Most rural landowners could raise beef on their properties by slapping together a fence, building a shelter, gathering feed requirements and ensuring a constant water supply – if that were all it took. These isolated actions will never on their own drive positive results. To raise livestock efficiently, producers need to break these building blocks into minute pieces, each focused on improving management.
Various expert academic and extension resources weighed in with their thoughts and recommendations to narrow this critical focus.
Nutrition leads the way
Christine Navarre, an extension veterinarian at the Louisiana State University (LSU) AgCenter, believes nutrition is one of the biggest factors in cattle management.
“It’s the basis of cattle’s immune systems,” Navarre says. “We need to target all the stressors. How are we weaning? Are we using low-stress cattle-handling techniques? It does no good to put vaccines in cattle that aren’t fed properly or are handled poorly because their immune systems aren’t going to work like they should.”
She adds that inefficient nutrition is a multiyear problem that should direct producers back to the basics.
“Know the quality of our hay to match our other resources,” Navarre says. “Regarding nutrition, try to do things cost-effectively but plan ahead and be prepared."
Defined breeding and rotational grazing for greater efficiency
Katie Mason, an assistant professor and extension beef cattle specialist with the University of Tennessee, focuses her top priorities on reproduction and grazing.
“Having a defined breeding season results in greater labor and feed input efficiencies,” Mason says. “Matching the nutritional needs of a group of cows with available feed resources ensures they’re used in the most efficient way possible, which leads to increased fertility and overall herd performance.”
She stresses rotational grazing practices build efficiency by providing more grazing days on the same land.
“Cattle will waste a lot of forage if given the chance,” she says. “Grazing pressures and stocking rates are also important in a rotational grazing scheme. They optimize forage utilization and improve pasture resilience while delivering high-quality forage.”
She believes creating a diverse forage base and extending the grazing season by offering a larger “forage menu” reduce the days hay is needed.
“This menu could consist of actively growing as well as stockpiled perennial and annual forages,” Mason says. “While forage species are dictated by the environment, grazing days are managed by strategies like rotational grazing.”
Recordkeeping is key
As the adage goes, “We can’t manage what we don’t measure.”
Tara Felix, associate professor and beef extension specialist at Pennsylvania State University, adds, “We also can’t get better if we don’t know where we’ve been.”
She says each cattle producer should have an accurate method of keeping records, including calving, vaccinations, weights and feed deliveries.
“There’s so much data generated on cattle operations daily,” Felix says. “It’s extremely useful if we just take the time to record it.”
Traditional recordkeeping but more
Brandi Karisch, associate professor and extension beef cattle specialist with Mississippi State University, reiterates the importance of recordkeeping, adding that even simple data like calving dates and weaning weights helps clarify culling decisions influencing performance and profitability.
“Beyond traditional records, I think keeping pasture information is valuable but often overlooked,” Karisch says. “Grazing, fertilization, planting and hay-cutting records are vital for pasture management efficiency. Don’t just collect data, but analyze it and apply it to your operation.”
Supersizing recordkeeping and other details
Jennifer Koziol, an associate professor of food animal medicine and surgery at Texas Tech University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, takes recordkeeping to even higher levels.
“Record everything: who has bad udders, who lost a calf at 2 days, who got sick, what they were treated with and when this happened. The more records we have, the better decisions we make on culling decisions, looking for ways to improve and identifying trends.”
For Koziol, simple tools like cattle chalk to mark treatments and dates on calves, stockers, cows or bulls pay off.
She emphasizes three distinct strategies cattle owners should pay attention to:
- Create a veterinary-client relationship. These relationships should be symbiotic and mutually beneficial, built on trust and honesty.
- Pregnancy checks. Who’s open, who’s carrying, who got bred early and who was late? Preg checks help with culling decisions and identifying trends to indicate a disease or deficient nutritional status.
- Breeding soundness exams. A bull producing poor sperm is unlikely to achieve many pregnancies in a dedicated breeding season. Replace these subfertile animals to ensure the tightest calving season possible with fewer open cows.
Prices and forecasts
“Projections are for cattle prices to be higher in the next several years, and forecasts for returns over cash costs are expected to be high,” says Chris Bastian, professor of agricultural and applied economics with the University of Wyoming.
He notes that although inflation-adjusted returns are likely lower than in 2014, on average, they’re expected to be more profitable over the next two years than they have been for many years.
“Now is a good time to think about ways to increase efficiency and withstand lower prices,” Bastian says. “Think about paying down debt to improve solvency positions and consider investing in production technology or equipment to help lower future per-head costs.”
Budget by enterprise and consider insurance
“Nobody likes doing books, but everybody likes making money,” says Stephen Koontz from Colorado State University’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. “I encourage producers to have different budgets for their varied business enterprises: the cow herd, the yearlings and the bulls they grow and sell. Make time monthly to track costs and expenses and figure out how to reduce some. Focus on the enterprise making the most money and do less of the others.”
Koontz recommends producers consider Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) insurance over the next three years when the market appears to be at the top of the trading range.
“Somewhere down the road, this will pay off big time and mean an extra year to get costs under control.”
Fences, shelters, feed and water are a good starting point. Producers shouldn’t be satisfied there. These experts’ thoughts will help move the needle closer to more efficient cattle production.
