Latest / CattleUSA Daily / 187: Winter Prep for Cattle: 9 Steps to Save Stress Later

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187: Winter Prep for Cattle: 9 Steps to Save Stress Later · CattleUSA Daily

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  Welcome to the Cattle USA Daily podcast, your go to source for
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  the latest livestock markets, industry insights and the
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  updates shaping agriculture today.
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  I'm your host Lauren Moylan, a passionate advocate for
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  agriculture, here to keep you informed and connected.
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  Now let's dive into today's episode.
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  Many of us around the country are getting started on our
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  winter prep and getting ready for the colder months ahead of
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  us. Lord knows that winter creeps up
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  faster than any of us like to admit.
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  But by the time that that first phrase is actually here, that To
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  Do List gets buried under the pile of a million other things
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  that we have to be doing, whether that be feeding,
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  calving, prep and just all the other weather, weather headaches
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  that come with that time of year.
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  O today I'm going to walk you guys through a quick, just a
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  little prewinter checklist that I put together for us and our
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  operation. Things that are just going to
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  help us over the next few weeks as we finish up our fall
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  processing, get calves sent away to the sail barn.
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  And we're kind of in that little lull right between getting
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  calves sent to the sail barn and getting ready to dive into
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  winter. So these are 10 steps to set you
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  up for a smoother winter process and everything else so that
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  hopefully it makes 2:00 AM in the middle of January when snow
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  hits just a little bit easier. O #1 Let's start simple.
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  You're just going to walk your fences.
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  Walk, ride, drive. Check all of your fences.
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  Cold weather exposes weak points naturally, whether that be in
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  wood and steel and whatever you use for your fencing, that cold
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  weather is going to expose those weak points that were put on in
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  stress through summer. Just do it now because it's a
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  lot easier to do it now than it is in the middle of winter when
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  you have to put on five different layers and you have to
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  walk through the snow because the cow got out and don't know
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  where she got out at. It's a lot easier to do it right
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  now in a sweatshirt and maybe a light jacket than it is when the
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  ground freezes #2 Kind of goes along with fencing, but it's
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  inspecting your gates and your access points, your latches,
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  your hinges, everything like that.
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  They freeze. So just make sure that every
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  single gate is swinging clean and that every single pasture
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  access point is clear of mud and ice buildup #3 Evaluate your
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  water systems, whether you are on wells, tanks, ponds, just
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  double check all of them right now.
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  Drain your lines, flush things, test your water heaters,
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  insulate your exposed pipes, and just make sure that all of your
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  float valves work. Again, the thing that's easier
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  to do now than in the middle of winter.
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  This weekend we are actually replacing two of our automatic
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  waters because last winter there was a situation where a $600.00
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  water bill came in because we were gone for a weekend and a
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  water automatic water just kept on running all weekend.
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  And I'm pretty sure we filled up the pond with that automatic
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  water instead of feeding our cows that were in the lot that
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  day. So just make sure that you are
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  checking everything and replacing things that need to
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  replace now #4 start your stockpile and allocate forage.
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  Now this is something I probably don't need to tell you guys to
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  do, but this is one of those things that check everything
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  that you've got. I don't need to tell you to do
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  it, but check it. Walk your pastures, estimate
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  your forage and and plan your rotations that you are going to
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  be doing for the rest of fall as we go into winter so that you
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  can try and stretch that native grass and then stretch hay as
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  much as humanly possible when that time comes that you need to
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  start feeding it #5 test and inventory your hay.
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  I have said it so many times, test your hay.
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  Test your hay. Please test your hay.
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  Every single pasture needs a test as well.
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  You can't just test a few samples from a few different
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  bales. You need to be testing every
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  load, every posture. However you get your hay, if you
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  are doing it yourself, then every posture.
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  If you are getting it from someone else, you probably need
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  to be testing every load. And that just tells you exactly
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  what that forage is giving your cows.
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  It tells you the protein, the energy, the fiber, all of those
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  things. That way you can match your
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  supplement well instead of over supplementing and then
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  overcharging yourself as you go throughout the winter.
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  This is extremely important when we talk about bread cows,
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  lactating cows, weaning calves, all of these things.
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  Make sure that you are supplementing properly to those
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  individual sets as well. Number six, check your minerals
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  and your supplement plan. Make a plan for winter.
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  Sit down and say OK, this is what our plan is, this is what
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  our hay tested at, this is what our forage tested at.
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  This is what we need to be supplementing with and make that
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  plan and start purchasing those things now.
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  Do a mineral program that fits your operation the best #7 we
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  are almost to this list guys. Prep all of your feeding areas.
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  This is something that we try to do every winter as well, whether
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  that be cleaning out lots or just in our pastures where we
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  have cows at the house during the winter, moving those hay
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  rings around, whatever that looks like for you.
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  Just make sure that you are prepping those feeding areas.
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  That way when winter does come and you're taking a tractor out
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  into the pasture, the hay ring is already in a good spot.
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  When you are getting cows moved into the lots up at the house
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  that those hay rings are where they need to be.
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  Your bunks are where they need to be and you're not having to
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  deal with moving a bunk or moving a hay ring when it is
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  like 20° outside and the ground is already frozen and all of
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  those bunks and hay rings are frozen to said ground.
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  Again, just a lot easier to do it now #8 Equipment maintenance.
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  Again, probably something I don't need to tell you all to
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  do, but this is one of those things that we like to run
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  through just a list of everything that we need to be
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  checking on all of the equipment as we go into winter.
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  So we're greasing everything. We're changing all of our
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  filters, we're checking our hydraulic hoses because there
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  have been too many times I have been feeding hay in the middle
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  of winter and my hydraulics go out and I'm like, well, I
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  probably should have checked the hoses.
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  I probably should have checked my hydraulic fluid, all of those
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  things. Also checking batteries, making
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  sure that we have our extension cords ready, everything like
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  that. That way when the time comes
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  that we need to start plugging in our trucks, plugging in our
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  tractors, all of that is completely ready to go.
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  The thing about it is, is your battery on batteries?
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  It might be fine right now, as soon as it gets cold it's not
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  going to be fine anymore. So just check everything right
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  now and try and save yourself a headache in a few months.
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  Finally #9 you are going to be reviewing your winter emergency
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  plan. Last one guys, just plan for the
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  worst. Keep fuel tanks topped off,
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  generators ready, and a backup water plan in case your pumps
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  freeze. You need to be writing down your
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  key contacts, your vet, neighbors, all of those things
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  and share that list with people that are helping you throughout
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  the winter. Unfortunately, we don't have a
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  magic wand that can prevent blizzards, but you can be ready
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  for them when they do inevitably come.
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  And talking to Gary on the podcast in the past few weeks,
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  we have some potential possibility for some ice storms
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  that coming to the Midwest this winter.
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  So it is better to prep now while you can.
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  Here is your key take away guys. Good winter prep isn't about
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  about doing more, it's about doing it before there is an
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  emergency. Do everything that you possibly
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  can now. Use this lull.
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  I know it's not really a lull for any of us out there.
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  We all understand that. Use this time in between fall
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  processing and getting ready for winter to actually prep your
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  operation in the best way possible.
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  These were nine small steps that you can do it now to save you a
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  whole haggle worth of stress later.
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  Thank you guys for listening to another episode of the Cattle
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  USA Daily podcast. I'm your host, Lauren Moylan.
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  Thanks for listening. Have a great rest of your day
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  and we will see you all next time.