A main economic driver of a cow-calf operation is the number of calves weaned per cow exposed. Two subsequent drivers are weight and phenotype. For these reasons, outstanding calf health is a directly correlated variable to calf growth and performance, and—ideally—profitability. 

The Cattle Inventory Report comes out twice a year. It contains the inventory numbers for all cattle and calves across the United States. Many look to this report for an indication if cattle producers are finally able to hold on to some heifers for breeding season. Market Journal caught up with Terrain's Chief Research and Analytics Officer, Don Close.

During calving season cow/calf producers are typically feeding harvested forages. A frequent question from producers is "how much will my cows eat on a daily basis"? Producers want to meet the cows' nutrient requirement, but sure don't want to over-feed expensive forages. With the dry conditions this past summer and harvested forages at a premium, closely estimating the amount of feed needed to get through the winter and early spring will be important to contain cost.

Grass tetany and nitrate poisoning are issues that we typically associate with animals grazing.  However, both issues can be a problem in winter when animal diets are limited by what they are fed.  Is your herd safe from possible hay worries? 

Tetany occurs when an animal’s diet doesn’t have enough magnesium to meet nutritional needs.  Complications with milk production and increased magnesium demand can make this imbalance even worse during lactation.