With November here, it is time to make sure cattle are ready for the winter. November or December is the time when most operations treat cattle for lice. Lice are easily transmitted from animal to animal, so it is critical to treat all animals in the herd and also to treat any new animals before introducing them.

Winter supplementation of protein and energy (e.g., TDN equals total digestible nutrients) is a topic that poses a lot of questions, and there are several answers or supplement choices that can work well depending on the situation.

Regardless of whether you are buying hay or feeding the hay you raised, it is a good idea to test the hay to determine what, if any, supplementation will be needed based on the body condition score and nutrient requirements of your cows.

I often hear people say they want a higher phosphorus (P) level in their mineral to help with reproduction. Before feeding a higher phosphorus mineral, it is important to take a look back at research on phosphorus supplementation and what exactly was observed in those studies.

A mineral supplement in a cow-calf operation is designed to provide minerals and vitamins that may be lacking in the forage. A complete free-choice mineral supplement for grazing cattle will have four main components:

I often receive calls from producers wanting feeding recommendations because their “calves are not big enough to sale.” Focusing only on a traditional sale weight for a commercial cow-calf operation can often end up reducing net profits.

The length of the breeding season and the number of breeding seasons per year are questions that must be addressed by all cow-calf producers. While we talk about a breeding season, what we are really focused on is the resulting calving season.

Treatment of horn flies is important from both an economic and animal welfare standpoint. On average, horn flies have been shown to reduce average daily gain (ADG) in stocker cattle and replacement heifers by 13.6 percent or about 0.2 pound per day.

As discussed last month, regardless of your operation goals, it is critical to evaluate all bulls for scrotal circumference, calving ease, birthweight, structural soundness and disposition.