Angus Advisor
July herd management tips from cattle experts across the nation.
Western Region
General management
Pasture irrigation and thistle control. If irrigated pastures are part of your forage resources, timely irrigation during hot summer months is critical in terms of impacting forage production. Mid-summer is also an excellent time to try to control thistle or other invasive weeds in pastures.
Pinkeye prevention. Mid-summer is the time of the year when problems with pinkeye can become quite prevalent and thus treatments can become time-consuming. The incidence of pinkeye can be reduced by clipping tall, mature grasses; controlling flies with dust bags, pour-ons, and/or fly tags; and treating problems quickly and aggressively.
Antibiotics such as the long-acting oxytetracyclines are very effective in treating pinkeye. A more inexpensive treatment option, but one that is more difficult to administer, is to treat the infected eye with an injection of 2 cc under the membrane that covers the upper portion of the eyeball with a mixture of 90% penicillin and 10% dexamethasone. Many times, a grass seed or sticker is the reason that the eye became infected. If that is the case, the white spot that develops on the eye will not be in the center of the eye. Most people prefer to apply patches to infected eyes, and those can be made very easily from old, worn-out jeans. Leave the bottom portion of the patch unglued so the eye can drain.
Fall-calving herds
Cows are on cruise control.
Reproductive management
Vaccinations. If any precalving vaccinations, such as a scour vaccine, are going to be used, now is the time to decide on the specific product and get products on hand.
Nutritional management
Mineral supplementation. Be sure that cows are receiving adequate levels of calcium, phosphorus and trace minerals that are deficient in your area.
Body condition. The target level of body condition at calving is a minimum body condition score (BCS) of 5.0 for mature cows and 6.0 for 2-year-old heifers on a scale of 1 to 9 (see more information online at
www.cowbcs.info).
Protein and energy supplementation. Mid-summer is typically a time of the year when fall-calving cows will maintain themselves adequately with no need for either energy or protein supplementation.
Heifer development. The developmental period from weaning until breeding time is critical in terms of influencing the future productivity of females. Females should be developed to reach approximately 65% of their projected mature weight at the start of the breeding period.
Spring-calving herds
Focus on breeding season and suckling calf health.
Reproductive management
Breeding season. Depending on desired calving dates, the AI breeding period should be concluded. Monitor return heats and clean-up bull performance for any problems that may arise.
Nutritional management
Mineral supplementation. Be sure that cows are receiving adequate levels of calcium, phosphorus and trace minerals that are deficient in your area.
Energy balance. Energy balance has a major impact on fertility and thus it is critical that cows are in a state of positive energy balance or gaining weight during the breeding season.
Health management
Treatment protocols. Treatment protocols and products should be on hand for scours and pneumonia in suckling calves.
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Southeastern Region
General recommendations
Stock pastures according to current and projected available forage amounts. Implement MiG systems for efficient forage use. Provide proper mineral supplementation and fresh water at all times. Water requirements increase by 2.5 times as the temperature rises from 50° to 90° F.
Clip excess forage or harvest for hay. Control summer weeds. Watch Dallis grass pastures for ergot contamination, clipping seedheads as needed. Avoid grazing heavily nitrogen-fertilized, warm-season annual pastures during drought to prevent nitrate poisoning.
Harvest Bermuda grass hay at four- to five-week intervals for optimum forage quality. Use soil test results to optimize fertilizer investments. Record hay yields, forage-test each cutting, and store hay to minimize losses. Maintain forage harvesting equipment.
Take precautions to prevent losses related to heat stress. Provide adequate shade for cattle. Handle cattle early in the morning before the temperature rises. Limit the time cattle spend confined with limited air movement. Reduce cattle stress during hot weather.
Keep a close eye on fly numbers. Remove insecticidal fly tags as they become ineffective, and implement additional fly control methods. Rotate fly control chemical classes. Employ internal parasite, pinkeye and anaplasmosis control measures.
Implement BQA-consistent practices. Ask a veterinarian about state animal health monitoring and certification programs. Develop a ranch-level disease and disaster preparedness plan including premises ID.
Form alliances for group marketing and bulk purchasing. Continue good production and financial recordkeeping. Use enterprise budgets and cash flow analyses to make knowledgeable production and marketing decisions.
Spring-calving herds
Remove bulls from breeding pastures. Market bulls that will not be used again. Review breeding records, including heat detection records, AI dates, dates bulls are turned in and out, herd female and breeding group ID, dates bred, returns to heat, and expected calving dates. Preg-check females about 60 days after the breeding season ends. Market open and late-calving females.
Supplement the forage program if cows are thin or forage quantity or quality is limiting. Place cattle with the highest nutritional needs on the highest-quality forages. Creep-feed calves if marketing plans and pasture conditions justify.
Fall-calving herds
After weaning, cull cows based on pregnancy status, soundness, health and performance. Select replacement heifers and permanently identify them. Plan a heifer development program based on nutritional resources and gains needed to reach target breeding weights. Make sure bulls are in good condition to begin the next breeding season. Provide additional nutrients to thin or growing bulls.
Wean calves in areas with good fences at least 45 days before shipment off the ranch and based on market and pasture conditions. Minimize calf stress at weaning. Wean cattle within accepted age windows. Use weaning performance results in marketing decisions.
Vaccinate and booster calves based upon veterinary advice. Train calves to eat from a bunk and drink from a water trough. Continue a high level of nutritional management for early-weaned calves.
Consider optimum calf marketing times and methods. Run breakevens on stockering and finishing. Consider risk management strategies. Help bull customers market their calves.
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Midwest Region
July and August are months when forages are maturing, weaning time is approaching and weather dictates several key management decisions.
Breeding season
- Limit the breeding season by removing bulls after 60 days with the cows and 45 days with the heifers. Cull cows that have not conceived after three or four services by a fertile bull and/or a well-run AI program. These steps will contribute to a more uniform calf crop, making winter nutritional management easier and increasing the success rate of next year's breeding season.
- Keep accurate and complete breeding records. Store records in safe places, and make sure they are organized and legible.
Herd nutrition
- Provide ample amounts of clean, fresh drinking water.
- If drought conditions set in or persist, July can be a major decision month. Creep-feeding will provide the least amount of drought relief; early weaning and culling cows will have more dramatic effects on stretching forage supplies.
- Prepurchase bulk-rate winter supplements prior to seasonal price increases.
Herd health
- If pinkeye is likely to be a problem, consider the following preventive and therapeutic measures:
Prevention: Make sure the herd is receiving adequate dietary vitamins and trace minerals. Consider using a medicated trace-mineral package and vaccinating for pinkeye and IBR. Control face flies. Clip pastures that have tall, coarse grasses that may irritate eyes, and provide ample shade.
Therapy: Administer an IM injection of long-acting oxytetracycline when symptoms are first noticed. Shut out irritating sunlight by patching eyes, providing shade, etc. Control flies. Consult your veterinarian. - Consider revaccinating show animals for respiratory diseases. Vaccinate suckling calves for IBR, BVD, PI3, BRSV and possibly pasteurella at least three weeks prior to weaning. Revaccinate all calves for blackleg. Vaccinate replacement heifers (4-10 months of age) for brucellosis.
- Monitor and treat foot rot.
Forage/pasture management
- Observe pasture weed problems to aid in planning the control methods needed next spring.
- Monitor grazing conditions and rotate pastures if possible and practical. Enhance grazing distribution by placing the minerals away from water sources. If pastures won't last all summer, get ready to provide emergency feeds. Start supplemental feeding before pastures are gone to extend grazing.
- For stocker cattle and replacement heifers, consider supplementing mature grasses with an acceptable level of degradable intake protein and ionophore (feed additive).
- Harvest and store forages properly. Minimize waste by reducing spoilage. Sample harvested forages, and have them analyzed for nitrate and nutrient composition.
- Plan your winter nutritional program through pasture and forage management. This can be the start of stockpiling forage supplies for fall and winter grazing.
General management
- Avoid unnecessary heat stress. Don't handle or transport cattle during the heat of the day.
- Repair, replace and improve facilities needed for fall processing.
- Order supplies, vaccines, tags and other products needed at weaning time.
- Consider earlier-than-normal weaning if drought conditions develop and persist, range conditions limit milk production, cows lose body condition, or facilities and management are available to handle lightweight calves. First-calf heifers have the most to gain. Resist the temptation to feed the cows without weaning; feeding early-weaned calves is more efficient.
- Look for unsound cows that need to be culled from the herd.
- Prepare to have your calf crop weighed and analyzed through your state, regional or breed performance-testing program.
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Southern Great Plains
Spring-calving herds
Breeding bulls should be removed from the cow herd after 60-90 days.
If you are in a region where May and June precipitation was abundant, you may need to consult your veterinarian regarding the potential value of deworming nursing calves during mid- to late summer. Response to the anthelmintic generally increases in wet years, although response will vary substantially depending on other factors, such as grazing intensity and previous parasite management.
Fall-calving herds
Wean fall-born calves before the middle of July to allow cows time to regain body condition before calving again.
At weaning, vaccinate calves according to your veterinarian's recommendations, deworm calves, preg-check cows and heifers, weigh and estimate condition scores of cows, and weigh calves. Transfer records for your whole herd to the American Angus Association.
A small package of high-protein supplement, such as recommended in the Oklahoma Gold program, can facilitate around a 2-lb. ADG on weaned heifers and bull calves grazing abundant native pastures during July, August and September. A strategic deworming program and the inclusion of a feed additive such as Bovatec®, Rumensin® or chlortetracycline are important features in this program.
General recommendations
As of this writing, soil moisture conditions were extremely variable in the region with extreme drought to severe flooding. Dry conditions throughout primary wheat-producing areas have once again encouraged considerable wheat to be harvested as hay. Later-cut wheat is generally lower quality than producers expect due to plant maturity. Producers should test lots (fields or meadows) of hay for nutritive value. This information leads to informed decisions regarding the organization and planning for a cost-effective winter feeding program and hay marketing. A list of forage-testing laboratories certified through the National Forage Testing Association is available at www.foragetesting.org.
With higher feed and fertilizer costs, it is imperative producers be diligent about putting up high-quality hay. Harvest hay in earlier stages of maturity to reduce or eliminate the need for supplementation. Later-harvested hay and rain-damaged hay should be fed to cattle with low nutrient requirements (such as dry cows during the middle trimester of pregnancy).
Another simple principle that will help keep production costs down is to use moderate to low stocking rates. This minimizes the need for supplementation as cattle can selectively graze a higher-quality diet, and it minimizes the need to feed hay during winter.
Remove intensive early stocking cattle from native grass pastures by July 10.
Continue fly and tick control programs for all cattle. The incidence of pinkeye is particularly high during late summer. Fly control is one key management factor in minimizing the spread of this disease.
Harvest Sudan grass and Sudan hybrids for hay in the boot stage, which generally corresponds to 3 ft. to 4 ft. in height. A routine nitrate test on forage before harvesting may be advisable, particularly if soil moisture has been scarce prior to harvest.
Treat cattle for grubs after heel fly activity ceases and before larvae reach the back, generally between July 1 and Oct. 1.