Performance Management in Your Beef Cattle Herd

In business, successful managers prioritize performance management. Although agriculture may seem like an escape from corporate America, farms are businesses, and businesses need effective managers. With a conventional employee, a manager can provide feedback and implement corrective actions throughout the year. In a cow herd, that can be more difficult, as many of my own cows rarely value my input or opinions on improving their individual performance. Assessing how well your herd met your goals quarterly can provide insight into whether they were met profitably. In this article, we will break down the four quarterly "conversations" you may want to have with each member of your herd to ensure that each "employee" within the operation is pulling their weight.

First Quarter (Q1) – Post-Weaning/Calving
Q1 sets the tone for the year, and while it doesn't guarantee profitability, it will, in the long term, provide potential income for the operation this production cycle and beyond. Topics for review include whether she independently completed calving without assistance, an assessment of her docility throughout calving, a review of her udder structure, including teat size/placement, and how vigorous the calf was during the crucial first few hours of life. Some questions to ask yourself as her manager include: Was proper nutrition provided post-weaning to support success during the calving season? Have you provided her with an environment in which she can be successful? Are breeding decisions being carefully determined? Are recommended health protocols being implemented for the herd? 

Second Quarter (Q2) - Rebreeding
Q2 will determine your income potential during her next production cycle. It is a lot to ask of the cow to care for her newborn calf and rebreed on schedule to calve within your established timeframe next season. Any issues identified in Q1 are sure to surface in Q2, such as birthing complications and inadequate body condition score at calving. Topics to review include expectations on your defined breeding season, observations documenting frequency of estrous cycles, decreases in body condition score, and how well she is caring for her dependent. Some questions to ask yourself as her manager include: (once again) Were you providing proper nutrition? Did you have adequate bull power for the number of females being exposed, and have your bulls passed a breeding soundness exam?

Third Quarter (Q3) - Production
Q3 is when most spring-calving herds can do what cattle do best: convert pounds of forage into pounds of beef. This is a quarter where your rock stars will shine, and those with performance issues will become most noticeable. Unfortunately, not every cow is created equal, and production varies greatly. Topics for review include her production level compared to similar-aged herdmates, offspring's performance relative to an appropriate contemporary group, and whether she conceived during the established breeding season. Pregnancy diagnosis identifies cows that will not produce a calf in the next production cycle, allowing managers to make timely culling and marketing decisions rather than carrying an open cow through the winter. Some questions to ask yourself as her manager include: (recurring theme, but you guessed it) Have you provided proper nutrition? Have you documented observed performance discrepancies? Where does each stand going into the final performance cycle?

Fourth Quarter (Q4) - Weaning
Q4 for most cow/calf operations in Pennsylvania means one thing: payday or at least the point when months of production begin translating into market value. However, your actions here could significantly affect the overall impact your anticipated check has on your farm account. This is a time when livestock markets across the Commonwealth are hit with pens of calves at all stages of weaning. If you visit your local stockyard in October, this will become very evident the second you open your door in the parking lot. As a result, there are winners and losers when that final gavel falls. Topics for review include the effectiveness of your weaning and stress-mitigation strategies, current cow body condition, calf performance within contemporary groups, and the biological and economic responses to supplemental feeding. At the herd level, measures such as pounds of calf weaned per cow exposed can provide a more complete picture of overall reproductive and production efficiency than weaning weight alone. Some questions to ask yourself as her manager include: (let's be honest, the first one should come as no surprise) Have you provided proper nutrition? Did you market the calves, or did they market themselves? Is your herd positioned for success in the next production cycle? How will your cattle, who fell short of your performance expectations, be marketed? 

Final Performance Review
Summarizing how your cows performed in each quarter not only provides a benchmark for culling decisions, but it also provides a glimpse into improvements that can be made within your operation. Corrective actions can then be implemented promptly to address poor individual performance. Quarterly evaluation also helps determine whether a performance problem belongs to the individual cow or reflects a broader management issue affecting the herd. There should be no surprises in the final performance appraisal period. While many are quick to blame the calf for failing to meet the standard, management may be the limiting factor in its ability to flourish.

Overall performance assessment relies heavily on reliable record documentation. Detailed record-keeping in each quarter is an important component of any performance management system. It provides an opportunity for unbiased evaluation of metrics important to your operation. By implementing quarterly data collection and deficiency reporting, you can begin making timely, data-driven management decisions. As a soccer coach, I often tell my team to "make progress, not excuses," and the same philosophy can apply to your herd. By continually making excuses for cattle that fall short of your expectations, you are essentially enabling a poor performer within the operation an opportunity to erode the income potential of your beef herd.