VET’S VIEW New Year’s Resolutions GRANT DEWELL, DVM ISU Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine This past year has been wild, both in the cattle industry and throughout our lives. Hopefully, 2026 will be calmer for everyone, although there will still be challenges. Many people make a New Year’s resolution to improve some-thing about themselves. My challenge to you is to make some-thing better for cattle. Below are some suggestions you may consider that could be benefi cial for your cattle. COW-CALF HERDS • Cattle handling --implement at least one low-stress han-dling technique to minimize stress (for cows and you). • Change your calving season --if you are tired of fi ghting the weather during calving season, your cows probably are too. Would calving later in the year, after crops are planted, work for you? • Improve calving facilities --if you can’t change the timing of calving, can you improve facilities so cows and calves have a clean, dry area? • Castrate early --reduce stress by castrating early, within a week of birth if possible, but before three months of age at the latest. • Decrease weaning stress --fence line weaning decreas-es the stress for calves compared to abrupt weaning. Also, creep feed before weaning helps calves transition nutri-tionally. • Precondition calves --two doses of a MLV respiratory vaccine, accompanied by at least a 45-day weaning period before sale, will improve the health of your calves. • Nutritional analysis of feed --making sure you are meet-ing the cow’s nutritional requirements will improve her abil-ity to be in good condition to get bred, sustain pregnancy, and deliver and wean a healthy calf. FEEDLOT • Acclimate calves --acclimation of calves into the feedlot will improve the transition into the feedyard for cattle. • Implement low-stress cattle handling techniques --reducing stress of handling will improve response to vac-cines, reduce stress, decrease the risk of injury, and make handling cattle easier. • Provide shade in summer --heat stress reduces perfor-mance and can be a welfare concern for heavy cattle. • Improve disease protection --identifying and treating sick cattle early will improve treatment response and decrease the number of fatalities or chronics. • Improve pen surface --feedlot cattle need an area where they can lie down out of the mud and be able to walk to feedbunks and water without having to wade through mud. Multiple resources are available to help you evaluate and enhance your operation. The Iowa Beef Center has resources and extension specialists available to assist you. Scan the QR code or visit https://go.iastate. edu/UIQJTM to sign up for the Iowa Beef Center’s Growing Beef newsletter. Many additional resources can be found on the Iowa Beef Center web-site, www.iowabeefcenter. org. 50 JANUARY 2026
Iowa Cattleman January 2026: Page-50
