Cow-Calf Commentary for Iowa Cattleman Magazine
By Randie Culbertson, Cow-Calf Extension Specialist
October 2025
To cull or not to cull – that is the question
Following years of persistent drought, we are currently in the phase of the cattle cycle when our cow numbers are down and calf prices are high. High cull cow prices continue to signal the opportunity for increased culling of females from the herd. At the end of the day, there are pros and cons to culling that should be considered when deciding who to keep and who to send to town.
Why cull?
A predominant reason for culling cows is due to reproductive failure. Cows that fail to become pregnant during the breeding season are an economic drain to the operation, as they will consume resources (i.e., feed) without providing a calf the following calving season to offset their maintenance. Beyond open cows, other culling reasons include disposition, poor calf performance, age, structural soundness, udder conformation, and declining health. It is not an exhaustive list, as each operation may have other reasons for culling cows to meet the operation's breeding objectives.
The idea of culling is to remove an animal that may not contribute to the operation's profitability. By culling animals who fall short of expectations, you are removing the contribution of that animal to overall herd performance. It provides an opportunity to select for improvement in production and performance. Culling females who fail to breed puts pressure on the herd's reproductive performance by not perpetuating animals who fail and removing a financial drain on profitability. The concept of “ruthless” culling implies deep culling within a herd to meet strict standards, with no exceptions being made. Is this the best approach for improved herd performance with the current cattle market?
Rate of genetic change
Genetic change within a herd leads to long-lasting change for production. The rate at which genetic change can be made depends on the amount of genetic variance for the trait, the accuracy of our tools for selection (i.e., performance records, EPDs, genomics), and how "choosey" we are for who contributes to the genetics of the herd. Our culling decisions are directly related to the rate of genetic turnover (or generation interval) and how "choosey" we are (or selection intensity).
Generation interval is defined as the average of an animal when its replacement enters the breeding herd. In beef cattle, this is roughly 5 to 6 years. The longer the generation interval, the slower the rate of genetic progress. Compared to other livestock, beef cattle have a long interval. In a scenario where culling is more intense, younger replacements would be needed to enter the herd, lowering the generational intervals of the herd, and ultimately increasing the rate of genetic change.
The other aspect for increasing the rate of genetic change is selection intensity, or how "choosy" you are for animals to be kept as parents in the herd. The pickier you are, the faster the genetic progress you can make. You are applying selection intensity when culling, since you are deciding who remains in the herd to contribute to the next generation of the herd. The more ruthless the culling, the more selective you are, resulting in increased selection intensity and increasing the rate of genetic change.
The moral of the story is to speed up the rate of genetic change within a herd, practice ruthless culling, and cull any cow that doesn't meet the criteria. It is an excellent topic for a theoretical discussion, but is it practical for real-world application? Although genetic progress would be gained, you also need to consider the implications for female replacements.
Replacement considerations
As you increase your culling rate, you also increase your replacement rate. From the standpoint of making genetic change in your herd, increasing the number of animals you cull would lead to a faster rate of genetic change by decreasing the generation interval and increasing selection intensity. To maintain cow numbers, you need another source of preferable younger, females with more desirable genetics. Right now, bred heifers come with a hefty price tag and the opportunity cost of developing yearling heifers is also significant. Although cull cow prices are currently up, they may not fully account for the investment cost of introducing heifers into the herd.
If you raise your replacements, you must also account that these heifers won't provide a calf until she is two years old. As a result, you have to invest in her development from weaning on, and the return on that investment would not be realized until she is over 2 years old. Forethought and planning would be required when making a culling decision, since there is a one-year delay in the replacement heifer providing a calf. In other words, for a cow you wish to cull this year, you must already have selected her replacement from last year's calf crop to provide a calf in the coming calving season.
For a cow to recoup the cost of her own development, annual maintenance, and account for prematurely culled females in her contemporary group, she must wean at least five calves. As the annual percentage of cows culled increases, the number of calves a cow must produce will increase. From an economic standpoint, minimizing culling rates would be recommended.
Conclusion
On paper, the idea of ruthless culling is tempting to establish your "dream" cow herd, but its practicality must also be considered. As with any operational decision, the economics and financial ramifications should be considered. At the end of the day, improving reproductive efficiency of the herd (i.e., minimizing the number of open cows) could be the best solution for culling. Reducing the number of females who fail to get pregnant would provide an opportunity for the operation to cull females due to something other than reproductive efficiency. It also implies that the selection pressure and management strategies have demonstrated improved reproductive performance, the most significant driver for profitability.
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