Cow Herd Management Tips
Even though calving is just getting started for many producers, breeding season for spring calving herds is in the not too distant future. Below are a few items to consider before breeding season arrives.
The first order of business is to schedule a breeding soundness exam for the bulls. If an issue with a bull is discovered, there is time to find a replacement during the upcoming bull sale season. Take time to review weaning weight records or other production records to determine areas needing genetic improvement and search for bulls that improve those areas.
Pay close attention to the body condition score (BCS) of the cow herd after calving. Science tells us that cows in adequate body condition (BCS of 5 or greater) are likely to breed and conceive earlier in the breeding season. This translates into heavier weaning weights, and in the case of replacement heifers, females that are also more likely to breed early and ultimately be more productive in their lifetime. If you need supplementation after calving, be sure to start that soon enough so cows are in adequate body condition at breeding.
The impact of earlier calving dates is shown in data that my colleagues in NW Missouri collected a few years ago. At one location, steer calves born during the first 21 days of the spring 2020 calving season were 47 pounds heavier at weaning than their counterparts born during days 22 to 42 of the calving season. Recording birth dates of calves is one of the simplest and most useful pieces of information that can be collected.
If cows have calved early enough in the calving season and are in adequate BCS, producers may consider synchronizing cows for either AI or natural service. These tools can help bunch calves toward the beginning of the calving season so the benefits of early calving can be realized.
Another interesting aspect of the NW MO data is cow weight. A total of 485 head of cows were weighed for this project during 2020. The average weight of the cows was 1,229 pounds, but the weight breakout is as follows. Twenty-one percent weighed between 700 and 1,099 pounds. Sixty-four percent weighed between 1,100 and 1,399 pounds and 15% weighed between 1,400 and 1,799 pounds. Knowing the weight range in an individual cow herd helps ensure adequate feeding programs are in place to keep the herd at the target breeding BCS. Cow weight also directly impacts proper stocking rates which affect pasture productivity and persistence.
There are a lot of moving parts in having cows breed and calve in a timely manner. Hopefully some of these ideas will stimulate some thoughts for your cow herd management. If you have questions on any of these topics, contact me by e-mail at schmitze@missouri.edu or call the Pettis County Extension Center at (660) 827-0591.
