"Profit Opportunities"

[PureCountry]

I always read anything I see by Harlan Hughes, but his article in Januarys' Cattlemen is really interesting. He writes about identifying your profit opportunities, and they get specifically into fertility and shortening calving intervals.

I took the time to do my own 'Calving Distribution Table' last night, as they show it in the article. I based it on last years calves, and it's a great way to look at things. So I looked over the last 4 years, and that was even more interesting. We've been lucky or doing something right, because we've only had 5 open cows in 4 years, and four of those were in the drought of '02. In all it works out to just under 2%.

Does anybody know what an average is? I thought a working number most guys used for open rate was 5%.

[cowman]

Interesting question...not sure of an average. I would suspect as we shorten up the breeding season the numbers would rise, at least in the short term?
I will frankly admit I don't really get too concerned about a short breeding season. Probably have around 95% of the calves in 60 days. Always get a few stragglers and quite often a couple of real late ones. No big deal in my mind as you just leave them on the cow until they are ready. Usually the cow will catch up in a couple of years?
Now I realize this is not the prescribed "way" touted by all the experts but what do I care? That calf will still bring as much as the others, just sold at a different time? This whole idea of a "uniform calf crop" is basically nothing more than an ego thing as far as I can see? Pre-sort sales allow you to move any sized calf at a decent price? It really isn't about when the calf is born...it is all about when/how do you sell him?
I often wonder what the 56 breeding day boys do with their bulls the other 309 days of the year? I get sick of the suckers being penned up for a couple of months, sure don't want to have to baby them 309 days a year! Sure is a lot easier to just let them run out with the cows? And I suspect a lot healthier?

[PureCountry]

Who's saying though that the bulls couldn't just run out in another paddock? That's what ours do. Hell last year since they didn't go out with the cows until August 15th, they just had the run of the whole farmyard, keeping down the barngrass and stuff.