Despite major differences in cattle production nationally, there’s one thing I’m comfortable generalizing: Cattle producers do not have an abundance of time, labor or resources.
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The stocker cattle segment of the beef industry takes young, lightweight, weaned calves and develops them for the finishing phase. This gain is accomplished by utilizing pasture and range grazing, as well as other forage-based diets. Calves enter the stocker operation at 300 to 650 pounds and are grown to greater than 750 pounds. The growth of these calves is focused on frame, muscle and bone development, not fat deposition. Typically, moderately framed calves work well in stocker operations. Stocker enterprises are margin operators that capitalize on low-cost weight gains, compared to the finishing phase in a feedlot. The three most important factors of a successful stocker enterprise are management, calf health, and nutrition.
Just as cattle genetics and management practices have advanced over the last few generations, nutritional knowledge and practices have also evolved. These developments have allowed calves to continually improve, meeting the increasing demands of cattle producers and consumers alike.
Cow-calf producers often simply view creep feeding as a way to increase calf weaning weights beyond what can be produced with mother’s milk and available forage. However, the benefits of creep feeding can reach well beyond weaning weight and are summarized below:
In the Intermountain West, the sagebrush steppe ecosystem is a crucial resource for the livestock industry because it provides a large portion of forages for grazing livestock. Sagebrush steppe also provides important habitat for hundreds of wildlife species.
One of the most sensitive subjects in neighbor relations for landowners concerns the removal of trees and brush along property lines. While cutting brush and trees on one’s own land may seem simple, the matter becomes more complicated when the brush and trees lie along property lines or result from overhanging plants and trees from neighboring property.
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