Last year, for our fall newsletter, I wrote that in over 35 years of analyzing the profitability of preconditioning calves, 2024 was the highest profit potential I had ever seen. The handwriting was on the wall for 2025 to be even better yet, and the overwhelming chance is that it will be. Compared to 2024, feed prices are down, and calf prices are up. Those two factors, along with improved health, are the main drivers of profitability when preconditioning calves.

Preconditioning means we are getting our calves ready for a healthy and productive life in the feedlot. Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the leading cause of sickness and death in feedlot calves, and preconditioning is all about preventing BRD. Vaccinations are a part of the equation, and using a modified live vaccine that helps protect against the major viral causes of BRD – IBR-BVD-PI3-BRSV – along with the major bacterial cause – Mannheimia haemolytica – would be considered by most veterinarians as ‘core’ vaccinations. Ask your herd health veterinarian about Titanium + 5. It is very easy on calves and works well.

Deworming with an injectable and/or oral product is also critical, as these young calves are almost sure to carry a significant worm burden. A pour-on for fly control is also recommended.

Calves need to be castrated and dehorned before marketing. Both procedures should have been done soon after birth. If this did not happen, be sure these surgeries are done at least three weeks before weaning. As with all health recommendations, talk to your herd health veterinarian.

The other critical step is weaning the calves on your farm and starting them on feed. Weaning day is the most stressful day of the calf’s life. Don’t compound the stress by shipping calves the same day. (Don’t stop reading now if you generally ship calves the day you wean. There are some tips upcoming.) Preconditioned calves also know how to eat from a bunk and drink from a water tank.

I am writing this article in August, so those of you with winter or spring calving herds can contact your nutritionist, feed supplier, extension educator, or veterinarian to help develop a preconditioning ration for your calves well ahead of weaning. If you have only a handful of calves and don’t have any mixing equipment, you can still do this. Nearly every feed supplier has a preconditioning feed that you can buy in bags. If you have a large group of calves, purchasing commodities like DDGs and soyhulls to build a ration may make sense.

I talked to the nutritionist that I use to help develop my calf ration, and he said that wheat mids are currently at a very competitive price. Mids are the base in many complete, pelleted rations made by the feed companies, and these convenient products that you feed with hay may be cheaper than a ration of DDGs, soyhulls, etc. Call your nutrition company to check prices.

The base of nearly every PC ration is high-quality grass or grass-legume hay. The day before weaning, the calf’s diet is a small amount of milk and a lot of grass. Don’t confuse the calf’s rumen bacteria and protozoa (bugs), and feed a high corn (starch) ration. I know corn is cheap, but we need to feed little to no corn the first week or two after weaning. Please do not guess at a ration. You have trusted advisers who are there to help you.

The price prediction for 550# feeder calves is $310.50/cwt for September-October. That is a value of $1,707.75/calf, and I have talked to numerous producers who have said, “Why would I take any chance preconditioning when I can get that for a weaned calf and have essentially no work in it?” I get it. I believe the following calculations will help explain the risks and rewards of preconditioning calves in 2025.

I formulated a ration of high-quality grass hay, DDGs, soyhulls, and a vitamin-mineral mix with Rumensin for a producer recently, and the feed cost of gain was $0.53/pound of gain. Last year it was $0.65/pound. The weight gain alone gives the owner a return to his labor and management of $292/calf!

Preconditioned calves shrink about 3 percent from farm to auction market, while unweaned calves shrink about 7 percent. This added another $61 of profit. I made a very conservative estimate for the health price advantage (preconditioning bonus) of $8/cwt because I anticipate that every producer that reads this will PC their calves, and the price/cwt will decrease slightly due to supply and demand (smiley face). The $8/cwt. bonus adds an additional $56 of profit. All calves destined for the feedlot should receive a medium-dose implant like Component TE-G or Revalor-G. This will add an additional $42.

When we combine weight gain, less shrink, a price advantage, and the value of an implant, the total return to labor and management is $451/calf. If you have 13 calves to sell, that is an additional profit of almost $5,000, which will buy you a very good bull next spring. The ration I formulated is for a herd that will be selling 70 head of calves this fall, and they should add an additional $31,570 to their beef business. (In fact, they will precondition for 90 days instead of 60 and make even more profit.)

Let’s look at some potential hurdles to preconditioning your calves:

– I don’t have bunks to feed the calves. This is the year to invest in some bunks. Talk to producers who already have bunks and purchase good ones. Some cheap ones out there don’t last.

- My fence will not keep cows and calves apart at weaning. Look into using a nose flap to use the “Quiet Wean” method. Our herd owners who use flaps leave them in for only five days. Remove them on day five and put the cows on one side of a 1-2 wire electric fence and the calves on the other. No bawling and pacing the fence.

- My feeder auction does not have a special preconditioned sale. Call the owner to see if you can help organize a few PC sales during the fall/winter. Call buyers in your area and let them know about your PC calves.

Preconditioning calves in 2025 is as close to a no-brainer as I have ever seen in my career. It is a “triple win” strategy. Better health and welfare for the calf, improved profit for the owner and feeder, and superior product for the consumer.

If you always precondition your calves, congratulations on producing a high-health calf for the feeder and getting rewarded for doing so. If you preconditioned calves in the past but stopped for some reason, this is the year to resume the process. If you have never preconditioned calves, call your herd health veterinarian to set up a vaccination program specific for your calves. Also, contact your feed supplier, nutritionist, extension educator or herd health veterinarian to formulate a ration. If any of your advisers want assistance, I am glad to help. Email me at wmarkhilton@gmail.com