It’s Calving Season

All the hard work and dedication you have put in throughout the last nine months is about to pay off – it’s calving season!

Let’s turn back the calendar to late spring 2016 when you started going through calving records and bloodlines to find the perfect mating for your heifers and cows. You started virgin heifers on a nutritional program to prepare them to conceive, calve and catch up with the rest of the group. Next, you focused on the second calvers so they were prepared to breed back and get established into the program (which we all know is a challenge in itself). All this preparation eventually led to A.I. day, and since then you have patiently waited for calving season.

The moments leading up to calving season mean you must brave the cold, windy and possibly damp conditions. More importantly, the cattle need to be properly cared for in these conditions to ensure a successful survival rate throughout winter. The nights get long and sleep becomes few and far between. Checking the cattle every second or third hour on the clock can take a toll on your body. Although your mind and body grows weary during this time of year, seeing the results of hard work and dedication hit the ground is more rewarding than one can explain.

Seeing first calf heifers become mothers for the first time, and watching second calvers begin to establish themselves within the herd, is remarkable. Seeing that calf hit the ground wet, full of life and vigor, makes you appreciate the beauty of Mother Nature. It is that moment you remember why you love what you do and wouldn't change it for the world.

Do you have any #calvingseason17 stories? What are you seeing in GENEX progeny? We would love to hear about it.

Author Colten Muir is an Independent Contractor for GENEX.