Nebraska is nationally known as the Beef State. Our team provides research-based information and resources to beef producers to help them provide an economical, safe, quality product to consumers while protecting and preserving Nebraska's vast natural resources.
Active in all 93 counties and at beef.unl.edu
By Karla Wilke, Nebraska Extension cow-calf and Stocker management specialist, and Kacie McCarthy, cow-calf specialist
Getting first-time mother cows bred for the second time is probably one of the strongest challenges for most beef producers. It can be extremely frustrating at the time of pregnancy diagnosis to find a high percentage of those young cows, the future of the cowherd, to be open. More importantly, it is expensive.
By Chabella Guzman, communications specialist
Livestock producers know winter can be a challenge for their cowherds, and Karla Wilke, Nebraska Extension cow-calf/stocker specialist, reminds them not to forget about their bulls in their winter management plans.
“Bulls are one of our bigger investments in the cow herd, and 90 percent of the cows are still impregnated through natural service with a bull rather than artificial insemination,” Wilke said. “So, they also require year-round maintenance.”
Karla Wilke, Cow-Calf Range Management Specialist, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research and Extension Center
This article and other research-based beef news are available on beef.unl.edu, Nebraska Extension’s beef cattle production website. Interviews with the authors of BeefWatch newsletter articles become available throughout the month of publication and are accessible at https://go.unl.edu/podcast.