Fall began today, or tomorrow. I can’t be sure unless I check a calendar. It’s the autumnal equinox – the point at which the sun shines equally on both hemispheres of a tilted Earth.

The journey from pasture to plate is fraught with challenges, particularly during the initial receiving period when cattle are most vulnerable. The receiving phase, typically encompassing the first 45 days after cattle arrive at a feedlot, is critical for ensuring their health, well-being and subsequent productivity.

Ensuring the health and productivity of starter cattle is a complex challenge. One of the critical aspects of managing this is understanding and supporting their immune systems, especially during the stressful transition from pasture to backgrounder or feedlot.

As we near the feedlot fall run and cow-calf producers market their calves at the highest prices received to date, every additional pound of gain has greater profit potential.

Depending on who you talk to, attitudes toward the use of implants in beef cattle production are very different. Most finishing yards are using implants today unless cattle are enrolled in a non-implant, natural or organic program that prohibits their use.

And just like that, it’s time for fall processing. Let’s look closely at what we’ll need to give our weaning-aged calves a leg up on their next stage of life, starting with vaccination strategy, implants and deworming.

When to market your calf crop is one of the most important decisions that a producer must make and can have a significant impact on your operation’s profitability. Market dynamics are usually the main drivers behind when a producer decides to sell their calves.

One of the beef industry’s greatest strengths is its diversity. However, this segmentation often results in a calf being transported as many as four to six times prior to harvest, with each transit event inducing stress.

Corn and distillers grains are staples in Midwest finishing diets. Understanding how the various types and inclusion levels of these feed resources impact cattle performance and ultimately the bottom line of an operation is important.