Utilizing cow-calf producer information to increase profits in retained ownership of beef cattle

Retained ownership has been found to be a profitable endeavor, yet many cow-calf producers choose not to retain their calves. While this paper does not directly explore the reasons producers might have for not retaining ownership, which may include uncertainty, it does explore innovative use of asymmetrical information that might reduce some of the uncertainty. Results are summarized in a regression analysis similar to a Hedonic price model where birth weight, weaning weight, and weaning age are found to be important factors to consider when selecting animals to retain