GETTING STARTED IN BEEF COW-CALF PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT CONSULTATION

Over the past 20 years, the focus of food animal practice has progress ed from treatment of individual animals to optimizing production. By a ddressing the total livestock operation, beef cattle practitioners can be of greatest benefit to their clients and gain the most professiona l satisfaction. Although a favorable climate exists for veterinary inv olvement in total herd management, many practitioners are involved in production management consultation to a limited extent. The approach o f this column is twofold. It discusses the two most common factors tha t limit practitioner involvement in production management consultation and offers an in-depth discussion of the steps that practitioners can take to overcome those factors and become involved in production mana gement consulting.