Destocking is a prevalent practice during a drought. Doing this is rarely easy to do and will still cost you most of the time. However, drought is a common consequence of ranching, so it will still need to be made. It is important to include plans for when droughts occur so producers are always prepared.
The object of making this decision is to preserve any potential forage growth when the rains come back. It requires maximizing the options available to you by keeping an eye on current and future forage supplies and animal demand. Making these choices early enough will be less severe than waiting too long.
In order to be effective, you must look at your overall goal as well as some guidelines that you should follow. Now is the time that you must take a very pragmatic look at your herd. Letting your personal views make your decisions can end up costing you in the end. Here are some things to consider when looking at destocking:
Having calves weaned early is often something that occurs during periods of low forage quality. Early weaning typically happens during extremely dry periods, such as what typically happens in many Western states. But what exactly does it mean to wean early?
Gut health is one of the often underutilized components of a successful operation. Sure, people have a basic understanding of it when it comes to nutrients and their absorption, but that is usually as far as it goes. Producers often need to fully understand what it entails or even what factors can influence it.
Breeding season puts a lot of demands on cows. During this time, she is expected to provide adequate nutrition for her calf while her body recovers from giving birth. Then she is expected to return to estrus just before she is bred again. All of this is expected to occur within 90 days after calving to maintain a yearly calving interval.
Trich, or the more scientific name Trichomoniasis, is a severe economic problem for cattle producers. Some of the problems it can cause are a reduced calf crop and lower weaning weights. It can cause this because it makes your breeding cows infertile and possibly causes a more extended breeding season.
Weaning time is once again upon us. It is a magical time when everything runs smoothly. Also, absolutely nothing wrong ever….. 
The threat of drought in any year is a real problem for most of the country. Many of us have seen severely less than average rainfall, which has strained our businesses. The most frustrating thing about it is that drought is one of the few things we, humans, have no control over.
Internal parasites are a problem that every beef producer must face. It is a constant annoyance that can rob a beef operation of its productivity. They impair production by increasing things like energy costs of maintenance, diet digestibility, and immune activity.
Water is an essential part of life. A certain amount is certainly needed for growth, fetal development, lactation, and overall production. But unfortunately, despite its importance, it is something that can be overlooked very easily by producers.
Summer pneumonia, sometimes referred to as pasture pneumonia, is a disease that is usually observed in calves on pasture late in summer. It can affect calves that have yet to be weaned from just one-month-old to even five months of age. The issue with this disease is that not much is known about it, and it can pop up from nowhere.
