K-State Research and Extension

Cow Herd Management

For spring-calving cow herds:

• Score cows for BCS concurrent with grass growth.
• 2-4 year old females and thin females will respond most to early-weaning.
• If you plan to early-wean:
  Develop your plan for feeding and marketing calves.
  Prepare weaning/receiving pens and waterers in advance.
  If feeding early-weaned calves, test your forages and have your ration plan and ingredients in place 2-3 weeks prior to weaning.
• Schedule early pregnancy checking activities if not already done.

For late-summer and early-fall calving cow herds:

• Evaluate cows for BCS and adjust your plan to ensure mature cows are ≥ 5.0 and 2-4 year old females are ≥ 6.0 at calving.
• The final 60 days prior to calving represents the last opportunity to add BCS economically.
• Review your calving health protocols as needed.

Closely manage free-choice salt and mineral programs.

• Record date and amount of salt and mineral offered and calculate herd consumption on a pasture or group basis.
• Adjust how you are offering product to cattle if needed to achieve target intake.
• If consumption is 2X the target intake, then cost will be too!
• Properly store bags and pallets to avoid damage and product loss.

Continue to monitor bulls and their activity throughout the breeding season.

• Monitor BCS, particularly on young bulls.
• If pulling bulls from cows to manage the length of the breeding season, schedule those dates and have them on the calendar in advance.
• If bulls are BCS ≤ 5.0 after breeding, consider supplementing to regain BCS going into fall.

Calf Management

• If creep feeding calves, closely monitor intake and calf condition/fleshiness.
• Monitor calves for summer respiratory illness.
• Schedule any pre-weaning vaccination or processing activities.

General Management

• Visit KSUBeef.org for info and events!
• Evaluate grass growth and adjust your grazing plan as needed.
• Continue efforts to control invasive species in pastures.
• Employ multiple strategies, chemistries for late-season fly/insect control.
• Begin taking inventory of harvested forages for fall feed needs.
• If planning to harvest corn silage, prepare your pile/bunker site and equipment.
• Use the Management Minder tool on KSUBeef.org to plan key management activities for your cow herd for the rest of the year
  https://cowweb.exnet.iastate.edu/CowWeb/faces/Index.jsp.
• With high feeder calf prices, consider price risk management tools.
• Visit with your local FSA and extension office if you plan to utilize CRP acres for emergency forage use or other assistance programs.

Calf Management
Wean calves:

• Reduce stress. Provide a clean, dust‐free, comfortable environment.
• Provide balanced nutritional program to promote weight gain and health.
• Observe feed and water intake. Healthy, problem free calves have large appetites.
• Observe calves frequently. Early detection of sickness reduces medical costs and lost performance.
• Vaccinate calves and control internal/external parasites through veterinary consultation (ideally done prior to weaning).
• Vaccinate all replacement heifer candidates for brucellosis if within four to 10 months of age.
• Use implants and feed additives to improve efficient animal performance.

Weigh all calves individually. Allows for correct sorting, herd culling, growing programs, replacement heifer selection, and marketing plans.

Participate in Whole Herd Rewards, Performance Plus, and(or) other ranch record/performance systems.

Finalize plans to merchandise calves or to background through yearling or finishing programs.

• Consider feedstuff availability.
• Limit feeding high concentrate diets may be a profitable feeding program.

Select replacement heifers which are:

• Born early in the calving season. This should increase the number of yearling heifers bred during the early days of the subsequent breeding season.
• Daughters of above average producing cows. Performance traits are moderately heritable traits.
• Of the proper frame size to compliment desired mature size and weight.
  Structurally correct. Avoid breeding udder, feet, and leg problems into the herd.

Vaccinate replacement heifers with first round of viral vaccines.
Plan replacement heifer nutrition program so that heifers will be at their “target weight” (65% of their mature weight)
by the start of the breeding season.

Forage/Pasture Management
Observe pasture weed problems to aid in planning control methods needed next spring.
Monitor grazing conditions and rotate pastures if possible and(or) practical.
Plan winter nutritional program through pasture and forage management.
For stocker cattle and replacement heifers, supplement maturing grasses with an acceptable degradable intake protein/ionophore (feed additive) type supplement.

General Management
Avoid unnecessary stress. Handle cows and calves to reduce shrink, sustain good health, and minimize sickness.
Analyze forage for nitrate and nutrient content. Use these to develop winter feeding programs.
Repair, replace, and improve facilities.
Plan your marketing program, including private treaty, consignment sales, test stations, production sales, etc.