Fertrell Blog

Pasture season is going to come quick.  When it warms up every spring, I witness young stock chase because the fence was not walked and the young stock new to the pasture were out running all over the neighbor’s farms. 

What is the first thing an animal does after it’s had its first feeding of lush grass?  It walks the fence line to check out its boundaries.  In our hills in Wisconsin, creek fences are a particular problem because of our recent years of very heavy rains.  The 2 to 4-inch gully washers we commonly get take creek fences out, so you go and cobble it together with more posts and wire in the mud and hope that will do.  Our side hill woods are so saturated the last 3 years that the non-tap rooted trees with a shallow root system are tipping over pulling the roots out of the wet soil and falling over a pasture fence.

Before you put out the young stock, make sure you have available a trace mineral salt and proper grazing mineral for bone and body growth and kelp.  Flies do not like animals that are on long term kelp because of the Iodine in kelp.  This reduces pink eye.  When putting young stock out, any animals 6 months old or older consider worming before you hit pasture to clean them out.  Cocci-Blast is also a wormer in addition to getting coccidia.  CGS Remedy or Eliminate Bolus wormers can also be used.

If dry cows and springing heifers are in their own pasture make sure they have the proper mineral, trace mineral salt, and free choice kelp.  Animals on kelp have less trouble calving with that big bull calf.  They also have better quality colostrum.  When they are dry and not milking, their daily energy requirements are less and they will hit the kelp the first 12 to 14 days and then back off considerably.

You can order Dr Paul’s products online on the Fertrell Dr. Paul's Products page.