Frigid temperatures, howling winds, ice storms, freezing rain and snowdrifts are just a few of the winter highlights waiting just around the corner.

As a seedstock producer and a cattle veterinarian, having a healthy and productive herd is a top priority for my herd and my clients’ herds. However, one of the most concerning diseases I am diagnosing more and more frequently in beef cattle is Johne’s disease.

Where I come from, most people feed hay during the winter. Lots and lots of hay. Feeding hay requires harvesting it or buying and increasing feed costs to the point of loss of profitability in many cases.

Just as America is doing, the cattle industry is separating itself into two classes: the Haves and Have-Nots. According to the USDA, 57 percent of American ranchers have less than 20 cows, and the average herd is only 42 head.

Every year, about the middle of June, we turn the cows out onto one unit or the other of our Forest Service allotment.

It’s coming. Political correctness in the animal kingdom. I have conferred with those fervent homogenizers of the once colorful and descriptive English language to formulate the following list:

Hopefully, all is going well at your operation. Every region has its strengths and weaknesses. For example, in the Southeast, we have to fight against the negatives of humidity and moisture in cattle production but, in turn, we have the potential for 10-month grazing.

Gazing across lush, green wheat or rye or triticale pasture, one might assume the nutrient needs of stocker cattle are well supplied. However, concentrations of macro- and trace minerals can range from adequate to deficient in these forages.

Harvest is winding down, cows are on cornstalks, and the days continue to get shorter. As we gear up for winter, here are several considerations for the cow herd.

Colder weather means it is time to start thinking about supplementation strategies for spring-calving herds. The change in forage availability and quality may require an energy or protein supplement to meet cow nutrient requirements.