Basic Beef Production Guidelines
Raising beef cattle for profit can be a satisfying
enterprise. However, there are several
management skills that each beef producer
should have to be successful. Each beef cattle
enterprise has different resources: land, labor,
capital, feed and management. To raise beef
cattle profitably, you must manage these
resources to maximize returns.
Below are some guidelines to make this enterprise successful.
Where Can I Get Information?
A large amount of information is available on beef production
through books and magazines. With the electronic age, you
can also access information over the internet from many
universities and in particular, their Cooperative Extension
systems. For copies of printed information, you can also visit
your local Cooperative Extension Office.
Other suggestions for developing a working knowledge of
beef production are to join a local beef producers organization
and visit with other local producers. Most producers are more
than happy to share their knowledge. Be sure to visit their
operations also for ideas on handling, management, and
breeds. Another important person to gain knowledge from is
your veterinarian. Discuss health concerns and management
suggestions with your vet.
What Type of Cattle Should I
Raise?
Normally, the sole source of your income from a beef
operation will come from the calves produced each year. So, it
is important that your cows produce a calf at least every 12
months. Be conscious of selecting as well as keeping good
productive cows who will produce a calf every year without
assistance, maintain their body condition without becoming
overly thin or fat, and raise a calf with an average weaning
weight that meets your goals. Other considerations to make
when choosing cows are the breed and what type of operation
(purebred vs. commercial).
Breeds of Beef Cattle
Beef cattle are generally divided into two different groups:
maternal breeds vs. terminal breeds. Generally, maternal
breeds are known for their milk production and mothering
ability while terminal breeds are known for their growth and
meat producing ability.
As with anything in life, there are some exceptions to this rule.
Some breeds are also known as dual purpose breeds because
they combine muscling for meat production with excellent
maternal characteristics. For more information on breeds of
beef cattle, visit the Oklahoma State Beef Breeds Directory.
Crossbreeding can help you to combine the best attributes of
individual breeds into one package. Choose traits that are
important to you and then seek a breed or a crossbred that
exhibits those traits.
Type of Operation
Before you get started in the beef business, you will need to
ask yourself what type of operation you would like to run.
Some of the typical options are cow/calf, backgrounding
feeder calves, or feedlot. The cow/calf producer keeps a herd
of cows to produce calves. The backgrounder buys weaned
calves and turns them out on pastures until they reach 800 to
900 pounds. The feedlot operator purchases weaned calves or
backgrounded calves and feeds them to market weight.
If you choose to become a cow/calf operation, you will also
need to decide whether you would like to run a purebred or a
commercial operation. A purebred operation typically raises
cattle of one breed. Often a purebred operation will have all
 registered cattle that can also be sold through purebred sales.
A commercial operation may have unregistered purebred
cattle or they may have crossbred cattle. Commercial
producers can have the benefit of hybrid vigor which is simply
the ability of crossbred offspring to increase in productivity
over the average of the breeds that were part of the cross. This
means that a crossbred calf could grow faster and thus weigh
more at a certain age than either of its parents.
Many purebred sales are held across the country throughout
the year. Sales may offer only one breed or they may offer a
large variety of breeds for sale. Also, you may want to become
familiar with trends in the beef industry when choosing
breeding stock. Choose bulls that will compliment the
outstanding traits in your cows and improve their weaknesses.
Cows for a commercial operation can be bought at a purebred
sale and then used in a crossbreeding program or you can
contact individual producers to buy larger numbers of heifers
that could be purebreds or crossbreds. Another option is to buy
animals through an auction barn. Be aware however, that you
are more likely to buy problem cattle through an auction barn.
Unless a producer sells all his calves through the auction, he
may be selling only cull calves.
Beef producers who purchase calves to background or place in
a feedlot often purchase calves directly from a cow/calf
operator. They may also purchase calves through feeder calf
sales. Most buyers will pay more for calves that have been
weaned, dewormed and vaccinated because the likelihood of
calves getting sick is greatly reduced.
Beef Operation Management
Management of a beef operation depends largely on the
interests of the producer as well as the resources available
such as land, feed, facilities, and others. Management systems
will vary depending on the climate. Operations that have hard
winters will want to provide access to shelter for the cows
during extremely cold weather and during periods of cold rain.
Facilities
Facilities for beef operations will vary from fencing to barns,
sheds or shelters. Again, facility requirements will depend on
whether your operation runs cattle only through the summer
months or all year. Any operation should have some type of
handling system that allows a producer to easily catch and
restrain an animal for routine health care procedures. The
handling system should include a corral system with a chute
that leads to a head-gate.
A beef facility may also need feeding facilities. This could be
as simple as a mineral feeder for a backgrounding operation.
Or, it may include barns and grain and hay feeders for the
cow/calf operation. In addition, a feedlot operation will need
to account for adequate bunk or feeder space for the number of
animals that are being fed.
A general rule of thumb for feeder space is to provide 18 to 22
inches for calves up to 600 pounds, 22 to 26 inches per head
Page 2
for calves 600 pounds to market weight, 26 to 30 inches per
head for mature cows, and 14 to 18 inches per head for calves.
If you have feed available at all times, these sizes can be
decreased.
Equipment
Regardless of what type of operation you run, you will need to
keep a certain amount of equipment on hand. Some of the
smaller equipment that you would need might include syringes
and needles along with medications for treating sick animals
and halters for restraining those animals.
Large equipment needs will depend on your type of operation.
If you plan to grow your own feeds, you will need a tractor
and the various planting and harvesting equipment. For
operations with pastures, you should have a brush hog or some
type of mower to clip off the seed heads of pasture plants to
keep them growing in a vegetative state. (A pasture plant will
stop growing once it has produced seeds for the year.)
Feed Requirements
Beef cattle will have varying requirements depending on their
age and stage of production. Calves will need a higher level of
nutrition to allow for their growth, while mature dry cows will
need a relatively low level of nutrition. Pregnant cows in the
last third of pregnancy require more nutrients than dry cows.
Feed requirements also increase for cold weather and
especially for cold rains.
Calves can be creep fed before weaning by setting up an area
accessible to only the calves. The creep feed may contain
grain, hay or both. Creep rations can vary greatly depending
on the price of grains.
The protein requirement decreases as the calves mature. For
example a creep ration for nursing calves could start at 18%
protein. Near weaning time (generally around 6 to 8 months of
age) the level can be reduced to 14%. This level can be
maintained until you stop feeding grain daily. This will
depend on what type of operation you have and how much
importance you put on maximum growth.
Backgrounded calves often receive only pasture. This allows
them to grow slowly until the fattening phase when they are in
a feedlot. The purpose of backgrounding is to add weight to
calves using a cheap feed source. Because these calves are
older they are much less likely to become sick once they enter
a feedlot. Typically these calves have also been through a rigid
preventive health program.
Mature cows should receive adequate nutrition so that they
gain weight during the last third of pregnancy. The protein
level for cows is not as important as the energy. The body
condition of cows at calving has a large impact on their ability
to rebreed. Therefore, cows that are thin going into the winter
months may need higher quality hay or possibly grain to help
them improve their body condition for calving in the spring.
Bulls can be fed similar to cows. When they are young and
growing or while they are in production (breeding cows) they
will need higher quality feed. Bulls should be in good body
Basic Beef Production Guidelines
 condition at the start of breeding season to insure adequate Weaning Time
sperm production for breeding the cows.
Most calves are weaned at 6 to 8 months of age. You can
increase the weaning weights of your calves by deworming
Breeding Season them 1 to 2 months prior to weaning. In addition, calves will
Breeding seasons will vary depending on when you want your be less stressed at weaning if they have access to dry feed,
calves born. Many producers will breed cows to calve in the either hay or grain prior to weaning.
spring so that they can take advantage of the flush growth of
spring grass. Other producers may breed cows to calve in the Health Programs
fall for the same reason. Regardless of when the calves are
The old adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of
born, the bull should be allowed to run with the cows for a
cure" is very true in the cattle business. Time and money spent
specified period of time, typically 60 to 90 days. This allows
preventing diseases is much less costly than treating the
you to feed all your cows as one group, wean calves at the
disease once it occurs in the herd. Calves should be dewormed
same time and feed those calves in the same group. If you sell
one to two months before weaning and then vaccinated for
your calves at weaning time, you should also have a more
IBR, PI3, and BVD as a minimum. Vaccination programs will
uniform group of calves in terms of weight and age.
often include HS (haemophilus somnus), BRSV (bovine
When breeding cows you will need to consider how many respirator syncytial virus), pasteurella haemolytica, Lepto, and
bulls can cover the number of cows you plan to breed. A clostridia. Mature cattle should receive an annual booster
mature bull will be able to cover up to 30 cows on average. vaccine.
For yearling bulls, decrease the number of cows to 20. In
preparing bulls for breeding season, they should be in good
body condition, not overly fat or thin.
Where Can I Sell My Calves?
Two of the easiest places to sell your calves are through a
Many producers use artifical insemination or A.I. to breed
local auction barn or through a local feeder calf sale. This is
their cows. This practice allows them to use very high quality
always a gamble because you never know what you will
bulls that they may not otherwise be able to afford. These
receive for your calves. Sometimes that gamble can work in
cows can be bred through visual identification of cows who
your favor as well as against you. When taking calves to the
are in heat or cows can go through an estrus synchronization
market, look for those times of the year when demand is high
program so that all the cows are bred at the same time. This
and you are more likely to receive higher prices. For example,
allows a producer to time the breeding as well as when he
early fall and early spring are good times to sell your calves.
expects the cows to calve. Be sure to have a back up plan or a
"clean up" bull who can breed any cows who don't settle Other options for selling calves are to develop your own direct
through the artifical breeding process. market. This might be selling freezer beef, breeding stock, or
feeder calves to a feedlot. Other options are to produce a
Regardless of whether the cows are bred naturally or through
value-added product such as beef stew or market your beef
A.I., a producer can use performance data to help select bulls
through your own restaurant. Producing a unique product can
to mate to certain cows. This information tells a producer what
also develop niche markets. Be sure to check on any
to expect for birth weights, weaning weights and yearling
government requirements for selling processed products. Or,
weights. This information can also predict milk production in
you may want to focus on organic beef or grass fed beef. Use
females as well as carcass characteristics in feedlot cattle.
your ingenuity to come up with your own special product, but
be prepared to spend some time and effort on marketing that
Calving Season product.
Producers have different methods for calving cows. In general,
you will need to decide if you want to calve the cows outside
on pasture or inside the barn. The time of year that you calve
Closing Thoughts
will determine to some extent where you calve. Cows calved Whether you raise purebred breeding stock or commercial
in the colder part of winter or during periods of cold rains cattle for market, you will need to sit down prior to getting
should have those calves inside to decrease the chance of started and make some decisions. Spend some time thinking
losing calves. Keep in mind, however, that inside calving can about what you would like to do as well as developing a
increase the incidence of calf scours (diarrhea). business and marketing plan. Developing the plans will help
you to focus on the goals you wish to achieve as well as
warmer times of the year, cows can calve outside on pasture.
provide a valuable source of information to lenders if you plan
Be sure to observe the cow and her calf to make sure the calf
to borrow money.
is receiving adequate amounts of colostrum, the first milk that
is rich in antibodies that protect the calf against sickness.

Page 3 Basic Beef Production Guidelines

 Contact Information
Melanie Barkley
Extension Educator
meh7@psu.edu
814-623-4800

Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences research and extension programs

are funded in part by Pennsylvania counties, the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Where trade names appear, no discrimination is intended, and no endorsement
by Penn State Extension is implied.
This publication is available in alternative media on request.
Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is
committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants
without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender
identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.
The Pennsylvania State University 2017

Page 4 Basic Beef Production Guidelines