• If forage quality is low, consider having a sample analyzed to determine possible supplement needs. Energy, protein, phosphorus, selenium and vitamin A are nutrients likely to be deficient.
• Depending on price, corn or corn silage may still be the cheapest supplemental energy source in certain areas. Use this formula to compare energy sources on basis of cost per lb. of total digestible nutrients (TDN): (Cost,$/ton) divided by (2,000 X %dry matter X %TDN in dry matter)= Cost per lb. of TDN. For example, $28/ton corn silage: $28 divided by (2000 X .35 x .68) = $.059/lb of TDN.
• If supplemental protein is required, beware of needless overspending on exotic commercial mixes. Use the following formula to compare supplemental protein on the basis of cost per lb. of crude protein (CP): (Cost of supplement, $/ton) divided by (2000 lb. X %CP) = cost per lb. of CP. For example, $250/ton of 44% CP supplement: $250 divided by (2000 x .44) = $.284/lb. of CP.
• Supplemental mineral needs vary from region to region, depending on soils and vegetation. A general purpose mix that has proven useful for wintering cow herds is: 45% dicalcium phosphate; 20% selenium 200 premix (supplies 40 ppm Se); 35% trace mineral salt. In areas where magnesium, copper, zinc, cobalt or manganese are extremely deficient, you will need to increase the levels of these elements.
• Vitamin A may be fed in supplement or injected. Injections last 90 to 100 days. Injected dosage should be 2 to 3 million IU per cow.
• Be sure the cow herd has adequate water supply. Depending on body size and stage of production, cattle need 5 to 11 gallons per head per day, even in the coldest weather. Fresh water supplied by an electric or frost-free waterer is preferred over a brook supply for reasons of water quality and environmental protection.
• Provide cattle some protection during severe weather to reduce energy requirements. A woodlot or some form of natural or man-made windbreak is ideal.
• The critical cold temperature for cows is 15 degrees F. For each 10 degree drop below 15, add 1.5 pounds of TDN to the ration. 1.5 pounds TDN equals 3 pounds hay, 2 pounds corn, or 6 pounds corn silage. Critical temperatures vary further depending on condition of hair coat (i.e., wet or dry).
• If possible, separate thin cows or cows that lack adequate body condition from the herd and feed separately. Realize that once the beef cow calves and lactation commences, her nutritional requirement increases about 25%.
• Cows within 60 days of calving should be started on an increased energy- protein ration. Increase TDN by 2 lb.; crude protein by 2 lbs.
• Watch for evidence of abortions. Get placenta specimen to a veterinarian or laboratory for immediate diagnosis.
• Check for lice and treat all cattle with pour-on or dust bag immediately. Check with your vet for recommended product use.
• Vaccinate cows with E.coli vaccine to prevent scours in calves through passive immunity or prepare for the use of an orally administered product for the calf within 12 hours after birth.
• Prepare calving facilities. A clean well bedded area is essential as is a well protected stall for ease of observation and emergency use.
• Separate first-calf heifers from herd, if possible, for closer management and observation.
• Start the year off right and increase your knowledge by planning a yearly management, feeding and marketing program. Plan for a more innovative pasture management program for your farm. Catch up on reading books and articles on beef and forage production. Attend meetings and seminars and become more involved in the beef industry.

• For some herds, calving season is here. Check the following items:
  • Frozen colostrum for weak calves.
  • Calving assistance equipment.
    • OB chains and handles.
    • AI arm gloves for clean palpation and birth assistance.
    • Rope and halter for stall birthing assistance.
    • Wireless FM intercom/ monitor, provided house and barn share the same power system.
  • 7 percent iodine for calf's navel.
  • Ear tags or numbered metal ear clips.
  • Selenium injections if white muscle disease is apt to be a problem.
  • Vitamin A injections for cows and calves if forage quality is low. g)
  • Pharmaceuticals for scours and respiratory problems. At the first sign of scours, either milk, viral or bacterial, treat the calf and monitor. Have a plastic calf balling gun available to administer calf boluses. Stop the spread of a potentially deadly problem. Consult with your vet.
  • Electrolytes for dehydrated calves and an esophageal calf feeder (tube type) for administering it.
  • Portable 200 lb. hanging scale with 2 lb. increments for recording birth weights.
  • In extremely cold weather, be prepared to provide supplemental heat for chilled, weak calves. Heat lamps, specially constructed boxes with warm air blowers, hair dryers, warm water bath, a bed by the wood stove or any combination of the above. Minutes, even seconds are critical when it comes to weak calves. Consult with your veterinarian immediately; it will be the single most profitable decision you will ever make in the beef business.
  • For maximum disease prevention, get colostrum into the calf as soon after calving as possible (four hours or sooner). Have a source for frozen colostrum such as a nearby dairy farm with a similar health environment.
  • If cows calved in thin condition (condition score of 4 or less), they will need to receive enough energy to be in moderate to good condition by the start of breeding season.
  • Plan your spring fertilizer needs. Soil tests, taken in the fall, should determine precise needs. Over-fertilization is neither cost-effective nor environmentally compatible. Learn more about your soil's needs.
  • Check herd frequently; be ready to assist cows not making progress after one to two hours of hard labor.
  • Give first calf heifers extra attention.
  • Don't leave cows and their calves in tight quarters for more than one or two days. Provide new- born calves a dry, south facing calf hutch in which to lie down. Prevent cows from access to it and keep it cleaned out and re- bedded with clean hay or straw.
  • Try feeding late in the day to encourage more cows to calve during the daylight hours.
  • Record calf weight, tattoo number, calving ease and date of birth in a field record book. Record the birth on a heat expectancy chart/calendar to simplify the tracking of birthing, heat cycling and re-breeding. Give serious consideration to the use of a computer program for cow/calf operations if you presently own a PC. They will simplify and organize your records, giving you a better understanding of costs and cattle productivity.

April - May
(Dec/Jan, if fall calving)

• Prepare for pasture season:
  • Check fences and make repairs.
  • Provide supplemental magnesium oxide in your mineral mix to prevent grass tetany.
  • Plan a fly control program. Insecticidal ear tags in both ears for cows and one ear for calves works well and will assure better gains and less chance of pinkeye problems. For best results consider rotating from year to year between pyrethroid ear tags and those containing an organophosphate. Remove tags in the fall; do not leave them in year-round.
  • Castrate and dehorn all calves before going to pasture.
• Get ready for breeding season:
  • If you use A.I., order semen early. Check your cattle handling equipment and replace lost or unreadable ear I.D. tags.
  • If your semen tank is 10 years old or older have it checked for its ability to hold liquid nitrogen. Consult with a professional semen service about a maintenance/filling contract.
  • If breeding naturally, be sure you have adequate bull power. Consider a breeding soundness exam of your bull, especially if he is young and unproven. Nationally, 10 to 20 percent of the bulls are questionable or unsatisfactory breeders. Try to have bulls in moderate to good condition before turning them out with the cows. Also, they should have received their annual booster vaccinations (IBR, BVD, PI3, lepto-5, vibrio and haemophilus).
  • If lactating cows are thin and have not started to cycle, feed more energy.
  • Free-choice mineral mix should contain 8 percent phosphorus, which is important for maximum fertility. If your area is known to be deficient in specific trace minerals, make sure your mineral mix is well fortified with these minerals.
  • If IBR, BVD, leptospirosis and vibriosis are problems, vaccinate cows and heifers no later than three weeks prior to breeding season. DO NOT vaccinate pregnant cows with modified live BVD virus vaccine.
  • Breed heifers one heat period before cows so they have extra time to recover from calving next year. Have heifers weigh 65% of mature weight at breeding time.
  • Consider using appropriate estrus synchronizing techniques to allow a narrower calving window. Consult your veterinarian.
• Get haying equipment ready for early harvest. Extended periods of down time can mean the difference be- tween a high or low-quality hay crop.
• Research suggests that de-worming the herd before going to pasture can result in significantly heavier calf weights in the fall.
• Quickly "blaze" graze 1/3 to 1/2 of permanent pasture in the spring and early summer. Broadcast legume and pasture grass seed prior to turning cattle into smaller pasture paddocks. They will push the seed into the soil giving it plenty of time to grow before the next grazing rotation. Utilize rotational grazing methods and control your cattle and pasture growth effectively with single strand electric fence subdivisions.

June - July
(Feb/March if fall calving)

• If calves are four months old, vaccinate for clostridial diseases (blackleg, etc.) if they are a problem in your area.
• If pinkeye is likely to be a problem, consider the following preventive and therapeutic measures. Prevention:
  • Make sure herd has been receiving adequate Vitamin A.
  • Vaccinate against IBR virus.
  • Consider pinkeye vaccination.
  • Control face flies.
  • Clip pastures so tall, course grasses don't irritate eyes. Rotational grazing is the preferred method of pasture management.
  • Provide ample shade.
  • Therapy:
    • Administer an intramuscular injection of long-acting oxytetracycline (LA-200) when symptoms are first noticed.
    • Inject 1 cc antibiotic into the eyelid.
    • Shut out irritating sunlight by gluing a patch over the eye with backtag cement or by locking the animal in dark quarters.
• If too many females return to heat, take a good look at (1) your bull; (2) your cows' nutrition; (3) reproductive disorders such as IBR, lepto, vibrio, trichomoniasis, hemophilus, cystic ovaries or uterine infection. Consult your veterinarian.
• Remove bulls after 90 days of breeding (preferably 60 days). Calves born after mid-May don't do well in summer heat and have lighter weaning weights. Stop breeding the cow herd by August 1 to avoid late calves.
• If it looks like pastures will run out, prepare an emergency feed source such as a planting of summer annual sudangrass, brassicas (rape or turnips) or tritcale. Consult with a forage seed company specialist. Start supplemental feeding before pastures are gone to extend grazing as long as possible.

August - September
(Apr/May, if fall calving)

• Line up supplies and pharmaceuticals for fall roundup and weaning. Consider the following:
  • Ear tags to replace lost identification tags.
  • Deworming products.
  • Grub and lice products.
  • Vaccines- IBR, PI-3, BVD, hemophilus, 7-way clostridial, BRSV, 5-strain leptospirosis, vibriosis, rabies.
  • Note that several of the above vaccines are available in combinations, requiring fewer injections.
  • Schedule veterinarian to vaccinate replacement heifer calves for brucellosis. Check state regulations as they may be changing. Laws vary from state to state, be aware of the regulations in the states in which you wish to market your cattle.
• Plan your marketing programù private treaty, VBPA feeder calf sale or retained ownership on farm or in a custom feedlot. Consult with the non-dairy livestock extension specialist and with other producers.
• Prepare to have your calf crop weighed and graded through the VBPA Weighing and Grading Program. Good recordkeeping is essential. For larger herds or producers wishing to control costs and monitor herd performance closely, computer programs are invaluable.
• New forage seedings should be established no later than August to assure stand survival. Contact an experienced seed dealer or your local Extension office for details.
• Get facilities ready for working cattle. If yours are not adequate, contact your area Extension office for corral plans or a consult a facility manufacturing company.
• Unless your calves have already been on creep feed, start putting out grain in an area where they can learn to eat out of a bunk. It may reduce stress at weaning time and they will more easily adjust to a feedlot environment. Do not overfeed, buyers will discount calves that are too fleshy.
• Performing as many of the above practices as possible while the calves are still on the cow will minimize stress when they are weaned. One month prior to weaning is near-ideal.

October
(June, if fall calving)

• It's fall round-up and processing time for many herds, which includes:
  • Weaning the calf crop.
  • Selecting replacement heifer calves. Use heifers from cows with records of consistently early and trouble-free calving. Select on EPD's, individual performance records and functional traits such as structural soundness, temperament, fleshing ability and muscle thickness. To maintain herd size, you must retain approximately half the heifer crop at weaning time.
  • Vaccinating retained heifer and bull calves.
  • Treating the entire herd for internal and external parasites.
  • Culling problem cows and marginal producers.
  • Pregnancy-testing and culling open cows. Use the three O's method of culling: Open, Old and Ornery. The object is to create a uniform calf crop in the future by reducing the calving interval and building a uniform cow herd. Cull those extremely large-framed cows and market them in the same truck with the little bitty cows. It's common-sense genetics.
• Consult your veterinarian for a replacement heifer calf vaccination program that fits your needs. Here is one that has been proven to be applicable to many operations:
  • IBR (Rednose)
  • PI3 (Para-influnza)
  • BVD (Bovine Viral Diarrhea)
  • BRSV (Syncytial Virus)
  • 7-way clostridial f. Haemophilus somnus
  • 5-strain leptospirosis
  • vibriosis
  • Brucellosis
• Except for brucellosis, these same vaccines can be administered to retained bull calves.
• Fall is a good time to take soil tests and topdress hay and pasture fields with potassium and phosphorus as needed.

November
(July, if fall calving)

• Wean summer calves before hard winter sets in. Unless you creep feed, they will do better on grain plus hay or silage than if left on their mothers.
• If you keep calves to feed over the winter, aim for the following minimum levels of performance: Replacement heifer calves: 1 to 1.5 lb/day on smaller-framed heifers; 1.5 to 1.75 lb/day on larger-framed heifers. Show heifers may need to gain even faster. Steer calves to go to grass the following summer. Minimum of .5 to maximum of 1.75 lb/day. Steer calves to be finished by following spring or summer: Maximize the rate of gain (2.5 lb/day or greater, depending on the breed). Bull calves to be fed out and sold in the spring as yearlings: Similar to finishing steers. (Bulls will not get as fat as steers at the same level of performance).
• Be aware of the cut-off date for using grubicides in your region. If in doubt, consult your veterinarian.
• The use of Rumensin or Bovatec with winter growing rations will greatly increase the rate of gains by allowing greater digestive utilization of feeds. Consult your feed representative.

December
(August if fall calving)

• Evaluate the condition of cows and manage accordingly:
  • Cows should have a condition score (CS) in the range of 5 to 7- moderate to good condition- at calving time to consistently rebreed at the rate of 90 percent by 80 days after calving.
  • Sort out and feed thin cows (less than 5 CS) so they can achieve a CS of moderate to good by the time they calve.
• For those herds wintering moderate-to-good CS cows on harvested feedstuffs, use the following rations as a guide: Weaned heifer calves (to gain .5lb/day):
  • Full-feed of mixed legume-grass hay (11 to 12 lb.), plus 6 to 7 lb. grain.
  • 40-50 lb. corn silage, plus 3/4 lb. soy or equivalent.
  • 5 lb. mixed legume-grass hay, plus 30 to 35 lb. corn silage.
  • Coming 2-year-old pregnant heifers, thin 3-year-olds and thin mature cows:
    • Full-feed of mixed legume-grass hay (20-30 lb.), plus grain, according to body condition.
    • 45 to 55 lb. corn silage, plus 3/4 lb. soy or equivalent.
    • 15 lb. mixed legume-grass hay, plus 15 to 20 lb. corn silage.
  • Dry cows, mid-pregnancy:
    • 20 to 25 lb. grass hay.
    • 40 to 45 lb. corn silage, plus 3/4 lb. soy or equivalent.
  • Dry cows, late pregnancy (to gain 0.9lb./day):
    • 25 to 30 lb. mixed legume-grass hay.
    • 50 to 55 lb. corn silage, plus 3/4 lb. soy or equivalent.
    • 15 lb. mixed legume-grass hay, plus 20 to 25 lb. corn silage.
  • Lactating cows:
    • Full-feed of mixed legume-grass hay, plus grain if necessary.
    • 60 to 80 lb. corn silage, plus 1 to 2 lb. soy or equivalent.
    • 15 to 20 lb. legume hay, plus 30 to 35 lb. corn silage.
  • Herd sires:
    • Full-feed of hay or silage plus grain, according to body condition.
    • Coming 2-year-old bulls that completed their first breeding season in thin condition will require 10 to 13 lb. grain, plus a full feed of hay, or a full-feed of corn silage, plus 1 lb. of protein supplement.
• For a thin cow's condition to raise by one score, she needs to gain about 80 lb. during the last 90 to 100 days of pregnancy in addition to the 80 lb. of fetal weight that is being gained. To accomplish this, you will need to feed some additional grain, even if it is in the form of corn silage. Here are some examples:
  • 25 lb. mixed legume-grass hay, plus 6 lb. grain.
  • 55 to 60 lb. corn silage, plus 1 lb. soy or equivalent.
• Put priorities on winter forage supply:
  • Feed lowest-quality forage to mature dry cows during late fall/early winter (mid-pregnancy).
  • Feed medium-quality forage to dry cows during late pregnancy.
  • Feed highest-quality forage to young stock and to lactating cows.
• Offer a properly balanced salt-mineral mix free-choice to all classes of breeding cattle. Refer to January #4.
• Spot check weight gains of replacement heifers to help ensure appropriate progress to target weights. Winter environments can "derail" initial plans. Make adjustments in the feeding program as necessary.
• The end of the year is a good time to review or evaluate various spects of your cattle business. This is especially critical in time such as now when we are in a "number crunch" and markets are depressed. The following questions can be asked:
  • Do you have adequate inventories and financial records to be able to evaluate your costs of production? If so, are you doing what you can to control cost while optimizing production?
  • Are you satisfied with your genetic program? What adjustments need to be made? This is an appropriate time to develop expected progeny differences (EPD) priorities and acceptable ranges for the traits that are important to your program and your customers. Develop a genetic shopping list well in advance of when you are ready to start buying semen or a bull. If you need add-itional information on production or financial records, contact your local Extension Livestock Specialist.