Nutritional management plays a central role in promoting the health, productivity and reproductive success of beef cattle.

What is the first word that comes to mind when you see a bull sale catalog in your mailbox? Usually, I hear responses like “profitable,” “cost-effective,” “traditional” or "necessary."

After a busy season of breeding, pulling bulls, pregnancy diagnosis and weaning, we’d like to hope cows can turn on autopilot for a few months during the winter. However, that’s not the case; cows are always working for us, whether that means lactating, raising a calf, preparing to become pregnant or gestating next year’s calf. It’s our responsibility to make sure they are in the proper body condition to do so.

Efficient. Sustainable. Profitable. Productive. Economical. They feel like buzzwords, yet they’ve maintained their lofty position in the cattle industry zeitgeist for long enough now that it’s impossible to shy away from the inevitability – and even merit – of defining and reaching for such ideals.

Rumen health is the cornerstone of a successful cow-calf operation, impacting calf health, maternal performance, feed utilization and, ultimately, economic profitability.

Young cows in the cow-calf operation are the genetic future of the herd and represent a large economic investment. Unfortunately, young cows leave the herd at a higher rate than other age categories.

Our decision on when to wean calves is an incredibly powerful lever we have as managers. How should we make the decision on when to wean?

In cow-calf operations, reproductive rate is the foundational productive function of the enterprise. Obviously, if cows do not become pregnant, then no calves are produced for revenue generation the following year.