10/08/2026
Thursday Industry Insight: The Cost of Bigger Cows
Troy Whittier || KRIRM Graduate Student
Do you have the right cows?
As most approach the weaning and culling season, it’s important to consider: What type of cow do you want on your ranch?
Given the current beef prices, the industry has an incentive to feed cattle longer and produce larger carcasses. However, while larger carcasses might benefit feeders and packers, do they also bring greater profit to the cow-calf producer at weaning if cow size also increases?
Based on the National Research Council’s 1996 Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle, I modeled nine cow types: 1,000-, 1,200-, and 1,400-lbs cows producing 10, 20, or 30 lbs of milk. This model incorporates current prices for feeder calves, feed, pasture, replacements, cull cows, and management.
The key constraint for most ranches is their carrying capacity.
With a fixed amount of feed, grazable or supplemental, for every 100 head of 1,000 lbs cows, a ranch could alternatively carry approximately 89 head of 1,200 lbs cows or 80 head of 1,400 lbs cows.
When both calf weight and the number of calves produced are considered, total profit declined as mature cow size increased—by as much as 18% in this model. Smaller cows produced more total pounds of calf per unit of feed available, the additional pounds marketed coupled with the current price slide, offset the higher variable costs.
Milk production introduces an additional factor. As milk production increases, so does the cow’s energy and protein requirements, as shown in the second figure. Your current feed needs to support that in this model.
This model evaluates only the cow-calf stage, recognizing that each operation has unique resources, costs, and markets. However, mature cow size will impact carrying capacity, pounds weaned, and ultimately, ranch profitability.
