Cow prices are driven by a number of factors, but there’s typically a strong seasonal influence on the market with prices traditionally peaking in late spring. Clearly, the ideal situation is to market all cows at peak prices each year, but the strategy includes a trade-off. That is maintaining cows through the winter.
That’s a strategy that is especially problematic in a year like this when hay supplies are short and costly. Nonetheless, salvage cows represent an important source of revenue to all operations, traditionally up to 20% of a cow-calf operation’s annual income. And that cull-cow market has experienced a highly favorable surge during the past several years, given the tight supplies of lean manufacturing beef.
With those factors in mind, have you changed your cow marketing strategies? Because of the stronger salvage market, has your operation implemented different management schemes around open or salvage cows? Let’s have a discussion. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.