While most of us are either dodging rain or praying for it in the hayfield, fall will be here soon, and weaning time will sneak up on us again. Whether you ship your calves straight off the cow or choose to wean them, those days around weaning are key times for management decisions to be made and data to be collected. But not just for the calves, also for the cows.

It is hard to have blanket recommendations for producers across the U.S., as environments and production practices vary so much between regions and even producers within regions. Nonetheless, there are some basic principles and practices that will give your calves the best chance at navigating the weaning process.

It’s never too early to start planning for weaning. Several factors play a role in making weaning management decisions, such as drought, cow body condition, pasture conditions, weaning weight, calf sale contracts, labor and many others.

Our decision on when to wean calves is an incredibly powerful lever we have as managers. How should we make the decision on when to wean?

A new tool for ranchers could be a game-changer when preconditioning calves.

Fall is a busy time in the cattle business. For the rancher and cow-calf producer, it is the time to reap the fruits of our labor.