January 22- BBA Seminar

(change from original date)

Mark your calendars for our next BBA seminar which will be on Tuesday evening, January 22, 2019, at the Clifton Civic Center. We will begin at 6:00 pm and will cover cattle working equipment, corral design and fencing. We will have several guest speakers and will discuss the financial benefits of having good cattle pens. Please RSVP to the store so we can plan for enough food. We look forward to hosting you for the evening!

Beef Cattle New Year’s Resolutions

Each of us have made New Year’s Resolutions to improve ourselves. Have you considered making a list to improve your cattle operation? Listed below are several things that will make a cattle operation better.

Inventory your cow herd. Ranchers should know the age and pregnancy status of their herd. Milking ability and the disposition of a cow is also important in evaluating your herd. An inventory will enable you to cull non-productive cows that cost you money and then lower your check at marketing.
Where will I get my replacements? Brood cow replacements can be raised or purchased. If you have good maternal genetics in your herd, keeping your best heifers might be a good option. You will need a new calving ease bull for breeding. There are times in the cattle cycle when buying your replacement females might be your best option. You have the opportunity to bring in some new genetics to upgrade the herd. If the replacements are bred, you can market a calf sooner. Some operations buy pairs (cow & calf) to replace the culled cows.

Are my Genetics right? Having the right bull on a cow herd is very important. Do I need to replace my bull? Are you maximizing hybrid vigor by using crossbreeding? Am I getting the most pounds to sell?

Establish a Herd Health Program. Ranchers should schedule to “work” their cow herd at least twice per year. Cows need annual vaccinations and de-worming, along with palpating and a soundness check. Calves need Blackleg and respiratory vaccines along with de-worming. Bull calves should be castrated. Fly control is also important during spring/summer.

Upgrade Cattle Working Pens. Have you ever procrastinated on working your cattle because your pens were bad or difficult to use? Top level producers have good working facilities. Consider an upgrade.

Selling Calves at a Higher Price. Begin with the end in mind. Calves with added value will put more $ in your pocket. Establish a weaning protocol to sell your calves through a special sale such as the VAC 45. It will make $.

A solid nutrition program is vital! Good cow condition drives everything concerning reproduction and calf weaning weight. Good cow condition starts with plenty of forage, either grass or hay. When forage quality is not good enough to hold cow condition, a good supplement is so important. Purina’s All Season Nutrition Program will help support forage all year, whether it’s good or bad. It is truly the best solution on the market today. Of course, keeping mineral out consistently is the first step in supplementation. We have to get a calf out of every cow each year. Good cow condition year round will get that done. Consider using All Season’s Nutrition!