Courtesy of bovinevetonline.com
As I mentioned in the previous post here, an effective strategy to control flies is necessary for a grazing plan. Horn flies are a very damaging pest for beef cattle here in Texas. Research has shown that a calf infested with more than 200 flies will weigh 15 to 20lbs less at weaning. In order to suppress them in the best way you should understand their life cycle and possible control strategies.
Finding a good cattle breeder is a very important decision to make. The cattle that you will be buying will be having an impact on your herd’s genetics for years to come. A good cattle breeder should have a very strict selection strategy. Not just with the ones that they are selling but also the ones that they’ll be keeping in their own herd. Here are some tips to help you find a good one:
What is the proper strategy to develop replacement heifers for my cowherd? This is a question many producers have asked themselves. Developing a replacement heifer is one of the most expensive management decisions a producer will make. Making this decision can have long term impacts on your herd’s profitability.
The lull before calving season begins is a good time to ensure that your cows are up to date. You should work them about 1 to 3 months before calving in order to ensure they will be on the right foot. This is also a good time to make some observations and to begin planning ahead. Here are some things to do before calving season begins.
There is a long debate on which season is best for calving either spring or fall time. Calving in the spring could be the most economical because you will be selling the calves before winter. Fall calving could get you a higher price however because calf prices are generally at their season highs when you wean them. While they both have their benefits, as well as the problems, there are some factors you will need to consider in order to decide which one would be best for you.
Making it work in the cattle industry is a delicate balance of increasing performance while keeping costs low. There is of course a trade-off for which ever option that you choose. You can keep costs low but that will affect your herd’s performance. Choosing to increase performance will require some additional costs, such as in feed. Developing a nutrition plan can help with this balance.
As we have come to the middle of January that means that calving season is just about to start. Generally this time of year can be a pretty stressful on the producer. There are of course things that you can do to reduce that stress for you and your family. Here are some things you can do to prepare for this hectic time of year.
There are many articles that discuss ways to increase your cow’s fertility in order to increase your profits out there. While many of them make valid points and have scientific facts to back them up, they usually involve increasing input costs as well. A little increase in your input costs can be handled when the markets are good, but what happens when the prices for cows goes down (as they will do)? Here are some tips to increase reproduction rates without breaking the bank.
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:
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.
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