Regional Roundup

Rain is usually a welcome sight. However, wet summers can make for bad winters. Of all the articles and issues that I’ve had the opportunity to write about in the past two years with Progressive Cattleman, this topic is the most important for an operation’s success.

Drought in recent years has led to an increased interest in feedyards feeding beef cows throughout the winter months on a custom-fed basis. Custom feeding breeding stock may be an economical alternative for the cow-calf producer to maintain the herd in some cases.

As many producers in the western U.S. realize, a large component of their ability to remain profitable and sustainable comes down to how effectively they are able to maximize the limited resources available to them.

Fortunately, drought and soil moisture conditions are improving for much of the South Central region. However, due to dry conditions during much of the growing season and a cool spring in some areas, hay supplies are low.

Nobody likes surprises. Neither the runt calf that looks like a baby deer at delivery nor the late-night calf pull is ideal. No one wants those issues. It’s stressful, time-consuming and can be very costly.

With regions across the country experiencing drought conditions for consecutive years, and high hay prices this past spring, many producers chose to integrate forage annuals into their crop rotations or plan to integrate cover crops this fall to expand their grazing season either into the fall or early spring months.