The increased cow mature weight equates to an increase in stocking rate if cow numbers are not adjusted. As stocking rate increases we know that weaning weights and rebreeding rates decrease.
Good growing conditions in 2023 provided producers with better hay production than seen in the last couple of years, so using high-quality hay as a supplement can definitely be an option this winter.
When cows get below their lower critical temperature and get into cold stress, they can adapt by increasing feed consumption to increase their basal metabolic rate and increase heat of fermentation.
Setting stocking rates on wheat pasture in the fall and winter has large impacts on performance of growing calves and can have large influences on productivity of pastures during the spring.
Profitability of the cow-calf enterprise is controlled by a web of production and economic factors but is rarely associated with maximized weaning weight.
Congestive heart failure is estimated to cause 4% of feedlot mortality causing significant economic losses to feedlots as the majority of these deaths occur late in the finishing period.
Oklahoma State investigated using distiller’s grain cubes in a supplementation program for growing steers with mineral supplements containing ionophores offered free-choice in a separate complete mineral mix.
Implanting your calves before weaning is cost effective and will increase weaning weights of both steers and heifers with very little impact on reproduction rates of replacement heifers.
Implanting preweaning is one of the most cost-effective ways to increase production for the cow-calf producer, and research shows implanted steer calves outgain bull calves.
OSU Department of Animal and Food Sciences and the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association will host a Beef Finishing Field Day on April 27th in conjunction with OCA's Steer Carcass Challenge.
Hay inventories at the start of winter-feeding were largely depleted and there appears to be little carryover for next year. Limited regrowth for most native hay meadows last fall will limit production.
An analysis of calf sales through the Superior Livestock Auction by Kansas State University and Merck Animal Health looked at traits of load lots of calves that had impacted sales price.
As growing conditions improve on wheat pastures that have been grazed short all winter long, the threat of bloat rises. Here's how to combat the onset of bloat in grazing calves.
Practices that decrease feed costs without affecting productivity have potential to improve profitability. Ionophores can increase energetic efficiency and reduce production of waste molecules such as methane.
Growth rates and carcass weights have been increasing over the last 30 years. However, little research has been conducted to determine how aggressive selection for production traits affects cow maintenance requirements.
In every drought cycle some producers have an earlier end to the drought than others while others are more severely affected by drought. This cows are often available to purchase, but they aren't always a bargain.
When cows get below their lower critical temperature and get into cold stress, they can adapt by increasing feed consumption to increase their basal metabolic rate and increase heat of fermentation.
Faced with conditions where it will likely be valuable to buy or retain calves this fall to sell as feeders next spring, producers should evaluate options in self-fed rations.
Winter backgrounding programs in most areas will not include grazing this year, which makes calculating precise ration costs and projecting breakevens critical for success.
Why should buyers at cattle auctions pay $10 to $15 per cwt premiums for the best cattle that have received the best management, if they can get the same thing at commodity prices?
Shrink is a concern because it reduces sales weight, but abnormal levels of shrink is often used as a health indicator for cattle arriving in receiving facilities at stocker operations, grow yards, and feedlots.
If you’re out of grass and about to start feeding hay it’s time to take drastic action to maintain your cowherd and prevent further injury to pastures.
Warm-season annuals are often thought of as emergency grazing and hay crops when late spring and early summer hay harvests are lacking. Recent rains in some areas offer an opportunity to plant warm-season annuals.
Worries about drought and how to make it through the winter with limited or no stored forage has monopolized our thoughts, energy, and time. There are critical steps that need to be made in order for us to make it.
Performance of stocker calves on native range declines from highs of around 2 to 3 pounds per day during the spring and early summer to less than one pound per day through the late summer.
Research has shown weaning weights can be increased by over 30 pounds and pregnancy rates by over 10% by deworming cows in the spring and again in mid-summer.
In hot summer conditions, heat transfer failures cause accumulation of body heat resulting in heat stress, reduced performance, animal discomfort, or death. Here's some tips to help get your cattle through high temps!
Although drought cannot be avoided entirely, a good forage management plan will lessen the impact on forages and hasten pasture recovery when growing conditions return.
Addressing the water needs of cattle is a complex process depending on water quality, weather patterns, time of day, feed moisture content, and animal factors such as bodyweight and stage of production.
An emergency preparedness plan can assist a cattlemen’s ability to respond to varying threats. Developing a disaster plan is a good idea for both people and all the animals they care for on a farm or ranch.
Cattlemen are constantly searching for more information on shrinkage of cattle through the marketing channels. Generally, the amount of shrink varies with the type of feed cattle are on before penning and transport.
Feed is a major cost input for all segments of beef production. Feed efficiency is always a primary determinant of profitability, but when feed costs are high, it becomes even more important.
Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is still a serious threat to the economics of beef production accounting for $800 to $900 million in losses from death loss, treatment cost, and reduced production.
Wheat and other small grain pastures have been short, but as growing conditions improve, forage growth comes on rapidly. Rapidly growing small grain forage can lead to bloat of grazing cattle.
First it was just drought, now we have war in eastern Europe. On Feb. 24 Feeder Cattle futures were down over $4, Live Cattle were down over $2. The futures market jitters have given a lot of us more to worry about.