Herd Health

There are several ways to castrate calves. Regardless of method, it’s generally less stressful for the animal at a young age. Daryl Meyer, a veterinarian in North Platte, Nebraska, says his preference is the earlier, the better – and the cleaner, the better.

By now it is well established that despite greater knowledge of animal health and management, analytical abilities and advanced antibiotic technologies, morbidity and mortality has increased over the past 10-plus years.

While the headline sounds rather dramatic, it is true that the nutritional management of your herd in late gestation (the three months prior to calving) can have long-term effects.

When Oklahoma cattleman Jeffrey Lynch realized he was “leaving money on the table,” he decided to change his marketing strategy. Lynch runs 70 cows on 460 acres near Perry, Oklahoma.

Research overwhelmingly supports the concept of fetal programming. With so much at stake, cow-calf producers must take time to understand the stages of fetal development.

Before we get too far into this, I have a confession: I can’t actually predict the future. I don’t know exactly what antibiotic use will look like in beef production of the future.