When you are in the middle of a drought season, what are the downsizing options as a beef farmer? That is what we will be discussing in this article.
Hi, my name is Julie and my husbands name is Bo. We are raising grass fed and/or grain finished beef for families wanting high quality meat from local farmers.
Bo and I both grew up with beef cattle.
Bo’s family had a few Hereford cows and took steers to the county fair with his sister. I grew up beside my grandparents that also had a herd of Hereford cows. My grandparents had a few pastures that they would move the cows around, fields that were for making hay, straw and corn for the corn crib.
Let’s start off with a drought is, then we will get into options to help your beef farm during those times.
“A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions. A drought can last for days, months or years. Drought often has large impacts on the ecosystems and agriculture of affected regions, and causes harm to the local economy.” Wikipedia
Downsizing can be a hard thing to do, especially if the market isn’t ideal. Thankfully we had plenty of pasture to keep our herd of 21 beef cows. As we continue to grow, as the Lord sees, knowing what our options are will be beneficial for any future droughts.
While we can all slice bread so many different ways, the same can be true of downsizing your beef herd. I have kept the list to two options with the pros and cons of each situation.
Option 1: Keep 2, 3 and 4 year old females.This option keeps the females with genetically superior traits. When you’re ready to rebuild your beef herd, the genetics you had been breeding for will be preserved. This group of females, the 2, 3 and 4 year olds, require less quantity however require higher quality feed. This is because they haven’t finished growing yet and their bodies need that higher quality feed. This age group of beef females often face reproductive challenges such as not a quick rebreeding and they can have calving difficulties compared to mature females.
Option 2: Keep your 4 to 8 year old females.This option allows you to maintain the “easy keepers.” These cows have already reached their mature body size and will not need the higher quality diet. This age group of beef cows are usually easier to rebreed and calve compared to younger females. A con for this age range of beef cows is that they will need more feed per day than the younger females.
Managing beef cattle through a drought is not a fun time. This is why early decision-making, around careful thought and planning can lessen the impact of drought. One thing we have found over the last two summers is monitoring how well our pastures are handling the stress of no rain.
Our pastures are young (formally cropland) so the root system isn’t as well established. We have pulled the herd off early and put them in the winter pasture and we have left them out. Both options have side affects that we won’t fully see the effects until next spring/summer.
The biggest take away is to remember to make your choices based on logic rather than emotion, (which can be hard). If you feel emotions are playing a large role in your decision making process, reach out to another farmer or vet for some guidance.
In the end, it’s your choice how to move forward with your beef herd during the drought. I hope you find this information useful.
Let me know which option would you go with?
Until Next Time, Grow Something Beautiful Friends,Bo, Julie and Family
” For I know the plans I have for you, ” declares the Lord, ” plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11
www.brinkerfamilyfarm.com
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