It may still seem like summer in August, but that is precisely the time when you should begin considering winter cattle management.When cows become thin because of poor nutrition or fatigue from the heat of summer, the winter season will only serve to worsen the situation. Since both cold weather and a late pregnancy raise nutrient requirements, the quality of the forage will result in greater feeding costs. A cow which is only slightly thin at the end of summer can turn into a serious problem by the time of calving.
That is the reason why late summer and autumn are so important in a cow-calf operation.
It’s now time to examine the body condition of the animals, the available forage, the need for supplements, pasture usage, and the overall health of the herd. You shouldn’t feel the need for anything complicated—just attend to the basics before winter comes and puts your herd to the test.
For many herds that calve in the spring, autumn is an excellent season to get the cows in good condition again. The calves are generally either about to be weaned or have already been weaned, while the cows are usually in their early or mid-pregnancy. As the cold weather hasn’t yet arrived, you have a good opportunity to improve the body condition of the cows before the winter becomes severe.
The objective is simple in that we should get the cows ready for winter rather than let winter take the initiative itself.
If you take that action, then you’ll have a better chance of having healthier cows, stronger calves, smoother calvings, better results when it comes to breed-back, and fewer costly surprises when feed prices go up.
On a cow-calf ranch, August always seems to arrive out of nowhere. One day, you’re busy keeping water troughs full, fighting flies, and making sure calves have shade during the hottest hours. Suddenly, you check the calendar and realize fall sale season is much closer than it seemed in June. Calves that looked healthy in July can quickly lose condition if they’re weaned, vaccinated, worked, transported, and sold all at once. In West Texas and the Southern Plains, heat, dust, dry pens, long trailer rides, and mixing at the sale barn all put extra stress on a calf’s immune system. That’s why August is the right time to start getting calves ready before all the stress hits at once.
When 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.
If you’re planning to wean calves this fall, August is when you need to get started.
August really shows you how your replacement heifers are doing.
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.
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.
July really shows which calves are handling the summer well and which ones are starting to struggle.
You 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.
June can make the breeding season seem better than it actually is.
