Beef cattle farmers often face issues that undermine profitability. Here are a few of the issues they experience and a couple of strategies that can help.
Beef cattle farming is often the most expensive during the winter because of feed costs. Farmers spend hours researching the best ways to produce feed without spending a fortune. They will often look at laborsaving technologies, bigger balers, and stronger tractors. One way to deal with these high costs is to learn winter grazing strategies that can extend the grazing season. This requires learning how to prepare the highest quality winter pastures.
Beef cattle farmers often choose their cattle breed based on marketing expectations and how adaptable particular breeds are to the local climate. When the breed does not meet the expectation of the farmer, beef cattle farming can become difficult and disappointing. Farmers need to choose cattle breeds that are suitable for the local climate. Parasite resistance, eye pigment for bright climates, heat tolerance, cold tolerance, and suitability for grazing during the winter are all potential adaptions farmers need to consider. This will improve the performance of the cattle, lower production costs, and reduce health issues in the cattle.
One cattle management strategy that is popular is to split the cattle into several groups. However, this can be disastrous when using a grazing program. Combining cattle herds typically means a more simple grazing plan, less time wasted moving from pasture to pasture, and less infrastructure requirements. The bottom line is that combining herds is a simple and effective solution.
