Low-input Heifers: It is possible to nip heifer-development costs here and there, but be careful about where you make the adjustments

摘要

For producers in drought country, it may take new lower-cost approaches to get first-calf females bred and bred back. A switch in calving seasons may be warranted, but skimping on vaccinations and other animal health programs shouldn't become part ofthe routine. That's the conclusion of Manny Encinias, New Mexico State University Extension livestock spe-cialist, and a cooperator rancher he works with, Casey Murdock of Felt, OK. Encinias crosses the state line to carry Extension programs to producers in the remote parts of the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles. And Murdock is among those struggling against near-continuous drought, not to mention today's other production and marketing obstacles.