June-July beef management calendar

JUNE

Spring Calving Herds

• Finish AI; turn out clean-up bulls
• Check bulls regularly for performance and injury
• Manage first-calf heifers separately; give them best forage and supplement
• Use 48 hour calf removal for thin cows and first-calf heifers at beginning of breeding season
• Continue feeding high magnesium minerals to prevent grass tetany; may be able to switch to high Se
• Administer mid-summer deworming and implant calves late in month or early next month
• Complete harvest of first cutting hay early in month
• Start grazing warm season grasses

Fall Calving Herds

• Body condition score cows; plan nutrition and grazing program based on BCS
• Administer mid-summer deworming on replacement heifers and pregnant heifers
• Plan marketing program for calves
• Finalize calf crop marketing program
• Vaccinate, wean, and certify calves to be marketed in late summer
• Switch to high selenium trace mineral salt
• Start grazing warm season grasses

JULY

Spring Calving Herds

• Check bulls regularly for performance and injury
• End breeding season; pull bulls
• Feed 1st calf heifers separately; provide highest quality forage and supplement
• Continue fly control program
• Continue feeding high Se trace salt
• Continue creep grazing
• Do mid-summer deworming and implanting early in month
• Start grazing warm season grasses

Fall Calving Herds

• Continue fly control program
• Do mid-summer deworming on replacement heifers, preg heifers (2 yr olds) and 3 yr-old cows
• Continue high Se trace mineral salt
• Vaccinate and certify calves for value-added feeder calf sales
• Wean calves if selling in weaned program (wean minimum of 45 days)

Source: Dr. Scott P. Greiner, Extension Animal Scientist, Virginia Tech.

1. UK beef study: Birth/weaning weight
2. Early preparation key to a good calving season
3. Oil gains moderately, trading sluggish ahead of Fed
4. House cafeterias to discontinue "Meatless Mondays"
5. Crude oil expected to peak and cost of electricity to go down
6. Ag markets mixed again Tuesday

1. 3,000 pounds of copper wire stolen from Oklahoma ranch
2. Will Smith dethroned in latest Peterson Farm Bros. parody
3. Changes in U.S.-Mexican cattle and beef trade
4. Peterson Brothers: What summer vacation?
5. Experts weigh in on lowest beef supply in 60 years
6. Crude oil expected to peak and cost of electricity to go down

1. COOL isn’t working
2. NIAA releases white paper on FMD preparedness
3. Feedyard margins a train wreck, packers cozy
4. Finding the comedy in ag-gag
5. Vilsack: A bill to grow local, regional markets
6. Expert offers tips to reduce hay-drying time