View From the Range

REDFIELD, Iowa (DTN) -- Bull sale preparation is in full swing at Copeland & Sons with their annual auction on Monday, but calving season isn't over yet. Thankfully, cows can mostly do the job on their own at the northeast New Mexico ranch.

Copeland & Sons Herefords in Nara Visa, New Mexico, is participating in DTN's View From the Range series, where DTN will follow a year at the ranch to give readers an inside look at how the ranch operates and cares for its animals.

This second segment in the series focuses on calving on the wide-open range of New Mexico and how these ranchers manage their cowherd in the High Plains.

FIRST TIMERS GET EXTRA GUIDANCE

First-calf heifers are currently wrapping up their job in the calving pens, as they start mid-February. The Copelands bring the brand-new mothers to large pens near their barns to be able to watch them closely and ensure they start their job on the ranch in the right manner.

"We do start calving the first-calf heifers sooner so we can intervene if needed," said Matt Copeland, who ranches with his father and family. "Besides it being their first time to have a calf, the weather can be more extreme that time of year."

Their area of New Mexico is higher in elevation and can be subject to snowstorms and extreme winds, with windchills measuring minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit at times. Copeland said no calf has a chance to survive outside in those conditions.

The rest of the cowherd will start calving around March 1. While the heifers have been synchronized and artificially inseminated (AI) at breeding time to get them grouped up to calve in a certain window, this practice is not used on the Hereford cows in the registered and commercial herds. A group of Maine-Anjou and club calf bred cows are also synchronized and AI'd to top AI sires for marketing purposes.

Bulls are turned out with those synchronized groups for another two estrous cycles -- about 40 days. The main part of the herd -- the Herefords -- are sorted into groups at breeding with the oldest cows grouped together. The mature cows are sorted for two days to create pasture groups when breeding season comes, which can last up to 60 days.

"For our older cows, we breed them to maternal-bred bulls. These cows have been around for a reason. They know how to do their job, they are good mothers, fertile and have good udders," he said. "They check all the boxes. We want to keep all the heifers out of these cows."

The registered cows are sorted for a couple days to determine which bulls will work best on them phenotypically and genotypically. "On the Hereford side, we are blessed with an elite bull battery, so we don't AI. We let those cows go in groups of 10 to 40 with our bulls," he added.

The first-calf heifers that move into the cow groups, which are given 30 extra days to heal and figure out motherhood, are then transitioned to the cow groups that will calve later than they did the first time.

COWS THAT CAN DO THEIR JOB

Since the Copelands live in the High Plains, their cowherd has adapted to the environment. The "survival-of-the-fittest" for their cowherd has worked but isn't always foolproof.

"We drive calving pastures about every two days to see who has a new calf. These pastures can be up to 800 acres, so these cows have to know what to do and how to take care of their calves," Copeland added. "At times, we can drive for two hours and not see any cows. This is why we rely on our cow's mothering abilities."

When a new calf is found, they will tag it with a tag signifying its dam and sire and the calf's personal identification number. A birthweight is measured, which is particularly important for the registered calves and turned into the American Hereford Association to gain proper data.

Calves are also given a shot of MultiMin, which contains several minerals that he believes helps jump start their immune system. The calves of heifers, which have been birthed in a barn or pen are also given a tube of First Defense which fights E. coli and bovine coronavirus. If needed, Nursemate ASAP will be given to stimulate their appetite. These calves may also be given a seven-way vaccine to protect them against clostridial viruses and diseases since they were born in a more confined area.

KNOWING WHEN TO HELP

Copeland said while they do expect their cows to be able to calve on their own, they will still have some who need assistance because of an abnormal presentation of the calf or a larger-than-normal calf. He laughed and said his three-year-old daughter, Cally, even knows when a cow needs help, thanks to listening to the adults on the ranch.

"We've had a couple backwards calves, and she told Papa that they had their legs on backwards."

If a cow requires assistance, there are times it can be done out on the range. Other times they will drive them up to the barns or bring a truck and trailer out to haul them in. This is when they appreciate the level of docility their cows possess when human interaction is required. "We can go from one year of having no problems, to the next having to pull a few out of the same bulls we used previously," he said. "That's genetics and the cow business."

Copeland said they must be diligent in sorting the cows to the right bulls, by knowing their age and genetics. That goes for all the cows -- registered Herefords, commercial cows and the Maine-Anjou base cows. "We are in the business of raising bulls to sell and replacement heifers for the herd and to sell. On the Maine and club calf side, we will sell bulls out of that group too, as well as some show cattle and replacement heifers," he added.

When you make a living off the land and the cattle, it's even more important to know the cow's ability to have success in your herd and for your customers.

Read other stories in this series:

-- "New Mexico Ranch Shares View From Range," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- "Copeland & Sons Herefords Raise Cattle to Provide for Family, Customers, Environment," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com

Follow her on social platform X @JennCattleGal

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