It is weaning time again out on the range. This is the time of year that you as a rancher get to see the fruits of your labor. Labors such as with your breeding programs. But that does beg the question about success.
What does success or failure mean when it comes to weaning? That is a tough question to answer because different people have different answers to this. Really it is up to the individual and what their production goals are to determine what is a successful weaning.
There may be different ideas on how to wean your calves but the goal is still the same. You want to wean every calf that you have with the most minimum loss to your calf crop. In order to accomplish this, you will need to get your calves started off on the right foot.
Starting your calves off right is probably one of the most important things that you can do. Doing so will ensure that calf’s lifelong production success. The first 30-45 days after weaning are the most stressful in that calf’s life. In order to make it as smooth as possible with their transition, you will need to avoid 3 common problems.
Having to feed supplements is necessary sometimes in cattle operations. That being said it is not something that most ranchers like to do. Feed costs remain the single largest expense for any cattle producer. The amount really depends on different things but it can easily be half of the total annual expenses.
Looking out onto a field of perfectly rolled hay bales is a beautiful sight to see. It is even more impactful if you are the one that baled them. Can feel yourself filling with pride on a job well done.
With summer arriving treating pinkeye is an issue, many cattle producers will face. As things get drier it means more dust which means an increase in eye irritants.
Hay is a very common sight in every cattle producer’s operation throughout the country. It is used during the winter to provide supplemental nutrition when forages are lacking. However, with the extremely dry conditions, we have been having lately getting hay bales is becoming harder and harder. With this difficulty producers are looking for ways to make their current supplies last longer.
Maintaining your pasture during the summer can be very tricky. In no time at all, it can go from adequate moisture to extremely dry. A manager has to be on their game to keep their pasture from suffering too much.
Having a good summer pasture management plan in place can save you a lot of headaches later on. It will give you a chance to put out any potential fires, not literally, before they can occur.
A protein tub is a very good way to provide extra nutrition when needed. One benefit is that once you have placed it in the pasture you don’t need to check it every day. This is helpful for those that may have a job back in town.
