Your Guide to Productive Pastures & Healthy Cattle See how herd health and grazing management go hand in hand. Utilize a variety of practices to make that happen. Profitability for cow-calf producers hinges on the number of calves sold, the price those calves bring at market and what it costs to get them there. Each of these factors fluctuates from year to year. One constant, however, is how the grazing resource impacts those variables. “A high-quality forage base will keep breeding stock in good body condition, which improves conception, increases milk production and boosts daily gains,” says Dr. Sam Ingram, a Range & Pasture field scientist with Corteva Agriscience. Simply put: More grass means more pounds of beef per acre. Properly conditioned cows breed back quicker, and tighter calving windows produce more-uniform groups of calves that often command a premium at market. Implementing pasture improvement practices, such as grazing management, broadleaf weed control and proper fertility, can significantly increase forage quantity and quality and improve pasture utilization for maximum beef production,” Ingram says. Another Constant — Herd Health In addition to a sound pasture management program, herd health must be prioritized to keep cows in production and maximize the number of calves on the ground each year. “The health and success of your calves depend on the care your cows and heifers receive from the start,” says Dr. Dan Tracy, a beef technical services veterinarian with Zoetis. “The right nutritional plane leading up to the breeding season lays the foundation for cows and replacement
heifers to be in the best condition for reproductive success. But we must also incorporate sound herd health practices that boost immunity and mitigate risks along the way.” The good news is that a comprehensive herd health program and your pasture improvement efforts can work in tandem to boost herd performance and drive profitability. “It comes down to finding the right mix of practices and products that fit the management style of your herd,” Tracy says. Breaking down your to-dos by season can help you plan for success. Corteva collaborated with Zoetis to create a seasonal guide that brings together herd health and pasture management considerations. The table below outlines key protocols for boosting pasture productivity and animal health throughout the year.
Season
Pasture
Animal Health
A well-planned heifer and cow vaccination program builds immunity to help protect the cow and her unborn calf through proper prebreeding vaccinations and protect your synchronization investment. TIP > Utilizing a reproduction synchronization program that includes Lutalyse® HighCon Injection (dinoprost tromethamine injection), Factrel® Injection (gonadorelin injection) and Eazi-Breed™ CIDR® Cattle Insert helps support higher fertility cycles by enabling easier, more-accurate heat detection so heifers and cows can come into heat and be bred in a narrower window of time. Improving breeding efficiencies can create a tighter calving window, which can lead to more-consistent calving ages and calf size uniformity. Meanwhile, prebreeding vaccinations can help protect the cow herd from costly reproductive diseases that can challenge breeding efficiencies.
Monitor pastures early — even before they start to green up. “This practice allows you to address potential problems while weeds are still small,” Ingram says. “Watch for early emerging annual weeds and biennial thistles. Treating early allows grasses more time and space to grow, which will help suppress any additional weeds.” TIP > Use a proven herbicide with residual control, such as DuraCor® or GrazonPD3™ herbicide, to control new weed flushes that pop up well into the grazing season.
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™ ® Trademarks of Corteva Agriscience and its affiliated companies. ™ ® DuraCor, GrazonPD3 and UltiGraz are trademarks and service marks of Corteva Agriscience and its affiliated companies. GrazonPD3™ is a Restricted Use Pesticide. Under normal field conditions, DuraCor® is nonvolatile. DuraCor has no grazing or haying restrictions for any class of livestock, including lactating dairy cows, horses (including lactating mares) and meat animals prior to slaughter. Label precautions apply to forage treated with DuraCor and to manure and urine from animals that have consumed treated forage. Consult the label for full details. DuraCor is not registered for sale or use in all states. GrazonPD3 is not for sale, distribution or use in Nassau and Suffolk counties in New York state. UltiGraz SM with fertilizer is available for use with specific herbicides in the states of AL, AR, CO, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, KS, KY, LA, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NV, OK, OR, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV and WY. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your state. Always read and follow label directions. © 2025 Corteva. Factrel, Lutalyse and Valcor are the property of Zoetis Services LLC or a related company or a licensor. CIDR is a registered trademark of InterAg.
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