robbertsfarms - 2/26/2024 09:55

Last year we took a different approach to selling bred cows we knew we needed to sell due to age or deformity. Instead of taking them out to our large pasture and risking losing them down in a ditch or straggling behind, we kept a small group in a calving pasture near home, weaned the calves early in the fall, and sold the cows then. The thinking was if they could raise and bring a calve to market (which they all did) we would be money ahead getting a return on breeding the cow from last year and selling it as a kill cow instead. The drawbacks are A) not selling the cow as a bred cow and B) the risk of losing the cow altogether although none of these cows are in that bad of shape. I am looking to see what others think of this process. Definitely thought it worked fine for us last year.