June 2019
Breeding Season: How Long is Too Long
How long should your breeding season be?
The cattle business is amazing in its diversity of geographical locations and management styles. Every ranch must adapt to their environment and resources and strive to be a competitive producer of calves and feeder cattle. One of the many decisions to make each year is, how long should your breeding season be?
One quick answer is, not much different than last year. Cows will need 30 to 90 days after calving to get themselves ready to conceive again. The length of time will depend on many factors that include nutrition, body condition, age, easy of calving and even photo period. I have seen some low pregnancy rates when the breeding season has been shortened by 10 days from one year to the next. If pasture conditions are tough and there were a high percentage of young cows and late calvers in a herd, be prepared for more open cows at pregnancy testing if the breeding season is shortened. If cow numbers must be reduced due to limited forage supply, this is one way to get this done.