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It’s hard to count the number of wonderful things that come along with calving season: sleepless nights, spring storms, frozen ears (yours and the calves), endless chores, mean mamas, and the list goes on and on. And while in the trenches, it can seem like haying season would be a glorious break. Calving is the point at which the reproductive clock is reset for the next year within your cow herd.

Spring is on the horizon and will be here before we know it. There is talk of spring bull sales; calving is in full swing for many folks; and planning for the spring works has begun.

The Southeast is home to more than 7.3 million beef cows (USDA 2018) and likely marketed more than 4.6 million feeder calves in 2018.

The 2018 production year came and went about as fast as a three-legged cat can cover up poop. Knowing and understanding the passing of time appears to accelerate as a person grows older and hopefully wiser, one also must understand time appears to pass much quicker during periods of prosperity than during periods of hardship.

Since the beginning of livestock production, the tablet has been the choice of farmers and ranchers, whether it is the caveman and his stone tablet, the 20th century cowboy and his paper tablet or today’s producer with their digital tablet.