Birds And Bees And Breeding Beef Cattle: Two New Webpages Cover Breeding Cow And Bull Management

The goal of a cow-calf operation should be for each breeding female to deliver a healthy calf to weaning every year. While this sounds like a simple, straightforward outcome, there is a long list of variables that must fall into place before that can happen.  In addition to maintaining a cow herd that is productive in the short term, a breeding program should support the objectives of your farm over the long term. Whether a producer is aiming to raise commercial or purebred breeding stock, effective reproductive management should sustain continued improvements in genetics and production potential.   What factors are important for breeding cow management? Maintaining breeding momentum can be the difference between setbacks and success in a beef herd. Determining your breeding season will ultimately determine when the calving season will occur (winter, spring, fall, summer). Labour availability, feed resources, infrastructure, weather and marketing goals are all important consideration