Weaning is an essential process in cattle management for both the cow and the calf. It teaches the calf to be independent and allows it to go out on its own, often like sending our kids off to college. For the cow, weaning allows the reallocation of nutrients away from a nursing calf, giving the […]
How to Make Weaning Calves Stress-Free
Weaning Calves Weaning calves is perhaps one of the most stressful times in a cow-calf operation. The bawling calves are stressed, their mama cows are confused, and the producer is trying to make sure everyone stays where they need to be. However, with proper preparation, good management practices, and a solid plan, you can lessen […]
How to Develop a Cattle Diet Plan for Your Herd
Cattle Diet Plan Raising cattle isn’t as simple as it once was. Generations ago, our great-grandparents likely bought some cows from a neighbor, purchased a bull from another neighbor, and hoped for the best. Their cattle diet plan probably didn’t exist, as they fed the feedstuffs that they raised on their farm – corn and […]
A Year-Long Planner: What to Feed Cows
What To Feed Cows Cow nutritional requirements fluctuate throughout the calendar year and the annual production cycle. Fortunately, cattle producers have a variety of management systems to choose from. They can select calving times, weaning protocols, nutrition programs, and marketing scenarios. However, when it comes to what to feed cows, the production cycle of the […]
Provide Quality Nutrition During Cattle Maintenance
Cattle Maintenance We expect a lot from that mother cow. She harvests grass and converts it to energy. When the time is right, she gets bred; 283 days later, she births a calf. Then she turns into a milking machine and uses everything she has to grow that calf during lactation, only to prepare for […]
VitaFerm® Offers Minerals for Cows in Every Stage of Production
Minerals for Cows Everywhere you turn, input costs keep creeping up, slowly and steadily. Feed, medicine costs, fencing, and basic supplies for cattle producers are increasing. Often times the first sacrifices that producers make are vitamins and minerals for cows. Cows require vitamins and minerals for various essential physiological functions to support overall health, growth, […]
How Soon Will a Cow Breed Back After Calving
We expect a lot from a cow. She spends roughly 283 days in gestation, delivers a calf, and then we prepare her for breed back and expect her to conceive problem-free during her first heat. That is a lot for the body to handle, and the cow does it, hopefully, year after year after year. […]
Tips for Preparing Cows for Breed Back
Breed Back Spring is in the air, and there is no better sight than baby calves running across the hillside with their shiny coats. What we don’t see is what is happening inside that mother cow, a magnificent reproductive machine. She’s doing her best to raise a growthy, vigorous calf. All while preparing her body […]
How to Treat Heat Stress in Cattle
Nobody likes to feel stressed, cattle included. And those cattle definitely don’t want to experience heat stress. But with the summer quickly approaching, it’s inevitable that heat stress is going to strike, ready or not. Preventing heat stress is actually preferred over treatment. But there is always going to be some need to treat heat […]
Battling Heat Stress: Cattle Symptoms, Condition Causes and Prevention Strategies
Heat Stress Cattle Raise your hand if you enjoy heat and humidity. If you are in production agriculture, specifically in the livestock business, chances are those hands will remain at your side or maybe tucked deep inside your pockets. Summer’s high heat and humidity bring extra challenges to livestock producers when it comes to overall health and […]
