Spring forage planning should begin before pastures turn green. Waiting until then is one of the costliest mistakes producers can make.When grass greens up, it feels like winter feeding is ending and the cows are ready to graze. But many important grazing decisions are already set or missed by this point.
Early spring decisions have a big impact on pasture performance for the rest of the year. Overgrazing during the first growth can set forage back for months, even if it doesn’t look like a problem at first. Early spring grass is delicate. Roots are still recovering, energy reserves are low, and regrowth is slow if plants are grazed too much or too often.
This is why good spring forage planning starts weeks before green-up, while pastures still look dormant. This is the time to decide which fields will rest, where to focus grazing, and how to delay turnout to protect early growth.
If you wait until the grass is green, you end up reacting instead of planning. Starting early gives you more choices.
Next, we’ll look at why early spring is a vulnerable time for pastures and share clear strategies to protect your fields and get the most from grazing before green-up.
When feeding cattle, most people focus on protein, energy, and minerals. But roughage plays a key role in a healthy diet. Without enough roughage, a cow’s digestive system won’t work as it should. Roughages provide the fiber that keeps the rumen active, helping cattle break down feed, absorb nutrients, and stay productive. In short, roughage forms the base of the whole diet.
Creep feeding allows calves to access feed that mature cows cannot. This practice can promote superior calf growth and raise weaning weights, meaning the calf’s weight when separated from its mother. Elevated weaning weights typically result in higher sale prices at year’s end. Providing calves with a digestible supplement supports growth even if forage quality or milk yield declines. Still, creep feeding is not a universal fix. Like any cow-calf management decision, it is most effective when applied strategically for clear objectives.
At first glance, February calving doesn’t seem too bad. The harshest winter days are usually over; daylight is increasing, and some warmer afternoons are appearing. It’s easy to believe the hardest part of winter calving is behind you.
February can catch even the most prepared cattle producers off guard, especially in cow-calf operations juggling winter feeding and the start of calving season.
If you asked most cattle producers when cows tend to lose body condition, January would probably be the first answer that comes to mind.
February is one of those sneaky months in the cattle business that can catch even experienced producers off guard.
Replacement heifers are the backbone of a successful and profitable cow-calf operation. They aren’t just “
Knowing when to step in and help during calving is one of the hardest calls a cow/calf producer has to make. It really is a balancing act—step in too early, and you risk creating problems that weren’t there to begin with; wait too long, and a tough calving can turn into a life-or-death situation fast. During calving season, timing matters just as much as technique. Understanding when to assist a cow calving can mean the difference between a healthy calf on the ground and a costly, heartbreaking loss.
Calf scours is one of those problems that instantly puts cow/calf producers on high alert—and for good reason. It’s the number one cause of financial loss in young calves, costing operations time, money, and sometimes entire calf crops if it gets out of hand. What makes calf scours in cattle especially frustrating is how quickly it can appear and spread. One day calves look fine, and the next you’re dealing with diarrhea, weak calves, and long nights in the barn. It can feel like a wildfire moving through a pasture, leaving producers scrambling to get ahead of it.
