Calving seasons vary across the country and they can even vary across the road depending on operational goals. Marketing strategy is one factor that can shift calving periods for ranches.
“About 60% to 65% of our calf crop is born in February, March and April,” shares Dr. Robin Falkner.
Falkner is currently a technical service veterinarian for Elanco Animal Health but has served producers via private practice and extension prior to this role.
While the majority of cattle are born during specific months of the year, cattle need to be harvested year-round. Fall calving can put ranchers at an advantage when done strategically.
“That creates a price basis between calves that are born in the spring and those born in the fall,” explains Falkner. “And calves born in the fall bring more money, often way more than what it costs in additional management.”
This price basis is an attractive reason to shift a calving season to fall, but ranchers also make this shift to improve health outcomes, too.
“Oftentimes what we call spring calving now is winter calving,” Falkner says. “We end up with cattle that have significant weather stress from cold weather.”
Cold weather or other environmental factors like mud or confinement can increase stress and increase calf susceptibility to scours and respiratory illness. Warmer and drier fall temperatures naturally reduce stress on cows, calves and humans. However, an appropriate fall calving window must be recognized for geographical regions.
“Fall calvers have to be better managers,” Falkner says.
Price and health advantages of fall calving are clear, but it takes intentionality matching this system to the right environments to see these.
He says, “We’ve only got a window in there where in the fall we’re really in the thermal neutral zone for cattle and particularly for calves.”
Falkner explains that calves thrive in a temperature range of 55°F to 77°F. That doesn’t take into consideration humidity or moisture. Outside of this range energy resources begin to get diverted away from growth.
Cow nutrition is another big factor to consider when managing for health and performance in fall-calving systems.
Unlike many spring-calving herds that are breeding cows as forage quality is increasing, fall-calving herds often face the challenge of maintaining body condition and reproductive performance as winter approaches. Falkner emphasizes ranchers must think beyond a single body condition score and instead focus on the direction cows are headed nutritionally.
“A heifer at six that is on a trajectory to lose body condition is not going to breed nearly as well as one that’s at five and is maintaining or gaining condition,” he says.
For that reason, forage testing, supplementation plans and grazing management should be addressed well before calving begins. Ranchers need to understand not only what feed resources they have available, but also how those resources align with the nutritional demands of late gestation, lactation and rebreeding.
“We really need to do things like analyze our forage,” Falkner says.
He encourages producers to think proactively rather than reactively. Whether it’s repairing feeding equipment, preparing calving supplies or evaluating winter feed inventories, successful cattlemen are planning for the next season long before it arrives.
“The best managers are always a season ahead,” Falkner says.
That same mindset applies to herd health programs. Vaccination protocols should be designed around both disease prevention and marketing goals. Falkner notes many producers view vaccines solely as a way to protect cattle from illness, but they can also increase the value and marketability of calves.
“One of the primary reasons we vaccinate in herds is the marketability of our calves,” he says. “We can absolutely change the value of those calves.”
Timing is critical when implementing vaccination programs. Vaccines do not provide immediate protection, and many require several weeks before maximum immunity develops. Maternal vaccines intended to boost antibodies in colostrum also require careful scheduling to ensure calves receive the greatest benefit after birth.
“When we give a vaccine, it doesn’t work immediately,” says Falkner. “It’s going to take about 30 to 45 days for it to give us its maximum protection.”
Because every operation has different handling schedules, forage resources and marketing objectives, Falkner encourages producers to work closely with their veterinarian to build a program that fits their herd rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all protocol.
Fall-calving producers should also pay attention to seasonal challenges that may not be as prevalent during winter or early spring calving. Fly pressure, for example, can be significant when calves are born during late summer and early fall. Rather than relying on standard recommendations, Falkner says fly-control strategies should be designed around the period of greatest risk for the herd.
Ultimately, he believes the most successful producers are those who spend time observing their cattle and allowing the animals to guide management decisions.
“You need to go out there and I would say almost commune with the cows and spend a lot of quiet time just observing,” he says.
Cattle communicate constantly through their behavior, body condition and performance. A group of cows losing condition, calves struggling with flies or cattle bunching during grazing can all signal that management adjustments are needed.
As producers prepare for another calving season, Falkner encourages them to question long-standing practices and evaluate whether they still serve the operation’s goals.
“There should not be a single thing in your herd that that’s the reason we always did it,” he says.
Fall calving offers opportunities for improved calf value and herd health, but success depends on matching the system to the environment, maintaining strong nutrition and implementing proactive herd health management. When those pieces come together, producers can position both cows and calves for a productive and profitable future.
Listen to the full conversation on the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast.
