As I write this, it’s hard for those of us in the upper Midwest to think about fly season. It just snowed, temperatures are more than 20 degrees below normal and there’s more snow in the extended forecast. However, Mother Nature will eventually get her act together and fly season will begin.
Why all the fuss about beef cattle feed intake?
During several recent dealer meetings, intake has been a common topic of discussion. Talk has ranged from modifying total feed intake to the need for predictable intake of certain nutrients and additives to the control of self-fed supplements.
Bouts of grass tetany could be just around the corner
Springtime can be a very busy time for most all cattlemen. When you look at the nutrients that are critical for spring calving herds, this can get very busy as well. As I write this blog, we are getting yet another dose of wet snow here in Western South Dakota. Looking forward, the 7-day forecast shows a good chance of precipitation most every day. While we can sure use the moisture, cattlemen need to be ready for grass tetany to rear up.
Celebrate the green with your beef cow herd
Despite snowflakes flying through the air as I write this, spring green up has started in many parts of the country or is soon to come. With St. Patrick’s Day and spring arriving, it’s time to Celebrate the Green! Part of celebrating the green is looking at having strategies in place to make this a “green” and profitable year in your farm business.
CRYSTALYX then and now: What innovation has done for our business
Technology and agriculture. Most of us want to be known for being innovative, creative, having foresight or making a discovery. Progress is perhaps another term used for finding new solutions to old problems. In livestock nutrition, we’ve made numerous strides in the past 40-50 years.
Calving season activities
Most spring calving herds are well into the calving season with busy days of tagging calves and weeks of less sleep due to those late night trips checking the calving pens. An important activity that needs to be part of the calving season is body condition scoring (BCS) the cows.
Spring beef cow-herd nutrition has been slowly heating up in two ways
Many are either in the midst or soon to be in the middle of spring calving. Hopefully your cows have been well prepared for the changes that face cows entering lactation. While it can sometimes be a mindless exercise in repeating the same things year after year, there are a couple of changes that may have taken place within your herd that has crept up on you over the years and negatively impacted reproductive performance and overall profitability.
Top 10 reasons to use a self-fed protein supplement in the spring
A couple years ago, I wrote a blog about the top 10 reasons to use a self-fed protein supplement in the Fall. Today, I will tackle 10 reasons you should consider using a self-fed protein supplement in the Spring.
Feeding for hoof health
Late winter/early spring is usually a time of muddy sloppy conditions, which can spell trouble for hooves. From cracked hooves to foot rot, poor hoof health takes a toll on your livestock, no matter what the species. Wet, sloppy conditions just exacerbate hoof problems, softening them up, making them more susceptible to injury and microbial entry. The best way to combat poor hoof health is to grow a strong, hard hoof in the first place.
Keeping cows longer with CRYSTALYX
It’s not often talked about but is understood that Cows, like equipment do depreciate. Like the old John Deere 3010 tractor that’s still running, there’s probably a few very old cows still in the herd.
