A high-quality, healthy calf crop doesn’t just happen. It takes well-planned matings, caring for gestating and lactating cows with proper nutrition and management, and a low-stressed, healthy weaned group of calves. Producers know that perhaps the most challenging aspect of that equation is reducing the stress during weaning time, but one progressive seedstock operation in Central Illinois has found a […]
A Three-Step Approach to Successful Weaning
If you are a cattle producer who has raised kids, there are a lot of similarities, especially when it comes to challenges. Think about weaning time and compare it to the first few days of sending your littles to pre-school. Who sheds more tears? At weaning, it could be a toss-up as bawling calves missing […]
How to Get Weaned Calves a Healthy Start
Freshly weaned calves are a lot like small children starting their first day of preschool. They’re learning a new routine in a different environment and eating from a new menu all while being without their mamas for the first time. That equals a lot of stress, which can lead to sickness, going off feed and […]
A Key for Success at All Stages of Production
The RBC Ranch is situated in Southwest Arkansas, where lifelong cattle producers Steve Groves runs his SimAngus cows. Through trial and error, he’s discovered the best ways to make a living – keeping his herd healthy and productive. However, one thing he learned early on is never skimp on a nutrition program. Although he has […]
The Real Impact of Flies
Good things don’t always come in small packages. Take for instance, the fly. This little nuisance is known to cause at least $1.5 billion in losses to the cattle industry annually. Break that down, and it could be costing you, the producer, $30-$50 per pair if you are not engaging in effective fly control management. […]
Progressive Cattleman: Tips for Growing Bulls During Summer Heat
Oil and water. Cats and dogs. Bull fertility and summer heat. All of these are things that don’t necessarily mesh. When it comes to reproductive performance of your herd, you work hard to make sure your cows are in an ideal body condition and are reproductively sound; however, the bull’s reproductive health and condition also […]
A Guide to Pinkeye in your Herd
Pinkeye is a highly contagious infectious disease that impacts cattle across the world. According to a University of Nebraska Veterinary website, pinkeye costs U.S. beef producers between $150-300 million per year. Economic hits can come by way of decreased gain and decreased milk production, therefore decreasing the overall value of your cattle, as well as […]
How to Keep Stockers Gaining Through Summer Heat
After a long cold winter and an overly wet spring, summer might seem like a welcome change. However, the season doesn’t come without its fair share of challenges, especially if you’re grazing stockers. As a stocker operator, you’re going to be confronted with the heat, the possibility of grazing on fescue, flies and the potential […]
Tips for Making Quality Hay
Fresh forage is one low-cost, high-nutrient source of feed for beef and dairy cattle, sheep and horses. However, with a surplus of forage and some land and environmental factors that prohibit grazing fresh forages, making hay is a resourceful way to harvest and store valuable forages for a later time when feed resources become scarcer, […]
Four Ways to Keep Your Cows Bred During the Summer Heat
The summer heat can zap your energy faster than you can rattle off your favorite cow’s pedigree. A typical day of work will make most people tired but add in extreme heat and humidity and sometimes surviving feels like a job in itself. Imagine being a cow out on pasture, in both lactation and gestation. […]
