Date: Mar 01 2018
Breeding Technologies & EPDs & Heifer Development & On Target & Sire SelectionYou hear more about mature cow size and growth potential of calves, now that profit ebbs and flows with the cycle. We’ve written about mature size, but not much about how to use the relevant tools to change it. So now, let’s examine the strategies and tools available, and the unintended consequences of ignoring them.
Date: Feb 01 2018
Heifer Development & On TargetLet’s say you weaned calves last fall but didn’t sell. Instead, you helped them cross the bridge to independent life in your dry lot pen and maybe on to a grazing program. Chances are, those “backgrounded” calves have moved on to a finishing yard or the next phase of heifer development.
Date: Jan 01 2018
Lactation & On Target & WeaningIt looks like weaning weights have gone pretty much nowhere for 15 years. That’s according to a summary of North Dakota State University’s Cow Herd Appraisal of Performance Software (CHAPS) that presents genetic progress as functionally static since 2003. I couldn’t miss that summary, well-publicized and pointed out by just about every contact and source I know.
Date: Dec 13 2017
Gestational Nutrition & On Target & Sire SelectionWe can debate the single largest factor in reproductive success for the cowherd depending on gender: Is there a fertile and able bull in the herd? Are the cows cycling? A failure in either of these systems results in a miserable day come preg-check time, and anyone who has been the victim of a bull gone bad would swear the male side of this equation is the most important. While a fertile bull is important, he is of little use to a cow that is not cycling.
Date: Nov 01 2017
On TargetWe often consider temperament a convenience trait. Looking for bulls to use, we study pedigrees, pictures, performance data and now videos until we develop a list of prospective herd sires. The final call before bidding: is he docile enough? Replacement heifer candidates will follow a similar pattern with “attitude” a deciding factor after you consider many other traits. Even if it’s the last thing you think about at decision time, recent work at Texas A&M suggests disposition affects performance at many points in development.
Date: Oct 17 2017
On Target & WeaningWeaning and “preg checking” tell us how successful our last two breeding seasons were. While many cow herd operators enjoy calving as a time to see the fruits of their labor, I prefer weaning, when management and genetic selection come together in one package. If you fell short in meeting any challenge like keeping pastures vegetative or replacement heifers without records , those effeccts are in full view when calves cross the scale at weaning.
Date: Sep 01 2017
Heifer Development & On TargetYou’ve heard that the key to beef quality could lie in making sure a calf never has a bad day. A paper in the Journal of Dairy Science adds validity—and before you quit reading because the work didn’t come from the beef side, think for a minute about the dairy cow. She’s a model of uniform genetics and focused selection with little nutritional limit to gene expression. She can serve as a great model to evaluate environment for all cows, independent of genetics and nutritional resources.
Date: Aug 01 2017
Health & On TargetThe day you make breeding choices, purchase bulls or buy bred heifers, marketing the calf crop begins. With those decisions in the rear view, it’s time to consider how to make the most of a great mating. Sale day for your spring-born calves grows closer as each day grows shorter, and that brings up weaning.
Date: Jul 01 2017
Health & Nutrition & On TargetThis time of year, you probably spend more time observing than working cattle. Calving is complete and bulls have been turned out with the spring herd. Fall calves are weaned and grass cattle are moving through pastures.
Date: Jun 01 2017
On TargetIt’s been an interesting year for climate, as we could tell halfway through the spring. A parade of wind storms, fires, blizzards
and floods moved swiftly by, leaving every cattle farm and ranch to cope with those and the peculiarities of an early or late spring, with too little or too much moisture. Still, cattle are one of the most adaptable food-animal species,
proven by their thriving herds in operations across North America in heat, humidity, cold, wet and everything in between.
