Now is a great time to evaluate your pastures and develop strategies to improve grazing days for next year. Feed may be less expensive this year, but it won’t stay that way.

For those buying or selling hay, forage testing can play an even bigger role in pricing and purchasing value.

Having some open cows is normal in a 60- to 90-day breeding season. However, if the number of open cows is excessive (greater than 6% to 10%), evaluation of management, nutrition and herd health needs to take place.

Often, farmers are seeking a yes or no answer to mowing pastures … and hopefully validation of their current practice. Unfortunately, the answer is somewhat dependent on previous pasture management and the chosen grazing system.

To help achieve successful heifer development, it is important to adopt an optimal mindset, not a maximal one.

Mineral interactions can result in one mineral restricting the bioavailability of another mineral. Subsequently, this can lead to deficiency. Another way to put this is: An excess can cause a deficiency.