Category: Management (Page 1 of 16)

How to Help Bulls Recover After Breeding

August 12, 2026 / / 0 Comments
How to Help Bulls Recover After BreedingWhen spring breeding season ends, most people are ready to pull the bulls, close the gate, and take a break. That makes sense. Breeding season is hard work, especially in tough country, hot weather, big pastures, and with cows that are not easy to find. But the work is not finished when the bulls leave the cows. For many herds in West Texas and the Southern Plains, this is actually when next year’s breeding season begins. If a bull comes off cows thin, sore, footsore, heat-stressed, or dealing with parasites, he needs care now—not next spring when it is too late.
Bulls cost too much to treat like spare equipment. They provide half the genetics for your calves, and one weak bull can be more costly than a bad load of hay. Taking good care of bulls after breeding protects their fertility, health, body condition, and lifespan. If you want your bull to breed cows again next year, do not just turn him out and hope he recovers on his own.

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Low-Stress Weaning Tips for Healthier Calves

August 8, 2026 / / 0 Comments
Low-Stress Weaning Tips for Healthier CalvesIf you’re planning to wean calves this fall, August is when you need to get started.
Don’t wait until weaning day or until the calves are already bawling at the fence. Start now.
Weaning can go smoothly or quickly become a problem. Much of it depends on what you do in the weeks before the calves leave their mothers.
Consider things from the calf’s perspective. In a short time, it might lose its mother, move to a new pen, learn a new feed, drink from a different water source, get vaccinated, and maybe even be transported. That’s a lot for one animal to handle at once.
When calves get too stressed, they’re more likely to get sick, stop eating, lose weight, or fall behind. Issues like respiratory problems, slow weight gain, and extra treatment costs can appear quickly in the first weeks after weaning.
That’s why low-stress weaning is important. It’s not just easier on the calves—it can also mean fewer sick animals, better weight gains, and less money lost after weaning.
The good news is you don’t need anything fancy to make weaning easier. You just need a plan that starts early, spreads out the stress, and helps calves know what to expect before weaning day.

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How August Can Actually Set Heifers Back

July 23, 2026 / / 0 Comments
How August Can Actually Set Heifers BackAugust really shows you how your replacement heifers are doing.
In May or June, your heifers probably looked healthy and on track. The grass was good, days were long, and there was time to make changes if needed. But when August hits West Texas and the Southern Plains, things change fast. Suddenly, the heifers do not look as even. Some are getting thin, some hang back at the water trough, and others spend more time fighting flies than grazing. The grass is still around, but now it is dry and stemmy, and it does not help them like it did earlier in the summer.
This is why August matters so much for heifer development. Replacement heifers are not just another set of calves—they are your future herd. If they fall behind now, you might see problems later like delayed puberty, poor conception, lighter calves, weak milk production, and cows that never catch up. August is not the time to guess. Take a close look, sort honestly, and make sure the heifers you want to keep are still doing well.

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Can Your Cows Breed Back on Summer Grass?

July 11, 2026 /
Can Your Cows Breed Back on Summer Grass?July is when you find out if your cow nutrition plan is working or falling short. Grass might look fine from the truck, but that does not always mean it has enough protein, energy, or digestibility for a lactating cow during breeding season. This is important because after calving, a cow has a lot on her plate. She needs to raise her calf, recover from calving, regain body condition, and get ready to breed again on time.
Having a calf every year is not just a bonus—it is what keeps a cow valuable in the herd. With rising costs for feed, fuel, labor, and pasture, every cow that does not breed back costs you money. If a cow falls behind on nutrition during this busy time, you might not notice the problem until preg-check, when it is too late to do anything about it.
Here is the bottom line: cows cannot breed back if they are running on empty. A good nutrition plan starts with knowing what your forage really offers. Is the grass good enough to support milk and reproduction? Is there enough for cows to meet their needs? Are you feeding mature cows, young cows still growing, or thin cows trying to catch up?
Meeting these needs is more than just tossing out feed and hoping it works. You need to match forage quality, quantity, minerals, and supplements to each cow’s stage of production. When cows get the right nutrition at the right time, they are more likely to stay in good shape, breed back, and raise calves that make you money.

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July Fly Control: Is Your Program Working?

July 7, 2026 /
July Fly Control: Is Your Program Working?If you take a moment to look from your pickup, you’ll notice cows crowded under a single shade tree, calves constantly switching their tails, yearlings stomping as if the ground is burning, and a bull rubbing his face on a post. At first, this might seem like typical summer irritation. But when cattle spend more time battling flies than grazing, resting, nursing, or gaining weight, that irritation starts to cost you money.
By July in West Texas and the Southern Plains, fly pressure usually gets intense. The first set of fly tags might be losing effectiveness. Back rubbers could be dry, dust bags might be overlooked, and feed-through products may not be paired with good sanitation. Face flies can spread pinkeye through the herd, and stable flies often bother legs and bellies, which can go unnoticed. Plus, heat stress makes all these fly problems even worse.
That’s why you shouldn’t assume your fly control program is working in July just because you took action in May. Fly control needs regular checking, adjusting, and management, just like any other part of herd health. The aim isn’t to eliminate every fly—that’s impossible. Instead, you want to keep fly numbers low enough so cattle stay comfortable and can keep eating, nursing, and gaining weight.
A good fly control program isn’t measured by what you buy, but by how your cattle behave.

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Heat, Flies, and Scours: July Calf Checks

June 29, 2026 /
Heat, Flies, and Scours: July Calf ChecksJuly really shows which calves are handling the summer well and which ones are starting to struggle.
You might ride through the pasture in the morning and think everything looks fine. The cows are spread out, calves are resting in the shade, and nothing seems wrong. But when you come back in the evening, you might spot a calf hanging back by the water trough, another with manure on its back legs, and a few more with flies around their eyes. It might not look serious yet, but that’s how July can catch you off guard.
In West Texas and the Southern Plains, July stress usually doesn’t show up as one big problem right away. It builds over time. Heat makes calves eat less, flies keep them from resting, and dirty water or bad creep feed can cause gut issues. Dry forage can weaken cows, so calves get less milk. Parasites add to the trouble. Soon, instead of just one sick calf, you might have a whole group that isn’t gaining weight like they should.
This is why a July calf check is essential. It’s not about adding work—it’s about staying ahead. Spot small issues early while they’re still simple and inexpensive to fix. A dull calf today may be dehydrated tomorrow. Light scours in the morning can become critical by sundown. Calves bunched in the shade may be fighting heat, flies, and poor air all at once. Early action is the difference in July demands.
With this in mind, let’s focus on the first place where issues often appear.

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A Better Weaning Plan Starts 30 Days Early

June 17, 2026 /
A Better Weaning Plan Starts 30 Days EarlyYou don’t want to be making decisions on weaning day. Once calves are bawling and pacing the fence, your plan is either helping them settle in or making things tougher. Weaning is when you quickly see the results of your breeding, nutrition, herd health, and daily care.
Each ranch has its own way of measuring weaning success. Some focus on fewer sick calves, others on better weight gain, less shrink, calmer animals, or an easier move to the next feeding stage. No matter how you define it, the main goal is to get calves through weaning with minimal stress and lost performance.
The first 30 to 45 days after weaning are some of the hardest for a calf. They’re leaving their mothers, getting used to a new place, figuring out where to find feed and water, and learning a new routine. Too much stress during this time can cause them to stop eating, lose weight, get sick, or fall behind quickly.
The good news is you don’t need a fancy setup for low-stress weaning. Focus on the basics: have feed ready, make water easy to find, keep pens clean and comfortable, stay on top of vaccines and herd health, and avoid overcrowding or sudden diet changes. A smooth weaning doesn’t happen by chance—it happens because you planned ahead and gave your calves a good start.

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Why Hot Weather Can Cost You Next Year’s Calves

June 5, 2026 /
Why Hot Weather Can Cost You Next Year’s CalvesJune can make the breeding season seem better than it actually is.
In West Texas and the Southern Plains, pastures may look healthy in June, but heat can impact cattle before it’s obvious. By the time you notice cows losing condition or bulls tiring, conception rates may already be falling.
Even experienced producers can get caught off guard. Heat stress not only makes cattle uncomfortable; it also alters grazing, reduces feed intake, increases water needs, and forces cows to use more energy to stay cool. Grass quality declines, flies rise, and bulls must work harder. These combined factors can quickly reduce reproduction rates.
This matters because June’s problems do not end in June. Poor breed-back can lead to open cows, late calves, lighter weaning weights, and a longer calving season than you planned. A cow that does not get bred early costs more than most people think. Every pound at weaning is important.
If you want a better, more profitable calf crop next year, now is the time to pay attention. Success during hot breeding seasons starts with checking cow condition, water, forage quality, minerals, fly pressure, and bull performance before small issues become costly.

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5 Hay Storage Mistakes That Waste Money

May 28, 2026 /
5 Hay Storage Mistakes That Waste MoneyFew things are worse than paying for good hay, stacking it, and then watching it rot before any cow gets a bite. Hay storage isn’t glamorous, but it can mean the difference between enough feed and buying more when prices are high. Every bale holds your time, money, fuel, fertilizer, and future cattle feed.
That’s why good hay storage matters well before winter. Once pastures go dormant or drought reduces forage, only protected hay remains to feed. Poor storage causes mold, weather damage, dry matter loss, and reduced feed value, resulting in less hay and less nutrition for your cattle.
The good news: you don’t need an expensive hay barn or a big budget to improve storage. Simple habits can stretch every bale. Tight bales, good drainage, airflow, sunlight, proper covering, and keeping hay off the ground all help reduce waste.
This article walks through five practical hay storage tips that work for both small cattle producers and larger livestock operations. Whether you’re putting up first cutting, buying hay ahead of dry weather, or trying to protect winter feed, a little planning now can save you a lot of money later. Better hay storage means less waste, better feed quality, and more confidence when your cattle need it most.

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Why Your Water System May Fail This Summer

May 16, 2026 /
Why Your Water System May Fail This SummerIf you’ve ever found an empty water trough in July, you know how fast things can change. One moment, your cattle water system seems fine. The next, cows are waiting, stressed, and losing performance. In West Texas, that’s not just inconvenient—it directly affects gains, health, and your bottom line.
May is your opportunity to get ahead of this problem before the summer heat really tests your system.
At the moment, cattle water needs seem manageable, but that will change soon. As it gets hotter, water intake rises quickly. During peak heat, cattle often drink two to three times more than in cooler months. Calves and lactating cows need even more, and any weak spots in your tanks, pipelines, or flow rate will become obvious.
The challenge is that most water system problems stay hidden until demand is high. By the time you spot an issue, you’re already behind and fixing it under pressure. That’s why this season is important. Now is the time to check flow rates, clean troughs, and make sure your setup can handle what’s ahead. When summer arrives, water becomes the foundation for intake, performance, and how well your cattle handle the heat.

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