Calving time and scours. For many producers it seems the two go hand-in-hand. In a perfect world, producers would have ample calving space they could rotate to weekly with fresh, clean bedding in a protected environment away from Mother Nature’s wrath. That does sound good, the reality is most cow-calf operations don’t have that much […]
How to Increase Profit with More Calves and Pounds Weaned
It isn’t every calving season that a producer gets 100-percent calf crop, and accomplishes that in just one month. But this fall, brothers Carter and Locke St. John at Dry Creek Farm in Pell City, Ala., did just that. During breeding season, 31 of their 33 cows were successfully bred, and then all 31 of […]
Ways to Improve Conception Rates in the Cow Herd
Profit in the cow herd starts with reproductive success. If your cows don’t get bred, you’re not going to have calves to market. And feeding an open cow is just not much fun. However, reproductive success is not guaranteed. Several factors go into getting cows bred and keeping them bred. One of those factors is […]
Producer Maximizes Efficiency While Using VitaFerm
Imagine running 600 cows on the same 19 acres all year long, keeping cattle healthier and weaning calves in a less stressful environment. Sounds like a dream come true, but for one cattle producer from Wahpeton, North Dakota, it isn’t a dream. It is his reality after properly planning and making the best use the […]
Preparing Cows for Embryo Transfer
Embryo transfer (E.T.) is an important tool to propagate outstanding genetic influence within the herd, with the potential to produce multiple offspring of the same mating in the same year. Because of the time, labor and expense involved in creating these genetics, we reached out to Trans Ova Genetics, a leader in reproductive technologies, to […]
3 Things Buyers Want to Know When Purchasing Cattle
Information is power. In today’s world, more information is available than ever before on about any topic you have an interest in. For cattle buyers looking to fill their feedlots and backgrounding yards, three pieces of information are essential when it comes time to buy calves: vaccination history, genetic makeup and the nutrition program history. […]
“One More” Embryo is Worth Money in the Bank
Bold letters on the back of each VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® bag, read, “What’s one more worth?” For one cattleman that “one more” embryo resulted in a pregnancy he sold to Nine Mile Ranch in Washington, and that “one more” pregnancy produced a bull calf that sold for $105,000, the highest dollar amount paid for a Red […]
Minimizing Antibiotics and Keeping Your Herd’s Health Headed in the Right Direction
Prevention is the key to good health in your cow herd. Your herd health protocol should include both a sound nutrition program and good vaccination program. A significant component to a good nutrition program is a quality mineral package that works to keep the digestive system in check. Taking a proactive approach to your nutrition […]
Proper Nutrition is Essential to Fetal Development in the Final Trimester
Producers devote a lot of time, energy, expense and effort to make sure their cows have a good nutrition program in place just prior to calving, through lactation and breeding season. What about their last trimester of gestation? Proper nutrition during pregnancy, and especially those last weeks, play a key role in the development of […]
Breeding Season Prep: Focus on Bull Health and Nutrition
Breeding season is just around the corner, you’ve got your cows on a good supplement program and they are in great shape ready for breeding. But what about your bulls? Are they ready to service multiple females during the next few months while contributing 50% of your next calf crop’s genetic material? For optimal performance, […]
