Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Fall Roundup Is Vital For Herds

by Ron Matlock

County Agent - Staff Chairman

Cooperative Extension Service

FALL ROUNDUP

For spring calving herds, fall roundup is a time for performing several management practices which will determine the future health and productivity of the cattle herd.

Also, it's an important time to bring all of your records up-to-date so that your cost of producing beef can be determined.

Careful culling of cows is a must if you hope to make a profit on your beef cattle herd. Culling should be a year-round job, although the most appropriate time to cull is when calves are weaned.

With the grass shortages we are experiencing this year, producers may have to cull harder to prevent excessive feed bills during the winter.

There are several approaches to culling cows, but the most important criteria is reproductive efficiency.

Ideally, every cow that calves in alternate years, and those with long calving intervals should be culled to improve your herd's reproductive efficiency.

A culling program should also be based on low weaning weights or low weaning weight rations. A cow can be culled after her first calf if that calf is extremely light, but culling is usually done on the basis of two or more calves.

Other criteria for culling cows include health, body condition and disposition. Culling is warranted if a cow has few or no teeth, cancer eye, saggy udder or balloon teats that make it difficult for calves to nurse.

Cows are often too thin because of a lack of teeth which causes them to not consume enough nutrients to maintain body weight instead of milk. they tend to produce lightweight calves.

Often, fat cows that are retained can be fed according to their nutrient needs so that they will be in a moderate body when they calve.

Cows should be culled if they're so nervous they keep the herd stirred up or they're dangerous to people.

One approach to selecting the proper number of replacement heifers is to use the average cow culling rate, which is 16 percent.

If, for example, you have a 25-head-cow herd, you save four, or 16 percent of 25. It's recommended that you save another 50 percent - or two more heifers in this case - so you can cull again after breeding and calving. Select heifers from cows that calve early and have good performance records.