Calving season is upon us, and being prepared can be the best strategy for a successful calving season and healthy calf crop. Gathering supplies and preparing facilities for the calving season is critical so that last-minute preparations are minimal.

While dairy producers are heavily driven by fertility and calving ease when it comes to a beef breeding, there are additional traits that can create cattle desirable to the beef market, creating valuable relationships for the longer-term profits.

How often has the calving book been lost or accidentally destroyed by the calf being warmed in the feeding pickup? Or when has information failed to be recorded toward the end of the calving season because our attention turns to other matters that time of year?

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.

As cattle producers – beef or dairy – it is critical to remember that both our industries have the same end product: beef. This concept that all cattle contribute to beef production has never been more closely aligned than with the current growth in the mating of dairy cows to beef semen.

Across the Midwest, spring calving season is just around the corner. Sometimes grueling but often beloved and fulfilling, calving season is an incredibly important time of year for cow-calf producers.