S. and the northern Great Plains are also dealing with extreme drought on top of it all. Suffice it to say, it looks like a tough year to be in the cattle business. The specific challenges we face from year to year vary. But at its core, the cattle business is the business of dealing with challenges. The planning it takes to get through these kinds of challenges is the real work of the business. All those gerunds—feeding, harvesting, baling, calving, etc—those things sure can keep us busy. But especially in a year with costs of production like this one, we need to make sure all that busyness doesn’t get in the way of running the business.

Progressive Cattleman — The late Bud Williams had a quote something along these lines: "Ranchers love their cows and hate their grass. They need to learn to love their grass and hate their cows." Hate is a strong word, and if a highly influential voice on low-stress stockmanship is telling you to "hate" cattle, you should know it's hyperbole. But it takes strong language to make strong points at times, and the point is worth making. In the long run, the ranch’s value does not come from the cattle on it. The ranch’s real value comes from its ability to grow forage.

Beef Magazine — Cows are weird creatures. Years ago during a synchronization and AI field trial, we had several hundred heifers in a drylot facility that was anything but "dry." Every animal came through the chute with mud caked onto its ear tag, which sure slows down a research trial.

Progressive Cattleman — Did you know there is a difference between economics and finance? If you are not familiar with the distinction, here it is in simple terms: Economics is about whether we should do something, and finance is about whether we can do something. Cattle in a pasture Related 4 strategies for rebreeding first-calf heifers Complementing your A.I. program with compatible cleanup bulls Extra attention to nutrition during the breeding season will yield benefits Did you know there is a difference between economics and finance? If you are not familiar with the distinction, here it is in simple terms: Economics is about whether we should do something, and finance is about whether we can do something. Economics is figuring out whether an investment generates a return. Finance is figuring out how to actually make the investment. Economics is about profitability. Finance is about cash flow. When it comes to reproductive management of commercial cattle, both economics and finance factor into our decision-making. Whether we are developing replacement heifers, culling cows, using estrous synchronization, performing artificial insemination (A.I.), purchasing bulls or investing in products or services, we really are making decisions with both a short-term and a long-term horizon. The farm or ranch needs to be profitable in the long term – increasingly profitable, ideally. And the actions of the farm or ranch also have to cash flow. We have to survive today in order to get to a more profitable tomorrow. But I am convinced most of us in the commercial cow-calf world have not thought through reproductive management with long-term profitability in mind. Instead, we often think only about cash flow. We ask questions like, “Can I afford the cost of A.I.?” It is a fair question when considering the cost of any technology. But it is a cash flow question, and cash flow is only part of what we need to consider.

Progressive Cattleman — "Are Bos indicus-influenced beef heifers really all that different?" This question comes up a lot, especially when it comes to reproductive management. The short answer is yes, they really are. But what do we actually do differently? Well, that requires a longer answer.

Progressive Cattleman — The beef world seems to love acronyms and initialism. ADG, BCS, RFI, RTS, A.I., ET ... the list goes on and on. One set of letters I wish we talked more about is ROI: return on investment. For whatever reason, it is more common to hear about break-even points. We say things like, “You don't break even on a heifer until she weans her fifth calf.” Those rules of thumb can be helpful. But at the end of the day, do you really want to break even? Whether purchased or developed on the farm, replacement heifers are an investment. So let’s talk about ROI.

Stockman Grass Farmer — How is it best to handle animal moves during the calving season? Particularly when dealing with very young calves, how do we keep new pairs actually paired up for moves? I won't say it’s easy, but it’s easier than you might imagine.

Progressive Cattleman — In last month’s issue of Progressive Cattle, we talked about how selection of commercial replacement heifers shouldn’t happen at weaning. That’s because heifers that conceive early in their first breeding season are really the only profitable replacements to keep. Of course, there are additional criteria to consider when selecting heifers, however. In this article, we will dive deeper into some of the questions producers wrestle with in heifer selection.

Beef Magazine — Long hay feeding seasons and long calving seasons are really the same problem. In the Twitter world, I think I am supposed to say: "That's it. That's the tweet." But for the sake of making a complete argument, let's flesh this out. Long hay feeding seasons and long calving seasons really are just different manifestations of the same fundamental problem. Admittedly, you can have one problem without the other. But in practice, it usually doesn’t happen that way. Most of the time, the same operations that have extended-length calving seasons have extended hay-feeding seasons. Why is that? What in the world does calving have to do with feeding hay? As with most things in life, the problem starts with the person in the mirror.

Progressive Cattleman — Many of us have had those “crazy” animals that don’t quite seem worth the hassle. But, have you ever considered that crazy cows might actually be hurting your bottom line?

Progressive Cattleman — Selection of replacement heifers should happen at pregnancy diagnosis, not at weaning. Not every heifer that gets bred is a profitable investment to retain. Heifers that conceive later in their first breeding season calve later in their first calving season. As a result, they are more likely to conceive later in the next breeding season or fail to conceive at all. Long-term research efforts have made this clear: Heifers that conceive early in their first breeding season stay in the herd longer, wean more total calves due to their longer productive life in the herd and even wean heavier calves each year. If she isn’t an early-conceiving heifer, she shouldn’t be considered as a potential replacement. That means replacement heifer selection has to happen at preg check. To drive the point home, we like to refer to the heifer calves you retain after weaning as replacement heifer candidates. That’s all they are at that point: candidates that could potentially join the herd as replacement females. So what, if any, criteria should you use in choosing heifer calves to retain and develop as replacement heifer candidates?

Beef Magazine — It is hard to beat a good cast iron skillet. If properly seasoned, they are the original non-stick pan. If maintained, they last generations. I would even argue that a steak seared on smoking hot cast iron beats anything off a grill. But they do have their downsides: just this morning, I burned one of my fingers touching the handle of one of mine. It isn’t much of a burn; I pulled my hand away as soon as I touched it. In fact, I pulled away so fast that I am not sure I even consciously realized it was hot. I did not take a moment to think about it rationally, decide it was hot enough to burn me, then choose to move my hand. It wasn’t something I thought about at all. I sensed heat almost subconsciously, and I reacted almost instinctively. Interesting.

Missouri Beef Cattleman — Ranking either second or third among states in beef cow numbers depending on the year, Missouri is without question cow-calf country. We are proud of that at the University of Missouri and maintain a resource of beef cow herds at several of our University of Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station locations. The breed composition of the beef cows in this network varies from one Research Center to the next. In total, six of our Research Center maintain independent cow herds made up of straightbred or crossbred beef cattle. In the last few years in particular, beef Extension faculty at MU have worked closely with Research Center staff to formalize the breeding program and genetic focus in place at each location. In this Red Angus edition of the Missouri Beef Cattlemen magazine, we want to share how the University of Missouri Southwest Research Center in Mount Vernon has increased its use of both Red Angus genetics and reproductive technologies.

National Cattlemen's Beef Association 2020 Spring Directions — Sexed semen has revolutionized how dairy producers make breeding decisions, and progressive beef breeders are already using sexed semen effectively. With more sexed semen available for more beef bulls now than ever before, it is time we tackle how to best use this potentially game-changing tool. In my talk at the 2020 Cattlemen’s College during the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association meetings in San Antonio, I tried to lay out what we know---and what we don’t know---about sexed semen. We also talked about what it takes to make sexed semen work in a breeding program, and why you would use it in a breeding system. Most importantly, we talked about when you actually should use it from a profitability standpoint. Here’s a recap.

Progressive Cattleman — Sex-sorted semen, or sexed semen, is a reproductive technology that allows beef producers to generate calves of the desired sex to fit their market and herd needs. Sexed semen can be produced using a flow cytometry and sorting process or via another process that selectively destroys sperm cells carrying the undesired chromosome. With about 90% accuracy, sexed semen allows producers to effectively choose whether a mating results in a bull or heifer calf. That gives you an opportunity to either skew the sex ratio of the entire calf crop or selectively produce heifer or bull calves from specific planned matings within the herd.

Progressive Cattleman — Bulls are an investment, and just like all investments, some pay off and some don't. If you are making a bull purchase this fall, you want to have some confidence you are making a good investment, so let me ask you this: Do you approach your bull-buying with the same level of due diligence you approach your other investments?

Progressive Cattleman — As a producer, a veterinarian is someone you can call to help with emergency situations and yearly herd health decisions like vaccinations and parasite control. But with years of school and training, he or she can do much more, especially in the field of reproduction. From heifer development to pregnancy diagnosis, a veterinarian can provide reproductive services to your operation that will likely yield you a higher profit margin.

Progressive Cattleman — For most spring-calving beef producers, your herd is either calving now or will start to calve soon. Hopefully this article catches you before calving starts so you actually have time to read it - I know how busy this time of year can be. But as your calves start to come, I want you to have a metric in the back of your mind: calving distribution.