🐮 Dairy x Beef - Solution to shrinking beef herd?

Four Times the Fun, Bull Budget and Put a (Hay) Ring on It from Ranching.com by CattleMax

February 12, 2025

Ranching.com is your weekly dose of trending news, seasonal tips, and community content put together by our team of ranchers.

NEWS

🐮 Dairy x Beef - Solution to shrinking beef herd?

Maggie Malson/Drovers

🐮 Dairy x Beef - The U.S. beef cattle herd is at a 64-year low, with no immediate plans to rebuild. The beef industry increasingly relies on beef-on-dairy crossbreds for consistent, high-quality supply, offering value and traceability despite ongoing challenges.

🍼 Four Times the Fun - A ranch family in Veblen, SD, experienced a rare event when a cow gave birth to quadruplets, all healthy and alive—odds of 1 in 11.2 million. Remarkably, all four were bull calves, a 1 in 179.2 million occurrence.

🐂 Bull Budget - The value of a good bull ranges from $9,000 to $15,000, depending on marketing plans and market conditions. Bulls impact profits through offspring sales and genetic improvements, with greater value for operations retaining ownership and selecting for specific traits.

👨‍⚖️ Grazing Protection Policy - The RANCH Act, introduced by Senators Risch and Barrasso, supports resilient rangelands and effective grazing management. It offers solutions like temporary grazing during disasters, funding for rangeland health, and extended grazing permits to aid ranchers and rural communities.

💍 Put a (Hay) Ring on It - Feeding round bales with hay rings reduces waste, with savings ranging from $5.32 to $12.85 per bale. Investing in efficient feeders like modified cone models can pay for themselves after feeding 44 to 107 bales.

RANCHING KNOW-HOW

Answer These Cow Herd Questions to Help Make Smart Bull Selections

As bull sale season approaches, Matt Spangler advises producers to evaluate their herd's performance and identify key areas for improvement. Focus on selecting bulls with the right genetic value, using EPDs and economic indexes for maximum return on investment.

Time to Rethink Deworming the Beef Herd

With dewormer resistance growing, Eric Meusch urges livestock producers to adopt broader parasite management strategies. This includes rotational grazing, strategic deworming timing, and culling infected cows to maintain herd health and ensure deworming efficacy.

RANCHING AROUND THE WORLD RECAP
CATTLE COMMUNITY
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
❝

“I can accept failure; everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”

Michael Jordan

READER POLL

Do you deworm your beef herd?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

LAST WEEK’S RESULTS

Have you encountered "winter cow syndrome" in your herd?

25.4%: Yes, previously

14%: Yes, currently

29.6%: No

31%: This is the first I’ve heard of it.

THOUGHTS FROM VOTERS
Yes, previously

  • “It has happened particularly after a bad drought, but past experience has helped alleviate this, at least in my area.”

  • “Its called ‘keep them fed.’ Other years - trying to conserve hay to make it through the winter - the cows got the syndrome with low weight and took the early summer to catch up their weight. You have to maintain consistent food source.”

Yes, previously

  • “I guess I knew it, but not by that name. Unthrifty to start with, poor body condition, age. Usually meant they were culled in fall.”