Cow-calf operators maintain cow herds and raise their calves from birth to weaning. Each cow is expected to produce one calf each year. Calves are the primary revenue source and some heifer calves are raised to replace cows that die or are culled. Cow-calf operators breed the cows, usually in late spring or early summer. A cow is pregnant for 9 months.
Newborn calves stay with their mother's until they leave the ranch.
As the calves grow, they go out to pasture on rangeland with their mothers. In BC, there are over 10 million hectares of rangeland. When the calves are six to eight months old, they are weaned and moved to either a stocker or a feedlot operation. The heavier calves go directly to a feedlot. Stocker operations have available forage, such as pasture, hay and silage, for the winter and grazeable rangeland for the spring, summer and fall.