Proper off-season management of bulls can ensure longevity within the herd and a subsequent successful breeding season.
Chuck Coffey uses prescribed fire to boost the land’s health and ability to support beef cattle.
Weaning calves from first-calf cows early offers benefits to the animals and operation. Robert Wells, Ph.D., livestock consultant, shares the advantages and tips.
Research demonstrates the advantages of preconditioning calves. The following tips are designed to help producers be more successful during the preconditioning phase of calf development.
When buying land with the goal of producing cattle, consider stocking rate, forage quality and type, soil type and fertility, terrain and slope of the land, water sources in each pasture, number of pastures and traps, working pen availability and condition, fence condition and type, and other infrastructure.
Commercial cow-calf producers can use across-breed expected progeny differences (AB-EPDs) to compare bulls of different breeds and select the right one for their goals.
In 2017, the Integrity Beef Alliance voted to include more bull breeds, modified requirements for breed composition for eligible calves, offered additional marketing avenues and a changed sale format, and continued developing the Integrity Beef Premier Replacement Female Program.
Winter supplementation for a cow can account for anywhere between 40 and 60 percent of the annual cost of maintaining the cow. Therefore, producers should plan their winter supplementation strategies during the growing season to allow for more options and to reduce winter feed costs when utilizing bermudagrass pastures.
DNA testing has become an economically viable tool that should be used when making selection decisions for commercial cattle producers.
Proper off-season management of bulls can ensure longevity within the herd and a subsequent successful breeding season.
Producers can ensure they are choosing the best feed for their livestock by understanding the information on a feed tag.
Properly designed and thought-out facilities will be safe for the producer and animal and will allow for cattle to be easily worked in a timely fashion.
Intentional beef producers share many characteristics when it comes to managing their operations for healthy herds and profits.
Intentional beef producers will develop a winter feeding strategy and calving season that reduces the cost of winter feed.
Develop a cost-effective winter feeding program to meet a cow’s protein and energy requirements while saving money.
Developing a herd of “regenerative cows” will give you efficiency and help you be profitable while leaving the land better than you found it.
Producers can save money by using native grass as a standing hay crop when overwintering a cow herd, since the supplemental feed costs are less than feeding hay plus supplementation.