Parson, Kansas — Haul a single, gimpy, light-muscled, snotty-nosed, horned, spotted bull calf with  a gut-full of water to town and you’ll likely find out.

Of course, if you prefer those loftier bids, the direct opposite approach would be in order.

It may be too late to affect the type of spring calves you’ll sell this fall but there are still a number of things that can be done to maximize their value.

And calf health would be a heckuva good place to start, according to Tom Troxel, associate head of the University of Arkansas Animal Science Department.

“A sick calf is going to be heavily discounted—count on it,” he says.

Even the hint of future illness is enough to cause buyers to back off of bawling trailer-weaned calves, calves that are headed for extra stress like castration and dehorning, and calves that just don’t look quite healthy. Some buyers, Troxel says, fully expect 40-50 percent of the calves they buy to get sick—and that affects how much they’re willing to bid.

Preconditioning is an obvious solution but even the way in which calves are weaned can be important, Troxel points out. Citing work at the University’s Livestock and Forestry Research Center at Batesville, the animal scientist asserts that fenceline weaning has a dramatic effect on keeping calves healthy.

“We’ve done this the past few years at Batesville and have found that fenceline weaning reduces stress and shrinkage,” he observes. “Fenceline-weaned calves have weighed 24-50 pounds more (after a 45-day weaning period) than conventionally-weaned calves and they were healthier.

“With fenceline weaning, the calves remain in familiar surroundings and they can still see their mothers. They just keep right on grazing—they don’t get stressed out.”

There are other fairly simple steps to enhance calf value, Troxel adds. According to a University Arkansas sale barn survey, bull calves in the 300-499-lb. weight range took a $5.37-$8.00/cwt. dock compared to steers. A Kansas State University study found a similar discount, roughly $6/cwt. with the dock increasing as weight increased.

Horned calves brought approximately $4/cwt. less than polled or dehorned calves in the Arkansas study, $2.18/cwt. less in the K-State study and $3.23 less in an Oklahoma State University survey.

In terms of perceived health, preconditioned calves earned a $4.15/cwt. premium in Arkansas sale barns, according to the U of A survey, while obviously sick and lame calves took a $30/cwt. hit. Bad eyes and dead hair brought discounts in the $13/cwt. range.

Another major price influencer is the number of calves in a selling group.

“That’s where a limited breeding and calving season comes in,” Troxel points out. “If you can get all those calves born in 90 days or less that opens up a lot of things you can do to improve the marketability of those calves.”

Even if that’s not the case, though, Troxel advises that putting small groups together is still price-beneficial. In the Arkansas survey, uniform groups of greater than five head brought $2.49/cwt. more than groups of two to five head and $5.35/cwt. more than singles. The Kansas version of the sale barn survey found per-hundredweight prices increasing up to truckload lots.

Uniformity within those groups is another important factor. The Oklahoma State University survey observed a $3.17/cwt. average discount for groups of non-uniform calves.

Commingling programs and working with neighboring farms, the experts say, are other ways to address the price advantages of large group marketing.

Although it’s too late to affect the muscling of this year’s calf crop—thick muscled calves earn a healthy premium while their light-muscled counterparts were dramatically discounted—it’s not too late to affect fill and body condition.

Generally, tanked calves and fat calves are turn-offs for buyers. Arkansas calves considered “fleshy” brought $5.86/cwt. less than average condition calves and those deemed “fat” got slapped with an average discount of $16.16. Full or tanked calves took a hit ranging from $6.72/cwt. to $23.97/cwt.

Sale barn surveys similar to those conducted in Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma have been undertaken in many states. While there are some regional differences in how calf buyers back up their preferences with bidding, the basic trends are the same—buyers want decent-sized groups of healthy, well-muscled cattle that have weight gain potential and are ready to put on the pounds.

That message, Troxel says, should hit home with producers who have calves to sell this fall.

“With the tight budget beef producers are facing, they have to look for all kinds of ways to increase the net value of the calves they sell,” he concludes. “There’s not just one big thing that impacts feeder calf value, it’s a whole host of little things and cow-calf producers can reap the benefits of understanding and managing those factors.”