Each fall when you go to market with your weaned calves, it seems like there are a handful of outliers in your calf crop that could cost you some premiums. But don’t dismay; there are ways to find value for every calf that you’ve produced; it might just take some extra time or some different […]
Tag: Gain Smart
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 […]
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 […]
A Guide to Reduce Heat Stress in Stocker Operations
As cattle producers, when the temperature rises, you begin to feel the pressure of keeping the herd healthy and efficient. The warmer it gets outside, the more your herd runs the risk of decreased performance, increased sickness and ultimately economic losses. And when you put yourself in the shoes of the stocker operator, this pressure […]
Seeing is Believing When it Comes to Healthy Calves
For one progressive cattleman, seeing is believing. And seeing a program on RFD-TV several years ago, has made a difference in the way Tom Carter, Reidsville, North Carolina, backgrounds and markets cattle. Carter buys 300 head of calves throughout the year that he backgrounds on grass, hay and mineral. He puts the calves together and […]
Summer Gains are Possible
Summertime. For cattle producers the season means turning cows out to green grass, having cows bred, and backgrounding weaned calves. However, expecting young calves to gain in extreme conditions can sometimes be a challenge. That’s why providing them with the best nutrition possible is imperative during this most stressful time of their lives. “During that […]
Using Nutrition as a Tool in Your Program
Being a backgrounder, cattle feeder or cow-calf producer is more than a job, more than a hobby and more than a way of life. For many people it can be classified as their job or their passion, but at the end of the day, it is also an investment. And, with any investment, isn’t your […]
3D Cattle Co. Values Mineral Program that Makes Calves Healthiest
Being a steward of both the land and cattle on 3D Cattle Co. in Southeast Alabama is not just a livelihood for Bret Dalrymple, but a way of life that’s been passed down through the generations and one that he is working to pass down to his children. He knows that healthy cattle gain more […]
Getting Your Stockers Prepared for Turn Out
Stocker calves can be a good investment and are a great source of converting available forage into protein. However, those producers who plan to run stockers need to be prepared with good health, nutrition and vaccination protocols in place before the first calf steps off the truck. There are two critical time periods for the […]
