Deworming decisions are farm-specific and depend on the age of the animal, how much exposure they had to infective larvae while grazing this spring and summer or the previous spring and summer, when they were last dewormed, and what products were used.
Management options that a spring-calving cow herd may consider to get through the winter feeding season when hay is in short supply. The examples given use general assumptions because options and costs vary from farm to farm and over time.
Bringing new calves to the feedlot is stressful for them due to transportation, adjusting to a new home, changing feed, exposure to disease, and establishing social order with new cattle. Minimizing both clinical and subclinical disease in feedlots is essential for producers to improve profitability.
Keeping your livestock safe from microbes, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi, is the biosecurity goal that all farms should have. Wearing clean, sanitized footwear helps meet this goal as foot traffic moves microbes to and around the farm.
Finishing rations in our part of the country are usually around 10% roughage, give or take, to get energy levels high enough to finish cattle that will meet packer expectations efficiently. Corn makes up much of the remainder of the ration, and this corn is most often coarsely rolled or cracked.
Beef cow-calf producers are feeling the pinch of low pasture and hay yields due to drought conditions across the state. Corn silage is another feed source that can be used to help meet the herd’s nutritional needs.
Using the right equipment when vaccinating your cattle requires the right tools. The correct syringes and needles must be used in addition to a well-designed and functioning headgate to restrain cattle so injections may be safely administered in the neck area.
For decades, livestock producers have moved animals on and off the farm by way of sale, leasing, renting, and between other facilities or pastures owned by the farm. With these movements comes the risk of the introduction or spread of disease.
The frequency of hauling cattle varies from farm to farm. Some farms haul on a regular basis and others only a few times a year. In either situation, breaking down alongside the road — or even worse, in a traffic crash — while hauling cattle is not on anyone’s bucket list.
In the increasing discussions about how to address climate change there are conflicting claims about the need to address methane (CH4) emissions. Some people argue that methane emitted by cows is a primary cause of climate change. Others argue that methane from beef and dairy production is not of much concern because of its relatively short duration in the atmosphere.
