In 2023, GENEX welcomed Leachman Cattle into our greater URUS family of ag companies. At Leachman Cattle, their philosophy centers on creating “cows that work and steers that pay.” Central to their approach is the $Profit index—a comprehensive index that combines economic factors, genomic predictions and traits that are key to your bottom line.
How the $Profit® index works
$Profit® assumes that the average commercial bull will have 100 progeny over its lifetime. The model assumes you keep 30% of your heifers as replacements and that you retain ownership on the remainder of the calves through finishing and sell on a grid. Maybe you are not a rancher who maintains ownership, but doesn’t it make the most sense to select from birth all the way to slaughter? Feedlots have already proven their willingness to pay premiums for superior calves.
The model then factors in the effects on both income and expense to come up with a net profit figure for each bull. $Profit® allows you to compare any two bulls and calculate the difference in profit that they are expected to generate in your herd. For example, let’s compare a $10,000 $Profit® bull to $6,000 $Profit® bull (the average for an Angus bull born in 2008). The predicted difference between these two bulls is $4,000 or about $40 per calf.
Traits included in the $Profit® index
$Profit® includes nearly every trait that impacts profitability. The effect of most traits on profit is fairly simple to understand. Here is the list of what is included and its effect:
Revenue Traits
- Calving Ease = more calves
- Weaning and Yearling EPD = more weight
- Cow Fertility = more calves at weaning
- Carcass Weight = worth more up to 1,050 lbs.
- Marbling = valued based on grid premiums
- Ribeye Area = valued as impacts yield grade
- % Retail Product = more yield is more meat
Cost Traits
- Cow Mature Size = in general, bigger cow eat more
- Cow Intake = more intake costs more
- Feedlot Feed Efficiency = cost of gain
Some traits are not so easily characterized for $Profit®. For example, milk is a good thing until you get too much. When over +25, milk EPD has more negative effect on fertility than it has a positive effect on weaning weight. There are a few traits not yet included in $Profit®: udder, structure and disposition. These traits are important but difficult to express in dollars.
Leachman financial indexes
There are two financial indexes that together make up $Profit®.
$Ranch®: Profit from birth through weaning.
Includes: fertility, milk, growth, cow feed intake and mature size
$Feeder®: Profit from weaning to harvest.
Includes: feed conversion, carcass value and carcass weight
$Profit®: Puts it all together into one number that predicts your bottom line!
$Ranch® + $Feeder® = $Profit®
Table 1. Leachman Index % Ranks Explained
Top GENEX sires for the Leachman indexes
Data as of 12/20/2024.
| Sire | $Profit |
|---|---|
|
$28,634 |
|
|
$26,881 |
|
|
$26,744 |
|
|
$23,486 |
|
|
$23,406 |
|
|
$22,533 |
|
|
$21,671 |
|
|
$21,000 |
|
|
$19,218 |
|
|
$18,832 |
| Sire | $Ranch |
|---|---|
|
$123.83 |
|
|
$109.23 |
|
|
$101.48 |
|
|
$94.74 |
|
|
$91.98 |
|
|
$90.47 |
|
|
$89.50 |
|
|
$84.90 |
|
|
$83.13 |
|
|
$81.73 |
| Sire | $Feeder |
|---|---|
|
$319.32 |
|
|
$270.53 |
|
|
$260.97 |
|
|
$258.70 |
|
|
$250.53 |
|
|
$249.87 |
|
|
$248.65 |
|
|
$241.21 |
|
|
$236.80 |
|
|
$231.00 |
Explore the full GENEX sire lineup
