Mark Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist, offers herd health advice as part of the weekly series known as the “Cow Calf Corner,” published electronically by Dr. Derrell Peel, Johnson, and Paul Beck. Today, Johnson talks about valuable New Year’s Resolutions for commercial cow/calf operations.
Low cow inventories, little evidence of replacement heifer retention and record high prices for cattle during the close of 2024 are all positive signs for commercial cow-calf operations in 2025.
That being the case, here are my New Year’s resolutions for commercial cow-calf operations to unlock greater profit potential in the coming year:
1 – Evaluate your marketing plan and resolve to market better. Consider when (weaning, yearlings or as fed cattle) and how. Investigate marketing opportunities that can add value through documented health and/or genetic values.
2 – Keep better records, both financial and production. Evaluating cow productivity in the form of Percent Calf Crop Weaned or the Percentage of Mature Weight Weaned on a herd-wide basis are vital to unlock profit potential.
3 – Find the optimum balance of Mature Cow Weight/Cow Productivity to your available pastureland and forage/feed resources. Selection pressure applied to keep mature cow size in balance can be effective as this is a highly heritable trait.
4 – Monitor nutrition and cow body condition – don’t let cows lose weight during the last trimester of pregnancy.
5 – Improve the health of your entire grazing ecosystem (soil, plants and cattle). Most Oklahoma rangeland has been drought-stressed during two of the past three years. Manage warm-season grasses accordingly this spring.
Mark Johnson, OSU Extension beef cattle breeding specialist, looks ahead to 2025 and has advice for producers when it comes to starting off the year on a good note on SunUpTV from December 28, 2024, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z68uf29P6Ps
