Feed & Nutrition

For many years, ranchers have held to the conventional wisdom that time of calving could be influenced by the time of feeding.

The weather across North America was extremely variable throughout the summer and fall of 2018, with some areas seeing extremely hot temperatures and drought and others experiencing excess rainfall or flooding.

Calving season is rapidly approaching, so it is time to assess cow body condition and nutrient status and make adjustments if necessary before the onset of lactation.

Adequate nutrition is critical, for not only the health and rebreeding success of the mother, but also for the health and vigor of the calf. Interestingly, feed costs represent the greatest cost for cow-calf producers, representing as much as 50 to 60 percent of total production costs.

Increasing levels of dietary fumonisin do not adversely affect feedlot cattle performance, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist in Amarillo, Texas.

The financial success of your operation depends on one day of the year. We ask a cow to gestate for nine months, lactate for seven months and recover from calving in 45 days to maintain one calf per calendar year.