The economics of bulls

[cowman]

Sold two home raised bulls. Three years old. One weighed 1890(red angusX) the other 2140(char/simX). Got 68 and 67 cents/lb. for a total of $1362/ each. They were both AI calves out of good old cows. I valued them at $810 as fall calves the year they were born. They ran out with the cows their whole lives and never were penned or on grain. So I had three years of feed in them. Now I know what it costs me to feed a cow and even though last winter was pricey I still believe the total feed bill came to about $429 each for the three years. So barring pasture and salt I had $1210 in them. The first year they don't accomplish much but they have a lot of fun. By the second year they get out and breed a lot of cows and even more so in the third year. Then down the road they go and the next bunch comes along. Their genetics come from the best American bulls available and their mothers are proven range performers instead of pampered purebred pets. These bulls have excellent feet, throw excellent udders, and are not wild or mean.
Now consider if I bought a yearling of similar quality at say $2500. Still doesn't accomplish much in a multi-bull breeding pasture, costs as much to feed(less the first winter of his life), and still sells for $1362! So knock off one third of the feed bill($143) and he costs you $2786-$1362=$1424. Say he sired 60 calves over the three years=$23.73/calf. Which is cheap enough.
Your home raised bull actually pays you to breed your cows!!
Now I know this isn't for everyone but it can be very profitable if you make the effort. I started doing this about 20 years ago when I quit raising purebred bulls. My family was in the purebred business for 4 generations and I know how the game is played. A lot of times that pretty purebred should be a steer! And I know most breeders are reputable people but I believe they have no other option. They have to have numbers and they have to compete...or they will not be in business. They have to feed hard and they have to market hard and sometimes the true economic value of a bull has to be overlooked.

[pandiana]

Cowman. You are very fortunate indeed if you have raised your own bulls and never had a bad one.

As a purebred breeder, we cull bulls at birth for excessive birth weight, or calving difficulty; at weaning for poor performance, temperament, impaired fertility (testical shape, size etc.) We lose bulls as yearlings if they do not pass semen test in January, February when it is –25 degrees even though they pass 2 weeks later after the sale. We lose bulls to injury (legs, penis, etc from fighting). We guarantee bulls so that if they have reduced libido, penis defects or other breeding defects not detected earlier, we have to stand behind our name. Overall if we get 1/3 or our bull calves to the sale ring we are doing well. And yes, just possibly after all this culling there could be one that should have been a steer.

Your feed costs are also considerably less that mine. We have pasture costs to weaning. At weaning bulls go on a modest grain ration. We buy rather expensive grain, (oats, barely, corn and supplement with rumensin) in order to produce safe gain and avoid hot rations resulting in feet or other health problems. We try for a rate of gain of about 3.0 lbs a day on test for a calf that will be moderate mature weight of 2000-2200 lbs. The objective is to put optimum gain to fully develop muscle with an adequate fat cover to keep their condition during that early flush of breeding. What do you think the chances are of selling a bull to a commercial customer if it was range fed, grassed yearling next to bulls that have been grain fed?
The average yearling bull can cover 25 cows in his first season providing forage is good and he doesn’t have to travel 30 miles over rough terrain.

You are raising your own bulls so you know the genetics they are derived from. As a purebred breeder we may be selling to a customer that lives 500 miles away and has never seen our herd. We record birth weight, weaning weight and yearling weight in order to register the animal. His pedigree is tracked for 3 generations at least. Using a computer program, his performance record is compared to his siblings, his parents and all relatives in order to evaluate his genetics without the influence of our management conditions and environment. All of this paperwork, including registrations and transfers may seem incidental but still takes considerable time and effort, and comes at a price.

The reputation of the breeder is on the line with each bull he sells. He must develop this reputation through service to his customers, advertising and/or bringing cattle out to shows and sales. This is also costly venture.

Lastly, you are again fortunate indeed if your bulls produce all of their offspring with excellent feet, legs and udders. We make every effort to find AI and herdsires from bulls with above average genetics for feet, legs and udders, as well as fertility, longevity, temperament and mothering ability. We would also like them to be good looking, the color our customers prefer and polled. Nonetheless, four, five or six years down the road when daughters are in production we still find the occasional bad udder or feet, are mediocre mothers etc.

If you feel $2500 to be an average yearling price, and you received $1362 salvage, the $23.72 per calf I agree is very cheap.

[pandiana]

"the true economic value of a bull" I re-read this last statement and it got me thinking. How do you determine the real economic value of a bull? In terms of genetics, he contributes one half. But how do you determine the economic value of genetics is a real sense? The cow is the factory so it is fairly easy to determine her value if she is pregnant.

[cowman]

Pandiana: I wasn't really intent on ripping the purebred industry. They work very hard for the extra money they may get! I suspect if many sat down and really figured in their time and effort they might very well conclude it just isn't worth it. Of course there are other things that drive your purebred breeder. Pride of ownership and attention to detail as well as enjoying contact with people in the cattle business. For most people buying their bulls from a breeder is the best option.
You are totally right about the feeding thing. No one would buy a range-fed bull. Buyers always say they want bulls fed lightly and then proceed to buy the fat ones! Believe me I know!
Because I started out with an excellent old purebred herd and never keep a calf from anything but AI I'm in a different position than most. I only AI older cows that have proven themselves. They have to have good feet, udders, production and temperment or they never get considered. I never trim feet. I won't tolerate a mean cow and if I have to help a calf suck due to a poor udder, she's gone. I do my own AI and have always found that American Breeders bulls breed true to the EPDs.
So how do I measure "true economic value" in a bull. If he gets his work done and gives me no grief is the main criteria. If I have to treat him for footrot or a bad eye, he's gone. If he throws big calves, that require a pull, he's gone. If his calves are flighty, he's gone. If his calves aren't up to snuff in the fall, he's gone. No matter what when he's three years old he's gone.
It is a differnt way of doing things for sure. We used to keep bulls around forever when I was a kid and they were almost pets.