Cow-Calf Corner: Plan Now To Make It Through The Winter: Part I

Jul 21, 2022

By Paul Beck

It has been hot and dry this summer. The maps from Mesonet below show that in the last 30 days much of Oklahoma has had less than 10% of our normal rainfall and over 2 consecutive weeks of maximum temperatures in excess of 90°. Worries about drought and how we are going to make it through the winter with limited or no stored forage has monopolized most of our thoughts, energy, and time. There are some critical steps that need to be made in order for us to make it.

Our first priority is to reduce the stocking rate on the ranch to a level that can be sustained through the rest of the summer and into the fall.

If you are one of the operations that keeps or purchases stocker calves to utilize extra grass, this may be the time to sell calves early or send calves to a grow yard or feedlot. Using stocker calves as part of the “normal” stocking rate of the ranch allows for producers to be flexible for drought and other adverse weather events. Many operations use 30 to 50% of their summer forage for stockers in normal years, when forage production is limited these calves can be marketed reducing the culling of the cowherd that may need to occur.
Selling replacement heifers should also be considered, these females will not provide a marketable calf for over a year. In this current circumstance, these cattle may be too large of a drain of resources.
Cull cowherd to a number that you can afford to winter by getting rid of old cow, less productive cows and/or cows that have higher nutrient requirements. Cows that are expected to calve in the fall will require more nutrients to keep them in proper condition, and a higher level of nutrition equates to higher cost of winter feeding. The number of cows remaining may be the actual sustainable long-term carrying capacity for your operation.
Cross-fence your farm now before you have to start feeding hay. You will be surprised how much forage growth you will have if you allow pastures to rest. Once you have the farm subdivided you can utilize these pastures in a rotational grazing system in the future and may have the additional benefit of increased pasture health and improved harvest efficiency. Keep cows on a smaller area of your farm while you are feeding hay, this sacrifice paddock will allow much of the ranch a rest and concentrate the nutrients from hay feeding.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.