Beef Cattle Management Considerations for December Cow Herd Management— If not already done, take inventory of and test harvested forages for the following: moisture/ dry matter, crude protein, energy (NEm, NEg, and/or TDN), fiber components (ADF and NDF), macro-minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and salt), nitrates and/or prussic acid, when appropriate starch for silage crops. Calculate forage needs based on herd inventory, cattle weight, and days, and develop a plan to ensure adequate harvested forage is available if grazing is limited. (https://www. agmanager.info/hay-inventory- calculator.) Body condition score cows to develop informed supplementation strategies (spring and fall-calving herds.) Targeted BCS at calving: 5 for mature cows, 6 for young females (2, 3, & 4 year olds). Record scores with the BCS Record Book from K-State Research and Extension. (https:// bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/ Item.aspx?catId=562&pubId= 19320) Consider utilizing crop residues for late-fall and winter grazing needs. Assess down grain in the field and be aware of nitrates and prussic acid (around the time of frost for sorghums.) For spring-calving cow herds: Schedule pregnancy checking if it is not already done. How were pregnancy rates relative to last year? Do we need to rethink the fall/winter nutrition program? For fall-calving cow herds, plan to adjust your nutrition program to match the needs of lactating cows. Use the estrus synchronization planner (https:// www.iowabeefcenter.org/ estrussynch.html) to help plan synchronization protocols. Review your marketing strategy for culling cows. Cows with a BCS greater than 6.0 will likely sell well with current market prices. Look for opportunities to increase value by adding weight before market. Ensure bulls undergo breeding soundness exams before fall/ winter service. Manage young and mature bulls during the offseason to ensure bulls have a BCS greater than 5.0 prior to the next season of use.

Spreading caring and kindness Kim Baldwin McPherson County farmer and rancher decorating until after Thanksgiving. The older he gets, the harder the line he seems to take with this belief.

Things to Consider When Marketing Livestock— Lynn Langvardt, JCCC Livestock Sales Lynn Langvardt with JCCC Livestock Sales presented at the Central Kansas Beef Summit on November 14 in Beloit. The Junction City sale barn has been a family business since 1966, and the family purchased the Clay Center sale barn in 1996.

We are well on our way into the holiday season. Although, if you have been in any retail store or coffee shop, we have been in the holiday season since roughly Aug. 15. I have to admit I am a sucker for this time of the year. I suspect this is the case for many of us, and the holidays are highly anticipated and much enjoyed.

Water Landscape Plants Before Winter Trees and shrubs need moist soil even during the colder months. Though plants may appear fine above ground throughout the winter, damage caused by winter drought can be evident in late spring and summer when the weather warms and the weakened root system cannot support the growth. Affected plants are more susceptible to damage from disease and insects.

Rural America has always been inhabited by optimists. People who accepted living in remote corners of the country came with challenges and even a little loneliness. Maybe they didn’t have any better options, like the homesteaders who populated Kansas. Or maybe they understood they were trading one set of challenges for another and, like a weed, loneliness can take root about anywhere.

Planning for the Third Trimester in Beef Cattle Pregnancy The third trimester of pregnancy is a crucial period because of the rapid growth the fetus undergoes and because it is our opportunity to improve cow body condition prior to calving if needed. It is easy to forget those things when we cannot see the growing fetus and a growing winter coat may be deceptive when it comes to body condition.

Subbing in the slow season Kim Baldwin, McPherson County farmer and rancher It’s all downhill from here! While fall harvest continues on our central Kansas farm, the difference from harvesting the corn in August compared to beginning to harvest sorghum now is we can see the finish line ahead of us!

Beef Cattle Management Considerations for November For spring-calving cowherds— If you still need to do so, make plans for weaning calves. Test your forages and have feedstuffs on hand before weaning. Check and clean waterers and prepare weaning/receiving pens. Evaluate cow body condition score (BCS) at weaning. Record scores with the BCS Record Book (https://bookstore. ksre.ksu.edu/Item.aspx?catId=562&pubId=19320) from K-State Research and Extension. Use BCS to supplement cows during fall, if needed strategically. Female requirements are lowest at weaning, so weight and BCS can be added more easily in early fall rather than waiting until closer to calving. Schedule pregnancy checking and fall health work if not already done. How were pregnancy rates last year? Do we need to rethink our fall/winter nutrition program? Evaluate the cost of gain relative to the value of gain when making feeding and marketing decisions for cull cows.