By Jaymelynn Farney, Beef Systems Specialist, Parsons
The most commonly dreaded period in cow-calf production for spring calving herds is about to occur – calving out heifers. There have been many strides from a genetic perspective that have reduced the proportion of heifers that need calving assistance. This has been primarily accomplished by using high calving ease sires, high accuracy sires through AI, and heifer selection tools such as pre-breeding exams to evaluate pelvic size and shape. All these tools help minimize the chance of calving difficulty. However, if nutrition and body condition are not appropriate at calving, even if you made the best genetic decisions, you can be setting yourself up for a wreck at calving. Continue reading “Balanced Nutrition Helps Minimize Calving Difficulty”
