| March 1999 |
| 2 |
Ag Fest |
Farm Bureau - Cattlemen's Arena |
| 20 |
Hardee County Fair
Swine Weigh-In |
Cattlemen's Arena |
| 21 |
Hardee County Fair
Steer Weigh-In |
Cattlemen's Arena |
| 23 |
Hardee County Fair
Swine Show 7:00 pm |
Cattlemen's Arena |
| 24 |
Hardee County Fair
Steer Show 7:00 pm |
Cattlemen's Arena |
| 25 |
Hardee County Fair
Livestock Sale 7:00 pm |
Cattlemen's Arena |
| April 1999 |
| 6, 8, 13 & 15 |
Beef Cattle Management
Short Course |
Wauchula
Hardee County Extension |
| 29 |
Producing Calves That Stay Healthy |
Hardee Livestock Market |
May 1999 |
| 5-7 |
Beef Cattle Short Course |
Gainesville |
| 11-13 |
Reproduction Management School |
Wauchula |
June 1999 |
| 8-10 |
Forage & Pasture Management School:
Session I |
Sebring |
| 16-18 |
FCA Annual Convention & Trade Show |
Marco Island |
July 1999 |
| 13-15 |
Forage & Pasture Management School:
Session II |
Sebring |
| 20 |
Beef Cattle Health Management Program |
Wauchula
Hardee Agri-Civic Center |
August 1999 |
| 10-12 |
Forage & Pasture Management School:
Session III |
Sebring |
So You've Turned Your Bulls In..
Now What?
Most South Florida ranchers have recently
begun their breeding seasons by turning in all or
a portion of their bull battery with their cows.
Many ranchers do this in December or January
and leave the bulls with the cows for anywhere
between 75-200 plus days. Now we all know
that no two ranchers think exactly alike! Each
has different cattle on different land with
different budgets and even different goals. But
there is one thing they all have in common.
Each rancher wants every cow exposed to the
bull to not only achieve and maintain a
pregnancy but to raise a strapping big calf to
weaning age. If we can all agree on this single
objective then let us examine a few of the
factors which will affect the pregnancy rate.
Notice I said pregnancy rate. Because if the
cow fails to become pregnant, it is impossible
for her to earn her keep. So let us confine our
attention in this article to Managing the Bull
During the Breeding Season. The following
are suggestions you may wish to consider to
increase the pregnancy rate in your cowherd:
1.Physically inspect every bull exposed to cows at
least once per week. Watch the way he travels.
Is he free in his stride or is he stilted in his gait?
Pay close attention to his feet and legs, eyes
and general body condition. He should have
been in a Body Condition Score (BCS) of 6 or
higher when he was turned in with the cows.
BCS's range from 1-9 (emaciated to very fat). It
is natural for him to lose from 10-20% of his
weight during the breeding season. He can do
this and still remain fertile and sexually
aggressive but the weight loss should be gradual and not sudden. Younger bulls, bulls in
larger pastures, and those with more cows to
cover will lose weight more quickly. Now it
becomes readily apparent why it is so important
to purchase bulls closer to home and raised
under environmental conditions similar to those
on your ranch. I realize that there are excellent
bulls raised out of state but recognize that when
you purchase a bull in Montana with a frame
score much larger than what it fits this south
Florida environment, you may have asked this
imported bull to perform on groceries which
cannot support him. If you have purchased a
bull from some distance, hopefully he has been
given at least sixty days acclimation on your
ranch prior to the breeding season.
2. Observe the bull serving the cow. Does the bull show
any inhibition or disinclination to complete the
job? Have you actually seen him thrust into and
dismount from the cow without showing any
signs of discomfort? Bulls with Brahman
breeding are often "shy breeders" and can be
more easily observed breeding from a distance
with binoculars. Many such bulls will only breed
at night. Record the cow's number and the
breeding date in your pocket calendar and
check that cow closely for any signs of return
heat 18-23 days later. If the percentage of cows
returning to heat is high, remove the bull and
check for injury or semen quality factors.
Replace the questionable bull with a fresh bull.
In a multi-sire breeding system, the infertile or
sterile bull often goes unnoticed because
another bull will get the cow bred.
3. Do not mix bulls or unequal rank. Older bulls are
usually more dominant and often have lowered
fertility. Dominance and sex drive are not
related, and neither is dominance and fertility.
In multi-sire groups, pregnancy rates can be
reduced when the dominant bull is infertile. Use
homogenous groups of younger bulls. In an
ideal world, all breeding herds would be single-sire.
Ideal because sire identity as well as
fertility would be known. However, we don't live
in an ideal world and cattle can be more
economically gathered and worked in larger,
multi-sire groups.
4. Sexual activity and bull
fertility can be increased by rotating bulls in and
out of the cow herd. Yes, this practice does
require extra labor but my own experience has
proven to me that the best pregnancy rates
have been achieved when I was most diligent at
rotating bulls. Here's how it can work.
Approximately two-thirds of all heats will occur
in the first one-third of the breeding season. So
turn in two-thirds of the bulls at the beginning of
the season and rest the other one-third. The
resting group can regain body condition by
eating a conditioning ration and healing bruised
body parts. Have you ever noticed a group of
bulls hanging around together and asked
yourself why they weren't mixing with the cows?
This phenomenon is noticed most frequently in
mid to late season. It doesn't mean they have
all the cows bred. It can signal that they
resting/repairing. Why not do it "back at the
house" where you can slip them a few extra
groceries? These apparently idle bulls may also
be breeding at night which is very common
among Brahman and Brahman influenced
cattle. If you do utilize a bull rotation, consider
using the better bulls first when more of the
cows will be cycling. The major disadvantage to
rotating bulls is the obvious additional labor
required. Many ranchers are reluctant to rotate
bulls fearing they will fight when reintroduced.
Personally, I have not found this to be a
problem when the bulls have either been raised
together or run together during the non-breeding
season. How long you rest the bulls depends
upon the length of the breeding season. In a
90-120 day breeding season, rotating every two
and one-half weeks works well. I've seen
ranchers become angry at the suggestion of
rotating bulls during the breeding season
because after all, the bull is only working for part
of the year anyway! The reason bull rotation
works is because the introduction of fresh bulls
increases the sexual excitation level of the cow
herd and the bulls remain competitive.
Regarding the length of the breeding season,
remember that it is not possible to get a calf
from every cow every 365 days if the breeding
season extends beyond 82 days (365 minus 283
=82).
5. Bull: Cow Ratio How many cows can
my bull settle? That's an age old question with
no easy answer, but here are a few sound
guidelines. Young bulls developed on high
forage diets in large pastures with other bulls
generally grow into more satisfactory breeders.
Breeding beef bulls should weigh approximately
1,000 lbs. and have reached 15 months of age
before turning out. Don't place any bull with a
group of cows without first having an
experienced veterinarian perform a semen
evaluation at the very least. A breeding
soundness exam and a libido test will help to
identify sub-fertile bulls. Three to four bulls per
hundred cows will work well under most
situations. For yearling bulls in a first
experience situation, 15-20 cows is about the
limit. In conclusion, the most constant thing
about cattle is their variation. There is a world
of difference among bulls. Expect much.
Demand much. Beef the losers.
Herd Management Considerations
Today, there are many opportunities to improve
herd performance. These include nutrition,
genetics, pasture management, health and
records. One opportunity often overlooked is
product uniformity. Cattle need uniformity to
market well, perform in the feedlot and produce
the carcass quality consumers demand. The
breeding program should be designed to
accomplish two things: 1)develop optimum cows
that work on the ranch and 2)produce calves
that will perform in the feedlot. Poor quality
cattle, i.e., the light muscled, small boned cattle;
too small or too large framed cattle; yield grade
4 and 5 cattle are profit robbers to all phases of
the cattle industry. Many of these undesirable
characteristics can be recognized by evaluating
individual cows. Those that deviate from the
herd quality standard should be culled as they
reflect on the ranch herd quality and the calf
crop's final sale price. The cow herd or cow
groups need to be uniform in breeding, size,
conformation and color.
To Improve Herd Uniformity:
Shorten the breeding season to 90 days or less.
In large herds, group cows according to calving
season. The closer they are in age, the more
uniform they will be throughout all growth
phases. An important economic benefit of this
practice is a lower supplement cost because the
nutrition program can be fine-tuned to the herd's
reproductive needs and forage quality.
Select heifers from early calving cows.
Research has shown that these heifers also
breed early themselves. Cull or group all late
calving cows. Their calves will be 50 to 75 lbs.
lighter throughout the growing and finishing
periods than those born early in the calving
season. A wide weight range at sale time
detracts from uniformity regardless of quality.
Select for a uniform color and conformation in
the calf crop. This can be very important
economically because multi-colored groups of
even high quality calves are viewed by many in
the cattle industry as non-uniform.
Group cows by breed and then use bulls that all
have the same genetic background; ideally from
the same seedstock supplier. This makes for a
uniform-looking group of calves, an important
marketing consideration. It is also important for
selecting replacement heifers. If using a
terminal cross, do not save any of the heifers as
replacements as they may not fit ranch
resources as mature cows.
Keep groups or herds in 150 to 200 head size
range if the total ranch cow numbers permit.
This allows for the selection of uniform calves to
market in truckload lots at the time of delivery to
the buyers.
Gather all possible information about
performance and carcass merit. This includes
entering a representative sample of calves in an
evaluation program which will provide live
performance and carcass data. This important
data will help in marketing the calf crop as well
as show the breeding program's merits and
deficiencies.
The cattle industry needs high quality, uniform
calves that perform well in the feedlot and finish
into tender, tasty, thin rinded, and well marbled
cuts for the final buyer, our consumers. To
profit, the rancher needs high quality and
uniform calves. It doesn't cost any more to
produce a high quality calf than an inferior calf;
but the pride and profit is much higher.
Source: The Supplement, '99 Winter Issue
Lakeland Cash Feed
Where's The Beef? In Marianna
In August, the University of Florida started
breaking ground in Marianna, Florida for the
new beef unit to be located at the North Florida
Research and Education Center (NFREC). This
beef unit will include the state's only bull test
program, in addition to emphasis on forage
production, cattle management, beef cattle
nutrition, and genetic research. The concept
behind the bull test station is to be able to
produce cattle that will perform in a hot, humid
climate and on poor pastures. There are people
in South America that are ready to buy bulls that
are climatized and tested in Florida's
environment.
Source: "Newsline" Fall 1998
Volume 4 Issue 2
The Bottom 10 to 15%
With the late fall and early winter season here,
now is the time to evaluate the cow herd's body
condition. When looking at body condition,
don't look at the fat cows; instead, look at the
bottom 10 to 15%. These are the cows that will
either not cycle or cycle late the next calving
season. They may need to be separated and
offered special supplementation or the best
forage as a means of improving their Body
Condition Score (BCS) before calving. The
minimal BCS is 5 at calving if desirable
reproductive performance is to be expected. A
cow must cycle and rebreed within 83 days after
calving if she is to maintain a 365-day calving
interval. Many research studies have shown
that only about 60% of the thin cows will cycle at
90 days after calving as opposed to about 90%
of the BCS 5 and higher cows. This 10 to 15%
can have tremendous effect on profits. A
strung-out calf crop due to late calving cows is
more expensive than open cows. If an early
calving cow calves in the first 10 days of the
calving season, and the other calves 90 days
into the calving season, there will be an 80-day
calf age difference at weaning. If the calves
each gain 2 pounds per day from birth to
weaning, this will still be a 160 pound weight
spread at the same weaning date. This age
difference also detracts from calf crop
uniformity which will reduce sale price. This
makes a strong case for culling chronically late
calvers and replacing them with early calving
heifers. With the declining forage quality and
the cows in their last trimester of pregnancy,
body condition needs to be monitored closely to
insure early rebreeding and a reduction of late
calves.
Source: The Supplement, '99 Winter Issue
Lakeland Cash Feed
Forage Test Kits Available
Why Test Your Forage?
Forage testing provides useful information about
the nutritive value of a forage. This information
can be used to adjust the amount of protein and
energy supplements that are fed with the forage
in order to meet the needs of the animals being
fed. This information can SAVE you money.
The Extension Forage Testing Program uses
near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to
analyze the forages. This is a faster method
than those that have been used in the past.
Results can usually be returned in 7 to 10 days.
How To Get Started.
Forage test kits can be obtained from the
Hardee County Extension office. These kits
contain complete instructions on how to collect
and submit a sample for analysis. The kit
contains a mailing envelope with the laboratory
address label, a plastic bag to hold the sample,
and a sample information report form. A
sample with completed form and payment
(check) are sent to the NIRS laboratory at the
Range Cattle Research and Education Center,
Ona, FL. The cost is $8.00.
What Forage Can Be Tested?
Hay, silage and or pasture. If you have never
tested your forage, call Lockie Gary at 773-2164
and ask about how to take your samples. Your
results are only as good as your sample. I will
be happy to assist you with the sampling and
the interpretation of the results. KNOW WHAT
YOUR CATTLE ARE EATING!
STAFF CONTRIBUTORS
Lochrane A. Gary - County Extension Director
Mary Alderman - Administrative Secretary
For questions or comments regarding this
publication contact
Lochrane A. Gary
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