OCA News & Views

President • Tom Karr 740-591-9900, tom@karrcontracting.com Vice President • Bill Tom 937-694-5378, btom@uproducers.com Treasurer • Linde Sutherly 937-875-0670, linde@lindeslivestockphotos.com Past President • Aaron Arnett 614-947-9931, aaronarnett16@gmail.com

OCA Directors

Shane Riley Director At-Large Washington C.H. • Term expires 2023 740-572-2044, shane.rileywch@gmail.com Jim Rogers Director At-Large Logan • Term expires 2023 740-591-7311, jrogers@reedbaur.com J.L. Draganic Director At-Large Wakeman • Term expires 2022 440-821-6576, paintcreekcattle@gmail.com Jaymes Maciejewski District 1 New Bavaria • Term expires 2023 309-222-0850, jaymes.maciejewski@gmail.com Andy Lohr District 2 Bucyrus • Term expires 2024 419-569-3613, andylohr61@gmail.com John Ferguson District 3 Chardon • Term expires 2024 440-478-0782, john@fergusonshowcattle.com Mark Goecke District 4 Spencerville • Term expires 2023 419-233-3101, goeckefarms@gmail.com Jason Dagger District 5 Cable• Term expires 2024 937-604-8820, jason.dagger@rwe.com Pam Haley District 6 West Salem • Term expires 2022 419-853-4657, phaley@haley-farms.com Brad Thornburg District 7 Barnesville • Term expires 2023 740-310-9196, thornburgcattle@yahoo.com Linde Sutherly District 8 New Carlisle • Term expires 2024 937-875-0670, linde@lindeslivestockphotos.com Jim Jepsen District 9 Amanda • Term expires 2022 614-560-5919, jepsen.drfarms@gmail.com Sarah Ison District 10 Moscow • Term expires 2023 513-314-5382, sarah.ison01@gmail.com Lindsey Hall District 11 Hillsboro • Term expires 2024 937-763-8115, lindseycgrimes@gmail.com Luke Vollborn • District 12 Bidwell • Term expires 2022 740-441-5740, vollborncattle@yahoo.com

Replacement heifers

By Tom Karr, OCA President

Many cattle consultants have pushed various narratives on replacement heifers and the choice of buying or raising from your own herd. The same question applies to increasing your herd - is it the right time? Will they pay their way? My father was a Polled Hereford breeder. His strict rule was that a heifer had to be bred as a yearling and have a calf at her side before her 2nd birthday. After he turned the cattle operation over to me, I followed his lead for heifer development, assuming he was right. Plus, he was looking over my shoulder closely and didn’t spare any corrective advice. Several years later, I modified his plan for my herd with significant success and a better end product. My independent assessment of course, not his. I had read and studied the values of maintaining spring and fall calving herds and decided it had merits. I try to keep those two groups about the same size. The Spring weanling heifers are culled for replacement quality, held on a growing ration for an extra six months, then culled again for the best of the best. The growing ration is monitored closely to avoid excess weight gain, fat replacing milk production as well as possible calving problems. Those 18-month-old heifers are then bred to become replacements in the fall herd. The same protocol follows for the fall heifers that become replacements in the spring herd - both groups calving at 30 months of age instead of 24 months. I knew full well that I was increasing the cost of each replacement or addition to the respective herd. The payoff comes from a female that has matured an additional 180 days and is better equipped to calve without assistance, produce more milk, raise a better calf, recover from calving, and therefore increase the probability of rebreeding, and staying in the herd longer. I keep my heifer groups separate from the respective calving herds until they are confirmed bred for their second calf. Heifers preparing to be bred and those with their first calf have different nutritional requirements and need monitoring to make sure they are accepting their new job and are a good fit for the entire herd, disposition and motherhood. Some simply don’t show enough interest and become candidates for culling. All of the heifers are bred to calving ease bulls. Most Red Angus are calving ease, some are better than others and suited for use on heifers. Calving ease can go to extremes, so proceed with moderate EPD numbers. This heifer raising protocol may cost a little more, but pays dividends as noted above and also increases the value of bred heifers up for sale. It has worked well for me to keep the size of both calving groups nearly the same and lowering the average age of all the brood cows. On another subject, I am organizing a hay drop to our neighbors in western Kentucky that were devastated by the recent flooding. I have contacted my counterpart in Kentucky who advised that there is a great need for hay. Most of their first crop of round bales floated away and a lot of their second crop is covered with 8 inches of silt. I will have more information later but if you are interested in donating hay, round or square, or have access to a tractor trailer with a flatbed, you can message me on Facebook, Karr Farms Red Angus. You can also contact your local OCA director. If you choose to donate, please don’t select anything you wouldn’t feed to your own cows.