Herd

Where beef is produced, cold temperatures, wind and high snowfall can combine to produce environmental conditions that make adequate care of the beef herd impossible. In these conditions and despite the best effort, producers will often have difficulty carrying out typical management practices and providing adequate nutrition to cows. The end result is that nutrition during gestation may not have been optimal, environmental conditions at calving may be poor, and cows are very stressed.

Pregnancy detection is a technology that is vastly under utilized in the beef industry. I have found through visiting with producers and veterinarians that only 10 to 20 percent of our cattle are checked. Most of the time when I ask why the answers are either "it doesn't pay," "I don't want to pay the vet for anything I don't have to," "it takes too long" or "the bull's out all year-it won't work. " If all you're going to do to those cows when they are in the chute is preg check them, then it may not be worth it. If it takes you five hours to work 40 cows because you have a 40 year-old wooden headgate and an 8-foot chute, it won't be easy and the vet won't want to come back.

Pregnancy detection is a technology that is vastly under utilized in the beef industry. I have found through visiting with producers and veterinarians that only 10-20% of our cattle are checked. Most of the time when I ask why the answers are either "it doesn't pay", "I don't want to pay the vet for anything I don't have to," "it takes too long" or "the bull's out all year - it won't work". If all you're going to do to those cows when they are in the chute is preg check them, then it may not be worth it. If it takes you 5 hours to work 40 cows because you have a 40 year-old wooden headgate and an 8-foot chute, it won't be easy and the vet won't want to come back.

The cool days of fall always make us appreciate the harvest of crops and livestock and often make us feel like it is time to wind down on outdoor chores. Well, that's a nice thought, but on the farm there is little time to wind down. Chores must go on, so this week I want to share some management chores that beef producers need to be doing at this time. Wean calves this month and start them on a 45-90 days growing program to increase their value and your profits. If the preweaning working has been completed, revaccinate (booster)

Spring is on its way and for spring calving herds breeding season is just around the corner. Often bulls are the forgotten animals in the cow/calf herd. With the activity of calving season, many of the "old boys" are just biding their time in the bull pen or back pasture. Getting bulls ready for the breeding season is like spring training for ball players, the better the training period the more likely they are to complete the season with good numbers. Many of you have recently purchased bulls at one of the many bull sales in the state.

For those of you who enjoy fall's showcase of color, you were probably wondering why the annual production was cut short this year. Yes, the weather had something to do with it. But it wasn't the moderate to severe drought the state experienced, as you might think. Rather, a combination of warm temperatures this summer and above-average temperatures this fall caused the leaves to change colors later than usual. Then, about the time the leaves turned from their familiar summer green to fall's reds, yellows, purples and browns, the rain finally appeared and began knocking them to the ground.

Kelvin Turner doesn't have time to look back. With only one season remaining at Marshall University, there is much more of Turner's football career ahead of him than behind him. Yet even though there is much that he can look back on - both good and bad - Turner is focusing on what lies ahead in his final collegiate season - and beyond. First, the former Danville running back will try to help Marshall return to its winning ways this fall. Then he plans to turn his attention to helping tomorrow's players find their way. Still, Turner said he didn't expect to be thinking about life after college quite so soon.

Tim Dievert is big on beef. Always has been, always will be. Ever since his days as a young 4-Her, learning the business under the watchful eyes of his father, the 60-year-old's life has evolved around cattle. As a student at the University of Kentucky, he was a member of a Fab Five team that won an international competition. No, not THAT Fab Five team, but the one representing the College of Agriculture. "I guess that's still the highlight of my career in the industry," says Dievert, looking toward the large framed ribbon hanging inside his Perryville Road office.

From the archives of The Interior Journal 20 years ago... The Lincoln County School Board voted to purchase the Federal Land Bank building on U.S. 27 in Stanford for $95,000. The 3,584 square foot building was to become the central office location. The $95,000 price tag on the building was less than half the cost the state estimated for a new central office. Seven-year-old Chris Burris was the top magazine seller at Hustonville Elementary School. The youngster sold $166.

One of the best ways to boost beef cattle profits is to use genetics to improve the efficiency of your herd. Prioritize traits to meet the goals of your operation. This will provide as many pounds of beef as possible off of every available acre at a minimal cost. Herd efficiency does not always equate with a maximum rate of gain. For example, you might be able to get more pounds per acre by putting 20 medium-sized cows on a pasture that only would support 15 big cows.  Additionally, the smaller cows might improve your profitability under drought conditions because they would require fewer resources to remain reproductively fertile than the larger animals.    The breeding system should match the right bull to a set of cows to maximize the production level.