With calves at record high prices, the temptation to sell calves right off the cow this fall is, well, tempting. I have been analyzing beef cow-calf financial records for over 30 years and this fall ranks as the no. 1 year in the past 30 years to keep your calves for at least 45 days and sell as fully preconditioned calves. Feed prices are average, and calf prices are well above average. This equates to a low cost of gain compared to the added value you will receive for the additional pounds of calf if you feed your calves after weaning for at least 45 days. Sixty days is even better.

Let’s first define preconditioning. Preconditioning means we are getting our calves ready for a healthy and productive life in the feedlot. Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the number one cause of sickness and death in feedlot calves and preconditioning is all about preventing BRD. Vaccinations are a part of the equation and using a modified live vaccine that helps protect against the major viral causes of BRD – IBR-BVD-PI3-BRSV – along with the major bacterial cause – Manheimmia haemolytica – would be considered by most veterinarians as “core” vaccinations. Deworming with an injectable and/or oral product is also critical as these young calves are almost sure to carry a significant worm burden. A pour-on for fly control is also recommended.

Calves also need to be castrated and dehorned. Both procedures should have been done soon after birth. If this did not happen, make sure these surgeries are done at least three weeks before weaning. As with all health recommendations, talk to your herd health veterinarian.

The other critical step is weaning the calves on your farm and starting them on feed. Weaning day is the most stressful day of the calf’s life. Don’t compound the stress by shipping calves the same day. (Don’t stop reading now if you generally ship calves the day you wean. There are some tips upcoming). Preconditioned calves also know how to eat from a bunk and drink from a water tank.

I developed a 60-day preconditioning ration for a herd owner recently and the feed cost was $0.65/pound of gain! The producer has above-average quality grass hay and corn. He also has access to dry distiller’s grain (DDGS), soy hulls and a vitamin and mineral mix with Rumensin. With calves selling for over $275/cwt., this is a tremendous opportunity to add value to your calves. In this herd, the owner should realize an additional profit of nearly $300/calf for weaning and feeding the calf for 60 days. (We also included a medium dose implant – Component TE-G with Tylan or Revalor-G – that returned an additional $35).

Let’s do the math. With a 60:40 split of steers: heifers, on Oct. 1 and priced at $295/cwt, that is a value of $1,622.50/calf the day of weaning. If you feed the calf for 60 days and the calves gain 2.8 pounds/day (very doable with high health and above average genetic calves) you are now selling 718-pound calves. I looked at prices of calves sold for December delivery and they averaged $261/cwt., so a value of $1,874/calf. That is a gross profit of $251.50.

If the feed cost is $0.65/pound of gain and calves gained 168 pounds, feed cost is $109.20.

When I read articles on the profitability of preconditioning calves, I rarely see anything about the amount of shrink in calves sold right off the cow (not weaned) versus those that have been on feed for 45-60 days. An unweaned calf shrinks about 7 percent, so a 550-pound calf will lose about 39 pounds during transit to the feeder auction. A calf that has been on feed for 45-60 days will only shrink 3 percent, so the shrink on this 718-pound calf is only 22 pounds. That 17 extra pounds (at $1.75/pound with the price slide) is worth $30/calf extra just in less shrink.

I compared prices of “value added” calves over commodity (unknown history) calves from the report in the Aug. 2, 9 and 16 Farm World as reported by the Blue Grass Stockyards. Lots had to be similar in weight and all calves weighed over 450 pounds. No single lots were included. With 14 comparisons (28 lots) on steers, the added value was $16.94/cwt. and the 17 comparisons of heifers showed an increased price of $22.25/cwt on the value added calves. On a 60:40 split of steers and heifers that average 718 pounds, you take home an extra $136.92/calf. Wow! This is the highest bonus I’ve ever seen for preconditioned calves. The $1,831 value on a 718-pound preconditioned calf shows that the buyers are willing to pay extra for the health benefits of preconditioned calves.

If we add the revenue and subtract the expenses, the economics of preconditioning calves this fall looks like this:

$251.50 for added gain

$30 for less shrink

$136.92 for preconditioning health bonus

($10) for vaccines/parasite control

($109.20) for feed cost

$299.22 added return to labor and management per preconditioned calf

If you have 40 calves to sell, that is an additional $11,969 in your pocket. Now, I forgot to figure in the extra cost of additional trucking because you are going to need a bigger trailer to haul those heavier calves to the feeder auction.

If you read this and said to yourself, “but I am a smaller producer. I don’t have the ability to store 2 or 3 different feeds.” The good news is that nearly all the major feed suppliers make a preconditioning feed that you can purchase and feed with your homegrown hay and/or corn. You can also have them make a custom mix for you that you can get as bagged feed or in bulk. If you have 40 calves that eat an average of 7.5 pounds of a mix (not including hay) per day and feed for 60 days, you will need about nine tons of feed. Any feed mill would be happy to make that for you.

What if you do not have fences that will allow you to keep the weaned calves away from their dams? You can use a method called “two-step weaning.” We have used Quiet Wean® nose flaps to solve this issue. Walk calves through the chute, place the flap in the nose and turn the cows and calves back together on pasture. The flap prevents the calf from nursing, so that bond between dam and calf is broken.

The calves are still physically with the dam, just unable to nurse. In 4-7 days, walk the calves back through the chute, remove the reusable flap and put the calves on one side of a 1-2 strand electrified fence with the cows on the other side. Since the calves have not nursed for 4-7 days the weaning stress is much less and the calves have little desire to get back with their dams.

2024 is the “no-brainer” year to keep your calves for 60 days or more post weaning to add and capture an even larger paycheck for your calves.

If you always precondition your calves, congratulations on producing a high health calf for the feeder and getting rewarded for doing so. If you preconditioned calves in the past but stopped for some reason, this is the year to look at resuming the process. If you have never preconditioned calves, call your herd health veterinarian to set up a vaccination program specific for your calves Also contact your feed supplier, nutritionist, extension educator or herd health veterinarian to formulate a ration. If any of your advisors want assistance, I am glad to help. Email me at wmarkhilton@gmail.com.