Kentucky's beef industry can be generally classified as a cow calf state.  Meaning that most beef producers in Kentucky maintain brood cow herds that produce calves on the farm which are then sold at weaning.  The Certified Preconditioned for Health (CPH-45) Feeder Calf Program is a long established extension program that encourages cow-calf producers to maintain ownership of calves at least 45 days post weaning prior to marketing.  The program includes a health/management protocol that involves additional vaccinations, mineral nutrition guidelines, along with proper management that minimizes the stress of weaning.  This post weaning management and delayed marketing strategy not only better prepares calves for the next phase of production but can also be an additional added value profit center for the cow-calf producer.

To further enhance value-added opportunities for producers, CPH-45 sales are scheduled at various locations around the state enabling the marketing of larger number of calves that have been managed under these guidelines.

Results from 15 CPH-45 sales held at 6 different locations in Kentucky during the 2018-19 sale season were summarized.  Estimated net added returns were calculated to compare the value of the calves sold in the CPH program (60 days post weaning period minus the expenses of feed, vaccines, mineral, interest, mortality and commission) versus selling at weaning.  Results showed that the weighted average of estimated net added returns for the 10,995 head sold was $63.51 per head.  In other words producers who chose to wean their calves and better prepare them for the next owner were financially rewarded for their efforts.