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Issue link: http://angusjournal.epubxp.com/i/529629
52 n ANGUSJournal n July 2015 is seeded to provide fall grazing, as well as erosion control. All farm ground is irrigated, to supplement the annual precipitation of just 12 inches (in.) per year. Shepard's focus is on accommodating the needs of his feedlot customers. "We will take two bulls to develop, or 600 head," he says. "We don't turn anyone away, and we strive to go above and beyond what we need to do." He adds, "When a customer brings us their cattle, I do what they request." To that end, Shepard emphasizes communication. He sits down with customers to formulate a plan for their cattle, which typically includes establishing the desired days on feed, average daily gain, and weight the customer wants to target for the cattle — whether for a terminal market or breeding stock. Shepard also maintains an open-door policy. He explains that customers are always welcome to stop in without calling ahead, and if a customer decides they want to sell their cattle on the spur of the moment based on what the market is doing, they have the option to do so. Shepard adds, "In ag, it's important to have a general plan, but I realize plans always get altered." Prior preparation With regard to readying calves for the feedlot, Shepard is an advocate of preconditioning. He says, "In a perfect world, I'd love to receive calves that are weaned, preconditioned and have the bawl out of them." Shepard explains that preconditioned calves perform the best. He emphasizes that preconditioning needs to truly mean "pre-" — as in giving vaccination shots to calves and then putting them back on the cow for 30 days prior to weaning. By following this protocol, Shepard says that when preconditioned calves arrive at his feedlot, he has less than 10% that need to be pulled and treated for illness. He gives the example of 200 head that are properly preconditioned. His crew may pull four head, compared to 20 or 40 head when the group is not preconditioned. "If calves are walking on the truck to go to the feedlot and that's when you are giving them a fve-way or seven-way vaccine, you may as well shoot it on the ground," Shepard adds. The calves are experiencing so much stress at that time that the vaccine won't work as intended. Additionally, Shepard notes that the immune system requires about 21 days to kick in; thus, administering vaccine when the calves will go back on cows and be under less stress allows for that immunity boost to develop. "It's important to avoid peaks and valleys. Gradual is better, so that's why I advise preconditioning," Shepard says. With that said, Shepard realizes it is not a perfect world, and not all calves will be preconditioned. When calves arrive that have not been preconditioned, he says, "I like to allow 10 days to two weeks to get them on feed and lower their stress levels." To facilitate that process, he offers calves good feed and clean water immediately when they are unloaded — and he and his help keep a pitchfork handy. He explains, "We will pitchfork feed out of the bunk and onto the ground to newly received calves for three days. We do this because their instinct is to eat off of the ground, not out of a bunk. It's important to get them eating. My dad always said, 'If they're not eating and they're not drinking, they're gonna get sick.' I'm old school; I learned a lot from my father." Another rule Shepard follows is feeding calves at the same time every day. "Cattle are schedule-oriented," he explains. "We feed at 7 a.m. every day, including holidays. We feed 6,000 head in three hours and have two trucks. I believe feeding in a timely manner is important in every operation." Attention to details Shepard says he also believes in good rations to ft the needs of each specifc group of cattle. "All cattle are different, whether you are feeding English breeds compared to Continental, or feeding for terminal program versus breeding development," he explains. "We build rations around the cattle and test the feed in the bunk every two weeks." Shepard works with two consulting nutritionists on ration development, and he is very hands-on with management, saying, "I'm often in one of our feed trucks so I can monitor the cattle." He and his crew also frequently weigh groups of cattle to measure how cattle are gaining and where they are in reaching the target weight goal the customer has established. Throughout the feeding process, Shepard comes back to emphasizing communication. "The more information we can gather and share, the better we will be in producing an end product that the cattle owner and the industry wants," he says. Editor's Note: Kindra Gordon is a freelance writer and cattlewoman from Whitewood, S.D. Feeder Calf Basics CONTINUED FROM PAGE 50 WEST VIRGINIA The Brand of Quality ROCKING P FARM 6581 US Hwy. 33 E 4 miles east of I-79 Horner, WV 26372-9734 Don & Mida Peterson (304) 269-3877 E-mail: rockingp@shentel.net Annual Production Sale 1st Friday night in November At Jackson's Mill, Weston, WV Sires in use: 16772185 16286088 17301923 16233833 2388 Creston Road • Evans, WV 25241 Martin Holley wvlandservices50@aol.com • www.sagafarms Saga Farms LLC Saga Farms LLC Be a part of the West Virginia Breeders Section, call Chris Jeffcoat • 717-476-1496 • cjeffcoat@angus.org or Karri Mildenberger • 816-383-5289 • kmildenberger@angusjournal.com