Supplementing the cow herd with organic trace minerals improves ovarian activity, increases conception rates and helps cattle breed back sooner. Calves from supplemented cows are also in better health and immune status.

In the last 75 to 100 years, we have seen cow size go from belt-buckle cattle to hat-brim cattle. Between 1975 and 2005, the average cow weight in the U.S. at slaughter increased from 1,050 to 1,350 pounds. Since 2005, cow size in the U.S. has probably pushed into the 1,400- to 1,500-pound range. 

Selecting cattle that match the forage resources and environment of an operation is essential for long-term success. But how can producers identify and select animals that will maintain body condition throughout the grazing season?

Land is our largest investment, asset and expense. So how exactly can we add to its production? One key goal to start with: Convert unproductive land to productive. Cattle perform miracles in converting poor land into production.

A cow’s plane of health and nutrition can have a lasting and profound impact on her offspring throughout their lives, too.

Over the years, research has shown that to be productive, each cow needs to be maintained at a certain body condition or within a certain range.

Ranchers are constantly striving to maximize the productivity of their native rangeland, as raising and selling heavy and healthy calves is key to profitability. Helping producers enhance calf weight gain while maintaining the optimum body condition of the cow herd is critical to keeping operations profitable.

Efficiency is efficiency, right? Turns out, it’s probably not that simple. Efficiency in a feedlot and at the cow-calf level are two very different things.