Marketing Veterinary Services to Small Beef Producers

Abstract

I was in a three person mixed practice in DeWitt, Iowa for fifteen years and we were able to increase our revenue by 90% in the beef cow-calf portion of our practice from 1988 (start of Total Beef Herd Health Program) to 1997. I am quite certain that you can also increase your revenue by initiating some new cow-calf beef programs in your practice.

The beef cow-calf enterprise has critical success factors, and you need to be involved in enhancing the probability of success in these critical success factors.

Various studies show that the critical success factors include:^6,7
1. Knowing your cost to produce 100 lb of beef.

2. Becoming a low-cost, high-profit producer.

3. Reducing feed cost for the cow herd.

4. Learning to optimize vs. maximize. Adding an extra pound of weaning weight is not always cost-effective.

5. Learning that herd improvement does not come from doing one thing 100% better, but from doing 100 things 1% better.

As we look at the entire beef cow-calf enterprise, we can divide it into the following segments:
• Herd Health
• Fertility
• Nutrition
• Genetics
• Environment
• Records
• Marketing
While you as a practitioner surely don't need to be an authority in all these areas, if you want to enhance your business, you should find your areas of expertise and work in these areas.⁵