In 1940, my great-grandfather, Joe Mendel, started the Mendel family farm, located outside of Doland, South Dakota. What started as a diversified farm with beef, hogs and small grains is today an operation focused on corn, soybeans, wheat and sunflowers, as well as a 1,000-head feedlot and 600-head cow-calf operation.

If a cow does not get bred, she does not have a calf. That fact alone makes reproduction the number one driver of profitability in a cow-calf operation. But the conversation should not stop there.

Fall calving has its advantages for calf survivability, marketing and reducing calving stress. However, the challenges of fall and winter breeding require some adjustments to management to ensure success. 

I was on my way to Almo, Idaho – literally on the other side of the mountain from my home place near Oakley – to retrieve one of my cows who’d strayed off to the east and down into the Almo Valley instead of heading west to home, as she should have done during the fall gather.

Whether you’re going to stick with spring calving or make the move to fall calving, your fences are a critical component to operational success.