Calving Success Requires Attention to Details

Successful calving starts way before the cow goes into labor. For Mississippi cattlewoman Rylie Melancon, a successful calving season starts when selecting females for the herd and continues through all stages of development.

"We need cattle that can survive on grass, are easy keeping and have a good maternal longevity," she explains. "Phenotypically, they have to be correct on their feet and legs. We want females that are the right size to be easy keeping on grass. When we are considering maternal traits, we also check their teats when they are in the chute as a heifer. Even when they are young, you can get a pretty good idea of what their udder might look like by teat placement and length."

Melancon raises Angus, Hereford and Brahman-influence cattle in southwest Mississippi with her parents, Ron and Shauna, and brother, Stran. The 2023 Texas Tech University graduate knew she wanted to come back to the family ranch and has been involved in making replacement selections, breeding choices and other management decisions for several years.

When selecting replacement heifers, the Melancons' primary tools used include balanced EPDs (expected progeny differences), genetic testing and phenotypic traits for structural soundness and doability.

Iowa State University Extension cow/calf specialist Randie Culbertson says properly developing heifers to meet a weight target and maturity is important. "Once heifers have matured, breeding to the right bull by using EPDs for calving ease can help prevent calving difficulties," she says.

"Genomic testing is revolutionary in terms of how soon you can get information on a young heifer. Early identification of reproductively inferior heifers allows producers to make culling decisions earlier," Culbertson continues. Looking at all traits, including economic indexes, which combines several traits to see the economic efficiency of a heifer, will help lead to more profitability in the long run.

BULL SELECTION

Bull selection is important, as well, especially for Melancon, who is working with bigger groups of cows. "We continue to improve the genetics of our herd to match the demands of the industry," she says. "We want to positively mate our cattle, not correctively mate them." Melancon explains they want to select bulls to help make small improvements to the genetics they have worked to build through the years.

Currently, they are putting more emphasis on EPDs to make improvements on the carcass side, but she says they don't want to ignore the other growth traits and the importance of a structurally correct animal. They like to find two or three bulls to use in their artificial insemination (AI) program in each of the breeds in order to see more consistency among the calves.

Culbertson says it's important to carefully evaluate what bull to use. Using the different tools available while making bull selections helps with consistency.

Melancon does DNA testing of all animals in the herd to help predict what to expect in calves. EPDs require collecting weights at birth, weaning and yearling time periods; but through genetic testing, Genomic Enhanced EPDs (GE-EPD) can give a more confident selection tool. Culbertson says this is becoming more of the gold standard for genetic selection and is also available for commercial herds.

The GE-EPDs are the best estimate of an animal's genetic value as a parent when combining all available sources of information. This allows for higher accuracies of EPDs when the animals are younger. Traditional EPDs only get higher accuracies as weights are turned in on progeny.

Culbertson says being able to decipher the difference in what data is being considered is important. When looking at one trait, such as birthweight, other traits could be affected, which is why she prefers the GE-EPDs and looking at the animal's rankings in comparison to all animals in the breed. She suggests doing research on the cattle in your herd and the bulls you plan to use, as each herd and breed will have differences.

Melancon agrees that genomic testing is important in their herd. It ensures the data they have on their cow herd and the cattle they offer for sale have EPDs that are as accurate as possible. "We want to have a balanced profile on the cattle in our herd. Genotype and phenotype are very important. We know what we see phenotypically, and with the genomic testing, we can stand behind their data, as well," she adds.

When selling cattle, especially bulls, the Melancons want to provide customers with the information they need to be successful. The recent addition of Ultrablack bulls for their customers is meeting the demand of the Southern cattleman -- providing performance genetics with tolerance to heat. These cattle are composites with validated and documented lineage that have the right percentage of Brangus breeding with the remainder being registered Angus. Melancon is excited to see how these cattle work for their customers by adding growth, power and hybrid vigor to a herd, and having EPDs for predictability.

NUTRITION MATTERS

Genomic testing is an inexpensive way to know what to expect from animals genetically at a younger age. However, nutrition is also a big contributor to development and growth during an animal's lifetime.

"Environmental influence doesn't tell me about genetic influence," Culbertson says. "While it doesn't change the genetics present, if an operation sees drought or not can have a big influence on weights."

Nutrition starts from the very beginning for calves by getting the proper amount of colostrum in a timely manner. Leading up to that point on the cow side, Melancon says they are fortunate in their area to have green grass most of the year. On their farm, native grasses are hearty, but they interseed rye in late fall to ensure they have feed for the cows. In the winter months -- from November through early January -- haylage is fed to the cows followed by being transitioned to the ryegrass and getting additional dry hay for roughage until April.

Weaning comes at different times depending on summer grass growth. Fall calves are usually weaned in May or June. Spring calves are weaned in July or August.

"We like to calve half the herd in the fall and half in the spring to be able to sell older bulls in our sales," Melancon explains. "This also allows us to target the markets right on our commercial calves."

All calves are developed on a ration that includes soybean meal, pellets and hulls, with some corn gluten flakes. Cows with young calves are fed protein supplement to ensure good milk production as they transition to raising their calves on grass. All cattle are also on a complete mineral program.

Overall, selecting the right genetics and providing proper care of cattle throughout their lifetime helps ensure success each calving season. For Melancon, watching the changes in the industry isn't as hard when using the proper tools to make improvements in the herd. And, knowing how to alter nutrition based on environmental changes helps ensure performance at all phases of development.

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

-- Follow Jennifer on social platform X @JennCattleGal

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