Getting the most from your bull purchase

With autumn bull sales past, how do we go about making the most of a newly purchased bull?

Current industry data would suggest that around two-thirds of all bulls in Scotland do not make it to their sixth birthday. This means that significant sums of money are invested in animals that give less than four years of service. The cost to the herd of the depreciation of these animals can be significant.

Bull depreciation

While depreciation is a term more readily used when looking at machinery, it is still equally applicable to livestock, as it is still the reduction in value over time of the asset. The bull is a necessary expenditure in order to get calves on the ground, so to express his depreciation cost, we could look at the cost per calf weaned. This is a function of several elements:

While the initial purchase price can often grab headlines, this is not the full story. A bull that has cost twice the price but also lasts twice as long effectively ends up costing the same per calf.

Table 1 demonstrates the cost per calf of a bull across a range of working years and purchase prices.

For the purposes of these numbers, the bull is assumed to handle a group of 30 cows per year and be worth £1,200 when culled.

Looking at the data, a £4,000 bull that lasts for three years has a similar cost/calf as a £6,000 bull that lasts for five years. However, were the ages and purchase prices to be reversed, the £4,000 bull has a cost/calf almost one-third of that of the £6,000 bull.

The spreading of the cost of the bull is one of the advantages of an autumn herd

When the above costs are spread across a spring and autumn herd, it effectively halves the cost/calf if the groups are of equal size. The spreading of the cost of the bull is one of the advantages of an autumn herd. Indeed, going back to our £6,000, were he to last four years on farm and work over two calving seasons, we are seeing a reduction in depreciation from £47/calf to £23/calf, worth 5p/kg on a 450kg store animal.

Cost of keeping a bull

The above calculations do not take in to account the keeping costs of the bull. However, unless using artificial insemination, this factor is irrelevant as each bull should have a similar cost of care. This may only change if the replacement bull were to be of a significantly different size to his predecessor.

Minimising bull depreciation

One of our key aims is to maximise the lifespan of a bull on farm. Even if he can only be used for four years due to the risk of inbreeding, etc, having him in working order means that he can still be sold as a breeding bull. This means that he will be worth more than cull value, reducing the cost of ownership.

So how do we go about doing this?

In order to have a bull that will last, the first part of the process is in the initial selection. While the figures behind the bull are an important aspect of his long-term performance, the initial selection must also be based on his being structurally sound and with a good health status. The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries has a fantastic resource for this and it can be found here.

A bull that is not structurally sound will not last long on farm. As he makes up half of the genetics of his bulling group, he will also pass on these traits to around 50% of that group. For those selling all calves, this may not be a problem. However, for those looking for breeding heifers to retain or sell, this is a very important aspect.

Once our new bull is home and settled, we can finally think about getting him out to work

Once we have our bull selected, transitioning him to his new home is the next stage. QMS has an excellent section on transitioning a new bull in their Guide to Bull Selection and Management. It can be found at here.

Once our new bull is home and settled, we can finally think about getting him out to work. Care must be taken not to overwork him with too many cows in his first season. Many would suggest only give him as many cows as months he is old (15 cows to a 15-month-old bull, etc).

By following the above, your new bull should go on to give you several years of service, leading to reduced cost per calf and increased profitability.

Stock bulls will be going among autumn-calving cows in the coming days and weeks – but just how long is your breeding season going to last this year?

Many farms have moved away from autumn calving in recent years. This is reflected in the fact that less than 20% of total annual calf births are registered in the six months from August to December (see Figure 1).

This swing away from autumn calving is in favour of often lower-cost spring-calving systems. Calf birth registrations from March to May now account for almost two-thirds of calf births from the Scottish beef herd.

However, autumn herds can still offer many benefits on beef farms. They can make better use of the two most common limiting factors on farm – labour and facilities.

Labour is, and will remain, the primary limiting factor on Scottish beef farms. Anything that can be done to streamline or reduce labour requirements should be considered. The number of days you spend calving each year has a huge effect on labour requirements.

All it takes is one bull to not do its job and years of hard work can be undone

Since the beginning of the Farm Profit Programme, all six focus farms have been working on their calving spread. Many of the farms are now calving in 12 weeks with the aim of reducing this further in years to come.

This can be a slow and sometimes painful process. All it takes is one bull to not do its job and years of hard work can be undone.

Therefore, farms must take steps to mitigate any breeding problems:

Any one of these steps alone is not going to be enough to maintain a tight calving pattern. Done together, they offer a much better chance of this being achieved.