Better than expected
Well actually my cows are grass seekers but they have had to settle.
Creep feeding is part of preconditioning this year. To get our surviving 75 calves started on the path to independence, we put out 5 tons of creep in early July and it was gone in 5 weeks. That was about 3.8 pounds per day on the ration of 1/3 each oats, corn gluten pellets and cottonseed hulls. Putting out another half-batch to get us into the Sept. 8 weekend weaning date.
Cracks in the ground not getting wider because they are filling in with dust! It will be interesting to see what is merely dormant and can come back to life next spring. Cows are on prairie hay with occasional alfalfa or range cube treats. They come a runnin every time now, but seem disappointed when it’s only prairie.
Preweaning shots and individual weights this past weekend, starting one after-hours weekday that ran short of daylight by the time we returned calves to their mammas.
A lot of dust all over, but cooler weather helps. Thirty top AI-sired heifer prospects looking good.
Except for a few lingering cases of pinkeye from the incessant dust, calf health seemed good and weights were amazing under these conditions. This was two weeks earlier than last year, when 14 of 90 calves weighed more than 600 lb. We still had 9 of 75 in that category and 14 more that could be there in two weeks if they belly up to the creep feeder! It is heartening to see that a promising first-calf heifer from last year, 132, only managed a 325-lb. heifer then but came through with 525-lb. this time around. Old 85 will wean her last AI heifer this fall, but she looks like a good one, too.
It’s been a tough summer, and even a nice rain now can’t help this year’s forage. But it can sure make us feel better about next year.
Till next time, let’s keep targeting the brand and building tomorrow together,
–Steve
You may also like
Every Issue Has Its Moment
Progress happens when people are at the table, engaged and committed to action. With a vested interest in the industry’s future, CAB is leaning in on conversations surrounding evolutions in meat science.
Feeding Better Cattle Better
Not everyone is cut out to be a cattle feeder. It’s an art and a science that comes with a need to overcome risk. Wayne Carpenter fed his first pen of steers in 1980 and lost money. But he stuck with it. Today with their sons’ families, he and wife Leisha run the 15,000-head-capacity Carpenter Cattle Company.
You, Your Cows and Their Feed
Expert guidance from Dusty Abney at Cargill Animal Nutrition shares essential strategies for optimizing cattle nutrition during droughts, leading to healthier herds and increased profitability in challenging conditions.