Future labor cost can be reduced if cows are sorted into culling groups at this time. Sorted cattle can be moved and marketed without unnecessary stress on the remaining cows. Much of future culling will be based on these characteristics of production soundness. Continued decline in forage conditions will require culling cows raising the current year's calf crop. While such drastic measures will affect this year's income, culling marginal cows will improve production capability in the remaining herd.
Shipping cows with calves is difficult for most producers.
Therefore, culling producing cows should be based on historic production records, the current calf at side or soundness. The goal of this culling phase is to remove a sufficient number of cows to ensure adequate forage is available to carry the remaining herd at least through weaning. Short and broken mouth cows should be culled first because they will not have acceptable productivity under drought conditions. The next step would be to cull the genetic bottom of the herd until targeted levels of herd reduction are met. Before culling deeper into the productive cow herd, determine whether the remaining cows are bred and consider whether to sell open cow-calf pairs before weaning.