  BeefTalk:
For Beef Producers, Caring for Living, Breathing Animals is Top Priority
By Kris Ringwall, Extension Beef Specialist,
NDSU Extension Service
Do you ever have one of those weeks, you wouldn’t wish on anybody? I don’t
mean to say that other careers don’t have their ups and downs, but beef
production is different. Every single day, beef producers only have one goal--to
keep alive and productive those living things entrusted to their care.
The calving season brings home that point more than any other time. In North
Dakota, the first two weeks of March is when calving gets into full swing.
Expectations are high and so are the sleepless nights. But it’s worth it.
While looking at the steam rising from a newborn, laying on fresh straw on a
crisp 10 degree day, you can’t help but bond to the beef business.
Did I say last week was rough? Yes I did. At the Dickinson Research Extension
Center, the cow inventory dropped by four. Let me explain what happened.
Each summer, 30 to 60 days after the breeding season, all cows are pregnancy
checked using ultrasound. Cows are classified as to which 21 day period they are
expected to calve. The ultrasound was used to measure calf’s body length or
cranial width. This data is recorded and the cattle classified as A1, N1, N2, N3
and so on.
The A1s were conceived through artificial insemination during the first 21
days of the breeding season. The N cattle are bred naturally to the Center’s
bulls. The N1s conceived during the first 21 days, the N2s during the second 21
days of the breeding season and the N3s and so on within each consecutive 21 day
period. The A1s and N1s for the center were due Feb. 26, the N5s are mid-May
calving cows. It’s how we manage our cows to bring them to calving in good
shape.
Last week, N2 cows were removed from the pre-calving herd and resorted into
expected calving pens. This left only 21 N3 cows in the pre-calving pen.
Unfortunately, the grain portion of the ration was not adjusted to account for
removing cows. The following day, a massive grain overload occurred. Although
corrective action was taken, six cows went down. Four of those died.
The surviving cows will suffer the fate typical of foundered cows: lameness,
poor feet and eventual structural unsoundness. The situation is like four
simultaneous code blues in the medical community with only one crash cart. With
the patients weighing between 1200 and 1500 pounds each, resuscitation was a bet
none of us would take.
At times like this, beef producers bond to a life the rest of the business
community will never know. Beef producers only have one mission and that is to
sustain those lives of those in their care. It is not a question of dollars. It
is not a question of performance. Most beef producers take a back seat to no one
when it comes to the welfare of their cows and calves.
At the Center, as of March 6, we have entrusted to us 376 mother cows plus
149 calves, 138 replacement yearlings, 25 herd bulls and 35 horses. We have
entrusted to the feed lot 118 steers. Every day, the well-being of all of these
841 beating hearts depends on us. So when someone says that beef production is
just another job, think again.
When you speak of a beef producer’s herd, you speak of the beef producer.
When a beef producer loses part of that herd, it is not just another day.
May you find all your ear tags.
Your comments are always welcome at www.BeefTalk.com
For more information, contact the North Dakota Beef Cattle Improvement
Association, 1133 State Avenue, Dickinson, ND 58601 or go to www.CHAPS2000.COM
on the Internet. In correspondence about this column, refer to BT0030.
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Source: Kris Ringwall, (701) 483-2045, kringwal@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu
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