Management Tips

Here in Texas, as most people know, we faced the worst one-year drought in the last 100 years last summer (2011). Many cattle producers liquidated their herds completely because of lack of water, pasture and the high cost of feed and hay. I, … [Read more...]

Here it is December and all the talk is about Christmas – Christmas shopping, putting up Christmas decorations, family gatherings, etc. My thoughts have been, for quite awhile now, how do I get the few cows I have left through the winter? In my … [Read more...]

As most folks know, Texas is in the midst of the worst one year drought in history. My rainfall records for 2011 indicate a total of 5.5 inches of rain since January 1, with 2.6 inches of that coming the weekend of August 13-14. And, we are … [Read more...]

Cattle management programs usually include one to two anthelmintic treatments per year, so an effort should be made to avoid development of resistant internal parasites. Anthelmintics are medicines that eject or kill intestinal worms. They are … [Read more...]

Several earlier articles here on Cattle Management provided steps for estimating the amount of forage present in a pasture. A forage inventory is not complete, however, until plant quality is determined. Forage quality is easily measured on improved … [Read more...]

Parts of many countries are currently under drought including Canada, China, Mexico, United Kingdom, the United States and others. These continued droughts make it tough for cow/calf producers to survive financially; however there are management … [Read more...]

In an earlier article, “How to determine livestock grazing capacity”, the discussion was primarily focused on native and improved pastures where the entire acreage is grazed. The total acreage on native rangeland cannot normally be grazed; so … [Read more...]

Presently a lot of hype exists over fenceline weaning, and one of the reasons is because it is another low-stress handling tool. An important advantage of managing cattle under minimum stress is that calm animals produce better weight gains than … [Read more...]

A critical part of a ranch situation analysis is current grazing capacity because it is the basic resource which determines ranch quality and profit potential. Animal nutritionists estimate quantity and quality of standing forage available through … [Read more...]

Internal parasites cannot be easily seen and as a result, cattle may look fine while being infected. Cattle with internal parasites produce less than their potential and most often, economic loss occurs. A primary parasite of beef cattle is the brown … [Read more...]