Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson famously said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” While he was referring to strategy in the boxing ring, the same holds true for starting lightweight (sometimes called peewee) calves.

Early gestation is a critical period in the cattle reproductive cycle, laying the foundation for the health, productivity and profitability of both the cow and the developing fetus. 

Producers are encouraged to work with their management team to identify risk factors that may lead to this mid-lactation down cow syndrome.

Understanding the impact of mineral and vitamin intake in relation to requirements and associated responses in health and performance is a very challenging aspect of beef cattle nutrition.

Feed costs for beef production are the largest expense on a ranch. There is no better time than now to start an annual plan of monitoring feed inputs, so you can know you are getting the most out of them and what is best for the animal.

Developing a nutritional program that meets the needs of lactation and facilitates a return to cyclicity before the subsequent breeding season takes an understanding of how cattle partition nutrients and how that impacts their overall nutritional requirements.

Many years ago, in a college course on toxic plants, I learned about the popular ornamental houseplant dieffenbachia, also known as “dumb cane.”

Every environment has unique opportunities to succeed and overcome production issues. These include feed costs, environmental stressors, health challenges unique to geographical areas and local or regional economic climate. Operational resiliency relies on our ability to address challenges.

While the anticipation of a new calf crop and new genetics is exciting, calving season always comes with plenty of challenges. Of all these challenges, neonatal calf diarrhea has the greatest impact on calf health and performance outcomes.