Economic Considerations for Early Weaning

Warren Rusche SDSU Extension Beef Feedlot Management Associate Beef specialists and nutritionists often advise ranchers to wean calves at younger ages as a response to drought conditions. However, what about when moisture conditions are normal? Can weaning calves at 100 to 180 days of age be profitable? For any management practice to be economically feasible, income must increase more than expenses, or expenses must decrease more than income declines. Almost by definition, early…

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You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure: Range Record Keeping

Krista Ehlert Assistant Professor & SDSU Extension Range Specialist Written collaboratively by Krista Ehlert and Pat Johnson. The best businesses are the ones that are properly managed in ways that result in profit. However, if you’re a livestock producer this is probably where you’re thinking, “easier said than done.” At the core, though, livestock production is no different than any other business out there – effective management requires good metrics, and metrics come…

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Studies indicate patch burning of tallgrass prairie is a valuable option

Practice provides a method to offset carbon emissions from a cow-calf operation MANHATTAN, Kan. – To the uninitiated, it’s an awesome and sometimes scary sight, coming over a hill to encounter a burning prairie as far as the eye can see. But planned burning – also called prescribed burning – of the tallgrass prairie is a proven effective and widely used way to control invasive plant species. The practice also improves forage quality…

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Cattle breeders should check bull fertility after recent snowstorms

By Donald Stotts  STILLWATER, Okla. – The extreme winter weather that hit the southern Plains States in mid-February may have reduced bull fertility in herd sires – potentially bad news for the economic well-being of cow-calf operations.  Cattle breeders should have a veterinarian check their bulls for frostbite to the animal’s scrotum and testicles as soon as possible so that arrangements can be made to protect the herd’s reproductive efficiency, said Dr. Rosslyn…

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Don’t let the green grass fool you

Dr. Katie VanValin- Assistant Extension Professor- University of Kentucky. Perhaps it was the full season worth of winter weather we got in one-week last month, or the above average temperatures that followed, but either way we are rounding the bend and spring will be here before we know it. One of the things I love most about spring is that along with the warmer temperatures and longer days, inevitably comes greener pastures. However,…

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Managing Postpartum Anestrus in Beef Cows for a Successful Breeding Season

Kacie McCarthy, UNL Cow-Calf Specialist Beef cows must recover from the nutrient and physical demands of calving and lactation and will have 80 to 85 days to return to estrus after calving to potentially maintain a yearly calving interval. Photo credit Troy Walz. Listen to a discussion of the content in this article on this episode of the BeefWatch podcast. You can subscribe to new episodes in iTunes or paste http://feeds.feedburner.com/unlbeefwatch into your podcast app. As calving season…

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Cattle Chat: Keeping calves healthy

Providing a clean environment where calves less than a month of age are not in close-contact with older calves is the best way to keep scours from developing in the herd. | Download this photo. K-State veterinarians offer ways reduce risk of calves developing, sharing scours MANHATTAN, Kan. — The old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” coined by Benjamin Franklin rings true for many of life’s situations. And…

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Biosecurity for Beef Cow-Calf Operations: Managing the Entry of New Animals

Russ Daly Professor, SDSU Extension Veterinarian, State Public Health Veterinarian Infectious disease can impact cow-calf operations in dramatic (death losses and illnesses) and not-so-dramatic (drains on weight gain and reproductive performance) ways. Some of these disease issues are caused by endemic germs (those found normally in a herd’s animals), while other problems arise after a novel germ has found its way onto an operation. These novel disease issues tend to be more noticeable…

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How Often Should You Check Cows During Calving Season?

Russ Daly Professor, SDSU Extension Veterinarian, State Public Health Veterinarian The routine “calving check” is one of the most important tasks on the list of beef cattle producers during calving season. Most producers have their own plan for how often they give their calving herd the once-over, but some may have not considered how their animals’ physiology should guide this schedule. Incredible advances in technology have made it easier for producers to perform…

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New prescribed burning findings are part of upcoming K-State Cattlemen’s Day research reports

Kansas State University is involved in a six-year study to compare the effects of prescribed burning of the Flint Hills later in the summer versus the traditional early spring burning. | Download this photo. March 5 event will be online this year MANHATTAN, Kan. – Two years into a sweeping six-year study on prescribed burning in the Flint Hills, Kansas State University researchers already have take-home messages about cattle performance and plant response when…

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