Oklahoma Quality Beef Network

OQBN Sale today at LeFlore Co Livestock Auction. OQBN calves sale at 10:00am.

Join us for the next Rancher's Thursday Webinar Series April 4th through May 2nd.

If you have never preconditioned calves and are considering participating in one of our spring OQBN sales, now is the time to start preparing.

Preconditioning calves takes a fair amount of preparation and planning. You should ask yourself a series of questions to properly prepare in order to maximize dollars per head.

1. Wean date - are you shooting for a 45 or 60 precondition period?

2. Facilities - do you have facilities to manage/feed/doctor your weaned calves? Access to fresh water?

3. Vaccines - have you reviewed the list of approved vaccines and scheduled out dates to administer the vaccines according to health protocols? Remember to treat your vaccines like expensive investment they are. Visit with your veterinarian to develop a program that works for your operation and fits program requirements.

4. Labor - can you manage the labor involved with preconditioning or will you need to supplement with outside resources?

5. Nutrition - What is your goal? How many lbs. of added gain are planning to add by sale date? How many lbs. per day? How much feed will that require to meet your goal? Feeding can quickly turn a value added program into value lost if your cattle become too fleshy.
6. BQA certification - Certification can be completed by visiting www.bqa.org
7. Enrollment - have you completed the enrollment paperwork? Purchased program ear tags? Both can be completed by visiting our website www.oqbn.okstate.edu

For more information on preconditioning visit www.beef.okstate.edu

www.beef.okstate.edu