Beef Management Tips

You've reached the Virginia Cooperative Extension Newsletter Archive. These files cover more than ten years of newsletters posted on our old website (through April/May 2009), and are provided for historical purposes only. As such, they may contain out-of-date references and broken links.

To see our latest newsletters and current information, visit our website at http://www.ext.vt.edu/news/.

Newsletter Archive index: http://sites.ext.vt.edu/newsletter-archive/

Beef Management Tips

Livestock Update, January 2003

John B. Hall, Extension Animal Scientist, Beef, VA Tech

January Beef Management Calendar

Spring Calving Herds

Begin to gather calving supplies
Keep late pregnant cows gaining 1.0 lbs per day
Pregnant heifers and 3 yr olds should gain 2.0-2.5 lbs per day
Keep high quality minerals available
Review calving assistance procedures
Stockpile a few gallons of colostrum
Attend performance tested bull sales and/or order semen for AI
Soil test pastures not tested in last 3 yrs
Order clover seed for frost seeding later this winter
Sign-up for BQA producer certification

Fall Calving Herds

Begin/continue breeding
Check cow and bull condition
Supplement energy to young bulls during breeding season
Send in forage test if not done earlier this year
Continue to check calves closely for health problems
Re-implant September and early October born calves that were implanted at birth
Soil test pastures not tested in last 3 yrs
Order clover seed for frost seeding later this winter
Sign-up for BQA producer certification

Visit Virginia Cooperative Extension