Preconditioning CALVES

Follow our step-by-step guide to get more money for your calves.

- ERICA WEBB

In this economy, “low-input cattle” have become the new trend for many producers. The cost of everything from feed and fertilizer to animal health products and transportation has more than doubled, causing producers to hesitate before making certain investments in their cattle. Common scenarios include, buying the cheapest bull, not providing nutritional supplementation to cattle, or when bills are due, the biggest calves get weaned on the trailer as they head to the sale barn. This low input, minimal labor way of running cattle may seem to work at the surface level, but with prices of cattle higher than they have ever been, it pays to properly precondition calves before sending them to market.

What does it mean to precondition calves? Preconditioning is a management practice that involves various techniques that aim to set calves up for success long-term. These techniques often require a little bit of time with some financial investment, but these tactics pay off big at time of sale when selling calves at weaning age. Preconditioning puts more money in your pocket and sets up calves for success as they make their way through the phases of production. Here is my step-by-step guide for easy preconditioning of calves.

NO.1: ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION

Recordkeeping is one of the most important things you can implement into your management program. Programs such as CattleMax are great for keeping all records organized from year to year. However, using a basic Excel sheet or Word document or even the fail-safe spiral bound notebook work great at tracking data over time.

Knowing who your calves are is an important step for being able to make management decisions. A simple ear tag that distinguishes one calf from the other allows you to track performance data and makes it easier to identify one that may need treatment from illness or injury.