The couple of cold fronts that have come through the last couple of weeks has signaled that winter is on its way. With winter it brings it’s own set of challenges for a cattle producer. Intense cold weather can leave cattle struggling as well as stressed, which can affect their health, as they go about their normal activities. Here are some ways you can help to reduce that stress:
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Nutrition is a big factor affecting your herd’s health during the cold winter months. In order to meet this need producers should plan ahead when it comes to their fall and winter forages. There are many factors to consider when figuring out how much hay will be needed.
There have been many reports showing that cow-calf operators can increase their calf’s value by using a preconditioning program. While there is profit potential in doing this it is best to do your homework first. The two things you must consider when looking into preconditioning are the value of gain and the cost of gain.
The month of October is here and usually that means weaning spring born calves and culling for many producers across the country. During this time producers face some tough challenges when it comes to culling cows. Is she good for another year? Will she keep enough body over the winter in order to rebreed next year?
Making decisions on which animals to get rid of can be difficult without an ability to see into the future. This is where having an overall plan of where you want your operation to go comes in handy. The key is you want to sell ones that are costing you money without providing and revenue to offset the costs.
With breeding season on it’s way now is a good time to get started getting the bull ready. Usually the cows are the main focus, but what about your bulls? Are they ready to service multiple cows during the breeding timeframe? Since just one will be providing 50% of the genetic material for your next calf crop you will want to make sure that he is ready to go.
If you were to look at any operation you will find that feed costs are in the top 5 expenses. Feed costs often occupy the #1 spot in out-of-pocket expenses. With it being such a large initial expense it is usually the first to go when the budget starts to get tight. Here are some things to consider when developing a feeding program for your cow herd:
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 The temperatures are getting cooler is a good time to evaluate your pastures to get them ready for winter and plan ahead for spring. Taking the necessary steps now will ensure they survive the winter as well as get a good head start for spring. Here are 3 things you can put on a checklist:
Hard to believe that we are already in September; summer is over, temperatures are getting cooler (somewhat) and the days are getting shorter. With this time of year most people are focused on weaning and getting their cows rebred for next year’s calf crop. It is also important to have a supplement program in place during this time as well.
With fall and cooler weather right around the corner it is important to give your cows their best chance going into winter. As with other seasons a cow’s nutrition requirements are different during this time of year. Here are some things you can do to help your cows going into the later part of the year:
With weaning right around the corner for most operations it is a good time to define what you can do to help being successful at weaning. Weaning is one of the most important times because it shows how successful the producer was all year. It shows if all those late nights pulling calves or working in the hot summer sun was worth it. Here are 4 steps you can take to determine if it was a successful year.