Livestock as Live Stock by Jordan Thomas, Ph.D.

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In this episode, Dr. Jordan Thomas shares a mindset shift that many commercial cattle producers need to hear: Your livestock are investments—live stock—and should be managed accordingly. Instead of relying on intuition or tradition to pick replacement heifers, Jordan invites you to think like an investor.

He compares typical selection practices to underperforming actively managed mutual funds and offers a compelling case for developing more heifers at lower cost, to allow your best performers to reveal themselves through early conception—your true return on investment.

🔑 Key Points Covered:

1. Livestock as Living Investments: Why your cows should be viewed like stocks in a portfolio.

2. The Problem with “Picking Winners”: Why relying on your eye and instinct often leads to underperformance.

3. Cost-Effective Development: The benefits of developing a large proportion of heifer calves rather than trying to predict success.

4. Economic Returns Over Aesthetics: Trading bragging rights for better bottom lines.

5. Passive vs. Active Management: Drawing parallels between heifer selection and modern investment strategies like index funds.

🌱 Actionable Insights:

1. Think of replacement heifers as part of a long-term investment strategy.

2. Consider developing a broader group of heifers with lower-cost inputs.

3. Focus on early conception as the most reliable indicator of profitability.

4. Avoid locking yourself into keeping underperformers just to hit quota.

5. Be willing to market later-conceiving heifers creatively—don’t treat them as losses.

📌 Contact:
Jordan Thomas, Ph.D.
Beef Cow-Calf Extension Specialist, University of Missouri
📧 [email protected]
📞 573-882-1804

📌 For more insights and resources, check out https://www.stockmangrassfarmer.digital/profile