Choose cows selectively to improve feed conversion

If the cattle industry is finally going to improve feed conversion rate, it will be because more producers select for it. A few are already there.

Hayse farms, Redding, Iowa

Cows at Hayse Farms are getting smaller. That may seem backwards, but not to commercial producer Pete Hayse.

The smaller cows are at least partially the result of his ongoing selection of both bulls and heifers that are more efficient converters of feed into weight gain. "Smaller cows require less feed to maintain themselves," Hayse says.

In the past, some of his cows hit mature weights as high as 1,800 pounds. "We still have a few of those around, but we're progressively working down to around 1,200 pounds," Hayse explains. "The smaller cows wean just as big, or bigger, calves. Last year, our heifers weaned our biggest calves."

Potential replacement heifers for this 1,000-cowherd are tested for feed efficiency through a feedlot at nearby Werner Family Angus in Diagonal, Iowa. It becomes another part of his selection criteria.

He looks at smaller cows this way: three 1,200-pound cows can survive on the same land base as two 1,800-pound cows. The bigger cows might wean 750-pound calves, or the same total calf weight as three 500-pound calves from smaller cows.

"The 500-pound calves are worth more (because of the size premium for lighter calves)," Hayse says. In actuality, his smaller cows typically wean 550- to 600-pound calves.

He's also getting a feed efficiency benefit through retained ownership in a custom feedlot. One recent set of steers converted at a 5.1:1 ratio, below the typical 6:1 or 7:1.

Werner Family Angus, Diagonal, Iowa

Joe Werner has a purebred cowherd and an on-farm feedlot where sale bulls are tested. The ability to test for individual animal feed efficiency is provided by a system from Wisconsin company I.D.ology. "One animal eats at a time and is identified with an ear chip," Werner says. A bunk scale records the feed consumed.

The feedlot is also used for custom feed- ing and testing, including potential replacement heifers for Pete Hayse. "We can test up to 300 animals at a time for feed efficiency," Werner says. A test takes 90 to 100 days.

Feed conversion is not so much about an individual animal's exact feed conversion, as it is the way that animal compares within a herd or test set, he says.

"On our own bulls, we've seen feed efficiency scores as low as 3.5:1. At the other end, some can be 10:1. The average is around 6:1," Werner says. "In my opinion, it's not necessarily about smaller frame or larger frame cattle. There are some very efficient animals in all frames."

McDonnell Angus, Montana/North Dakota

This large seedstock ranch has been on the front line of feed efficiency selection for several years. It has a large GrowSafe feed efficiency measuring system that can test up to 700 bulls at a time. It records an individual animal's feed intake and growth rate. "Our customers get a bull's weight-on and -off test, his average daily feed intake, average daily gain, and feed conversion rate," Leo McDonnell explains.

They also get a residual feed intake (RFI) index – a measurement of how much feed the animal consumed above or below the expected amount for body maintenance and production. A negative RFI indicates an animal consumed less than expected. "RFI lets us select high-performance cattle without increasing the appetite of the cow," he says.

Does feedlot efficiency for bulls carry over to more efficient cows on pasture? "Research shows a 90% correlation to RFI in a young bull to how his daughters do as cows," McDonnell says.

In drought conditions, he adds, more feed-efficient cows do better. "They breed back on time and maintain weight. Cattle that are lower on feed intake are lower on water intake, too.

"We're seeing things we never thought about before," McDonnell says. "We're improving weaning weights on less feed. It's really interesting to watch."