Fertility Drives Profitability
The Value of Softness
This morning, someone commented to Ian about cattle fertility profitability and how our cows and calves were carrying some of the best condition in the district…
He asked why.
Ian’s answer was simple.
“A bit of it is management,” he said, “but mainly it’s because we’ve bred them to carry softness.”
That word gets misunderstood sometimes.
Softness does not mean soft cattle. It means cattle with the natural ability to carry condition, maintain fat cover and keep functioning when conditions tighten.
And in a breeding herd, that matters enormously.
Fat cover is not
just about appearance. It is stored energy. It is what helps a cow continue cycling, rebreed quickly and raise a calf without falling apart every time the season turns against her.
Efficiency Works Both Way
Interestingly, the same cattle that hold together in difficult conditions are often the cattle that excel when the season improves. In good years, we often have the opposite challenge … keeping excess condition off some cows and bulls.
That ability to convert feed efficiently and lay down condition quickly is also something we continue to see rewarded further along the supply chain. Increasingly, feedlot operators are telling us our cattle are finishing earlier than many others around them, creating significant savings in days on feed and overall input costs.
And importantly, generations of rigorous culling for empty females has also played a major role in shaping the Eaglehawk herd.
The Preg Test Always Wins
No cow receives special treatment for pedigree, figures or sentiment. If she does not continue to perform and rebreed under our conditions, she does not remain in the program.
Although there are occasionally strong negotiations from the girls over certain favourites, the preg test always wins.
The Cow Herd Still Drives Profitability
For all the industry discussion around growth, performance figures and carcase traits, fertility still remains the biggest driver of profitability in a commercial cow herd.
A cow that fails to get back in calf does not suddenly become profitable because she is bigger framed, heavier or carries impressive numbers on paper.
The cows that make money are usually the ones that quietly stay in the herd year after year. They hold condition, calve unassisted, rear a good calf and go back in calf again without requiring constant intervention or extra feed to maintain themselves.
Research continues to support this. MLA has repeatedly identified fertility as one of the key profit drivers in commercial beef systems, (read about it here) while ongoing work around productive longevity continues to reinforce the value of cows that remain fertile and productive for longer.
At the same time, increasing mature cow size continues to place pressure on commercial operations. Every extra kilogram on a breeding female has to be fed before a calf is ever sold.
Commercial Pressure is Changing the Conversation
These traits are being rediscovered because commercial pressure is exposing their value.
As input costs rise and seasonal pressure increases, fertile, efficient cattle that hold condition and continue to function are becoming harder to ignore.
That is why we continue to place so much emphasis on softness, doing ability, structural soundness and moderation within the Eaglehawk herd.
The best cows are rarely the most dramatic. More often, they are the kind you barely notice. The ones still standing there in good order when conditions become difficult and the ones quietly weaning another calf every single year.
In our experience, those are still the cattle that pay their way.