Webinar draws attention to culling considerations

As part of their weekly webinar series, ag industry professionals with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center for Agricultural Profitability (CAP) took the time recently to discuss “what decisions need to be made for early cull or post-pregnancy-check cull cows” and price considerations among “cull cows.” 
First to the block with a bit of information on the topic was Karla Wilke, associate professor and Extension range management cow-calf specialist presenting on behalf of another professional. 
“She was gonna talk about some of the decisions surrounding culling decisions,” Wilke began. “When we’re culling cows we want to maintain productivity and profitability, we don’t want to keep around a cow that’s not doing a lot. So we want to eliminate the poor performing cows that possibly have inferior genetics or poor milking ability, that type of thing.”
Of note, to “cull” a cow means to remove it from the herd via sale, slaughter, salvage or etc.
There are different strategies that producers should be aware and consider depending on the specific situation, she explained. 
“In heifers are culling strategies and our selection strategies really go hand in hand,” Wilke said. “Heifers should be considered a separate enterprise, because they are obviously still increasing in value before they start the depreciation curve a little later. So maintaining them in a little different mindset is good.”

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