Improving Feeder Cattle Profitability in Modern Markets

Oct 23, 2025

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Record-setting beef prices in 2025, combined with the lowest national cattle inventories in decades, have raised the stakes for every animal brought into a backgrounding yard or feedlot. With each animal now representing about a $2,000+ investment, even modest improvements in health outcomes can create significant financial gains for producers.

Current Calf and Feeder Cattle Prices

· Calves (around 500-600 lb.) are averaging approximately $347/cwt, which translates to $1,735–$2,082 per head, depending on weight.

· Heavier feeder cattle (700-800 lb.) are averaging $281/cwt, or around $1,967–$2,248 per head.

Inventory Situation

· The U.S. cattle inventory as of January 1, 2025, totaled 86.7 million head, the lowest since 1951.

· The 2025 calf crop is estimated at 33.1 million head, also a historic low.

· These tight supplies magnify the economic impact of every animal and increase pressure to avoid health-related losses.

Economic Impact of Health Losses

· Approximately 45% of all treatments given to beef calves before pasture turn-out are scour related.

· Beef calves treated for scours weigh on average 24 lbs. less than herd mates that never experienced scours.

· Somewhere from 3-11% of suckling beef calves suffer from pneumonia each year and nearly 1.5% of beef calves die from pneumonia before they reach weaning age. Pneumonia is the second leading cause of preweaning death loss, second only to scours.

· Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the single largest health issue faced by the feedlot industry. BRD is responsible for 75% of all morbidity and 50-70% of all finishing mortality.

· Direct treatment costs equal $23.60 per case. This does not include production losses.

· Subclinical BRD reduces the net return $67/head.

· Clinical BRD reduces net returns by $214/head.

· Animals treated for BRD 3 or more times have reduced returns of $385/steer.

· Animals with lung lesions have a reduced return of $91.50/animal.

Risk Factors Associated with Disease

There are many factors associated with the risk an animal might encounter disease.

· Failure or partial failure of passive transfer. Adequate colostrum is critical.

· Any type of commingling of different groups, even those belonging to the same operation, such as in extended calving intervals or 2 different calving seasons.

· Environmental risk, extreme cold or heat along with precipitation.

· Nutritional risk, such as a change in diet, energy, and protein deficiency.

· Exposure to pathogens such as bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1), bovine virus diarrhea virus (BVDV), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), bovine respiratory coronavirus (BRCV), and Mycoplasma bovis.

· Trace mineral deficiency. A balanced diet matters.

· Handling stress.

· Other operation-specific risk factors.

Disease early in life makes cattle more susceptible to other infections later in life. Management strategies to minimize risk factors associated with disease is important for disease prevention starting at day one of life.

A Big-Scale Example

What if we did decrease disease risk due to the effective risk management practices? Let’s quantify the economics for a 500-head group:

· At 2% mortality: 10 head lost = $19,650 in lost investment.

· Cutting mortality to 1%: Just 5 lost, saving $9,825.

· Morbidity costs (sick but surviving): At 15% (75 head) and $214 per case (treatment, labor, and lost performance), costs hit $16,050.

· Reducing morbidity to 10% (50 head): Drops these losses to $10,700, a savings of $5,350.

Bottom line: Moving both mortality from 2% to 1%, and morbidity from 15% to 10%, means nearly $26,750 in direct, tangible savings for a 500-head group—and the gains multiply with greater scale.

Every Percent Counts—Especially Now

Shrinking herd sizes mean fewer cattle available for sale, compounding the impact of each animal lost to sickness or death. In today’s market, reducing disease not only secures profit for the producer but helps keep beef available and affordable nationwide.

The best treatment is prevention. Taking steps to maximize that calf’s ability to acquire immunity and limit exposure to pathogens is an effective strategy.

TomaHawk iL Zn: Safeguarding Cattle Health, Protecting Profit

TomaHawk iL Zn is a unique nutritional technology built to support immune health and gut integrity—the foundations of defense against the two biggest threats: respiratory and digestive disease. By focusing on proven pathways of immune and intestinal health, TomaHawk iL Zn:

· Reduces pulls for treatment and related labor.

· Cuts morbidity rates, lowering both visible and hidden costs (like reduced gain).

· Contributes to fewer deaths, preserving more high-value animals for sale and harvest.

Feeders using TomaHawk iL Zn not only see healthier pens but also enjoy improved weight gains and fewer days to market readiness—key profit drivers with today’s high feed and animal costs.

Reducing cattle health losses is no longer an option—it’s a mandate for profitability. Implementing solutions like TomaHawk iL Zn is a powerful step toward defending every dollar invested, especially as every lost animal now means a bigger dent in farm profit and herd rebuilding progress.

Resources

1. https://www.beefmagazine.com/market-news/cattle-and-beef-market-2025-midyear-review

2. https://www.fb.org/market-intel/cattle-inventory-continues-contraction

3. https://www.fb.org/market-intel/re-instated-july-cattle-inventory-shows-continued-herd-contraction

4. https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/farm-management/cost-production/pubs/cop-beef-backgrounding.pdf

5. https://www.nationalbeefwire.com/profiting-while-backgrounding-calves?printer_friendly=true

6. https://www.beefmagazine.com/farm-business-management/tracking-costs-tied-to-calf-value

7. https://abvp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-01-Jan-BFD-Determining-the-Economically-optimum-Metaphylactic-Strategy-for-Cattle-Cohorts-of-Varied-Demographic-Characteristics.pdf

8. https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/applied-animal-science/about/news/bovine-respiratory-disease-has-long-term-effects-on-all-stages-of-beef-production

9. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11718847/

10. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2023.1168649/full

11. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1871141315003017