June: Breeding Herd Management Source: Dr. Robert Wells, animal nutritionist
Breeding herd management encompasses 5 key
areas: breeding season; herd health; nutrition; breeding soundness of bulls/breeding status of cows; and bull selection. The industry-standard breeding season is 90 days,
but Wells recommends tightening it to less than 75 days to keep the herd on a 1-year calving interval. “Ideally, producers should match their calving sea-
son to the peak production and quality of their forage,” he says. “The goal is to have the calves hit the ground 60-75 days prior to peak forage production, so that the cows have the best nutrition available when they reach the top of their lactation curves and need it most.” To maximize productivity, producers have to ensure
that their herd is healthy by implementing health pro- tocols specifi c to each class of animal. When it comes to nutrition, the mineral program is most producers’ greatest weakness, after overstocking and overgrazing. Bulls should undergo an annual breeding soundness
examination before breeding season to ensure they are fertile and physically sound. Palpating the cows not only allows for female fertility management, but it also provides a fail-safe if there was an undetected problem with a bull. Genetically, the cow should fi t the environment and
the bull should fi t the market. Because most produc- ers want to produce the most pounds of beef possible, Wells recommends using purebred bulls, whose EPDs for weaning weight and yearling weight put them in the top 20 percent of their breed.
July: Retained Ownership Sources: Dr. Robert Wells, animal nutritionist, and Steve Swigert, agricultural economist
“It’s been said, ‘If you have good cattle, the longer
you keep them, the more money you tend to make.’ This old industry adage is the premise of retained ownership and it tends to hold true,” Swigert says. Preconditioning, which generally occurs during
the 45-60 day period after weaning, is an investment in time and money. “Through good health and nutrition practices, pre-
conditioning allows the calves to fully express their genetic potential,” Wells says. In many years, the preconditioning phase nets as
much or more as from within the cow-calf phase; thus doubling the net income to the operation with the same number of calves, Swigert says.
74 The Cattleman December 2015
“But it’s not worth the time or effort if a producer
has genetically inferior cattle, a poor health program or poor nutrition,” he says. “Death loss can wipe out any potential gains.”
August: Winter Pasture Management Source: Jim Johnson, soil and crop specialist
“Winter pasture is a source of high-quality nutri-
tion, but it carries a signifi cant price tag,” Johnson says. “Generally, its highest and best use is putting weight on cattle that are still growing, so producers can benefi t from maximized gain.” The question producers must ask and answer is
“How much forage do I need to grow out my preferred class of livestock to my target size?” Once that ques- tion is answered, they have a goal and can determine what species and variety to plant, as well as seeding and fertilization rates and timing.” Although the planting date shifts slightly each year
depending on weather conditions, it is important to have the seed in the ground at the “nebulous” opti- mal planting date, Johnson says. Why? A producer can expect about 30 pounds of dry matter production/ acre/day once the seedlings emerge from the soil. A month’s worth of early production could mean an ad- ditional 1,000 pounds of forage/acre prior to turnout for grazing, which in some years is half of the total fall production. It directly impacts stocking capabilities.
September: Stocker Cattle Management Source: Bryan Nichols, livestock consultant
“While different operators enlist different strategies,
many people make money in the stocker business by taking small sets of cattle that have been discounted for some reason and putting them into larger, more uniform groups,” Nichols says. In the case of cattle destined for the terminal market,
producers generally add value by adding weight to the cattle. “The trick is not paying too much for the calf on the front end, putting weight on the calf in a cost- effective manner in the middle, and understanding — and protecting — the value of the calf in the future.” To be effective, a stocker operator has to take
care of every detail on the production and marketing sides — and have a rock solid grasp of all the perti- nent numbers including break-even, cost of gain and value of gain. “It is high-risk, high-reward business where nothing can be taken for granted,” Nichols says.
thecattlemanmagazine.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124