Where will your calves be three months from now? What about six months from now? It is never too early to start thinking about castrating calves, sending steers off to the feedlot or whatever the next step in your operation is.

A complete breeding soundness evaluation (BSE) for every bull, 45 to 60 days before each breeding season, is critical. It takes sperm 60 days to develop and mature.

We often focus primarily on heifer and cow nutrition because it is of great importance; however, it’s also important to remember that 50% of your calf crop’s genetics come from the sire.

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.

Just as seasons change, cow herds will transition through production phases.

Profitability of cow-calf operations is largely determined by cow reproductive performance.

Many publications on pregnant cow nutrition note the changing nutrient demands during pregnancy, calving and lactation. Nutrient needs are at their highest during peak lactation and slowly decline as the calf grows and begins to consume more feedstuffs than milk. 

Body condition scoring (BCS) is nothing novel, exciting or earth-shattering, but it does pay! It is such a basic concept in the cattle industry that, without meaning to offend anyone, I dare to say it is elementary. However, it is also widely underused.