As the year draws to a close, it is the ideal time to take a step back and look at each part of your operation and make a note of areas where progress has been made (and celebrate it!) and identify areas of opportunity.

Dairy cull cows marketed through U.S. slaughter plants in September lowest since 2007.

I have talked with two different local producers whose primary winter pasture is gone now. They are looking for feed alternatives or to destock their herd while prices are high. If you find yourself in this situation, you must perform an inventory of feeds on your operation and calculate how much will be needed.

Dairy cull cows marketed through U.S. slaughter plants lowest since July 2006 and may lead to increases in July milk production and cow numbers.

While the exact cost of developing heifers on your farm or ranch may vary, heifer development is very expensive, so being selective with which heifers we keep on the operation is critical.

We must change our thinking about raising replacements and selling cull cows. In a dairy animal’s lifetime, she can yield both milk and beef. The cost of replacement is not the cost of raising that animal, but it is the difference between its raising cost and the cull cow price multiplied by the probability of it being sold for beef.