Calving Season Wrapping Up

Calving season is coming to an end.

 

Shawn Cabak is a Livestock and Forage Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture & Resource Development.

 

"Calving season, for some, is mostly wrapped up. We have a wide range of when calving season starts from Jan/Feb through to March/April and some calving on grass. Calving seasons have been stretched out because a lot of producers have moved it back to get out of that cooler, wetter weather that we see usually in March."

 

Cabak says the dry conditions did help in one regard.

 

"Because it's been drier, because it's been warmer, that has helped with minimizing disease pressure, so calves are not as stressed. We don't have the wet conditions, we don't see the same level of scours that we normally see, but producers still have to keep an eye on their calves and ensure that there is no sickness."

 

He added this important piece of advice.

 

"When cows are milking, when they got a young calf at their side, that's their highest nutritional period, so that's when we have to feed them our best quality feed. We have to feed them the most feed. We need ensure they have enough protein and energy, vitamins and minerals and salt and water so that they can produce enough milk for their newborn calf and get them through to grass. We don't want to underfeed the cows then because that could lead to delayed rebreeding when the breeding season starts."

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.