Getting Started with Beef & Dairy Cattle

Though I haven't read any other cattle books to compare it to, I found Heather Smith Thomas's Getting Started with Beef and Dairy Cattle informative and surprisingly detailed for its size. Noticing the "Getting Started" part of the title, I expected the scope of this book to be considerably limited and read more like a Dummy's how-to guide. It was, in fact, anything but shallow. The detail put into the medical section was particularly impressive; Heather writes about numerous ailments that can afflict your cattle, including which cattle are the most susceptible, how to prevent it, and how to treat it. The book also includes a brief glossary, and concise descriptions and color photos of beef and dairy breeds. Personally, I picked up this book for the dairy information, but actually found information within the beef chapters that applied to cattle management in general. (If you buy this book for the dairy or beef information exclusively, be sure to read the book in its entirety, rather than skip around.) As another customer said, I wish Heather had been more detailed concerning nutrition. She's pretty general, discussing carbs and where they're found, for example, rather than giving you an idea of what cattle's daily diet might look like. This book definitely has something to offer and is well worth looking into!

"Maintaing Healthy Cattle" and "Beef Herd Management" were both excellent chapters in the book. Unlike the Storey's Guide, this book gave prevention/treatment advise on common health issues on Cattle- which i really appreciated seeing. Makes me feel more confident about issues and best ways to go about it and hopefully never run into. I throughly enjoyed the herd management, learning which each season brought in terms of care, vaccinations, caving and re-bredding. I have not read the Dairy section in this book, as i plan to have Dairy Goats instead, so i can not attest to how great that section is.

It helped me to understand a lot about a cow and to make good choices about what kind to start out with.

Even though we have been in the cattle business for YEARS there is always something to learn or reconsider. This book is well written and easy to understand, This woman is like having a good neighbor when you read her books.

Very thorough and informative.

A book directed towards those of us who don't posses the hands on experience with cattle and want to learn before becoming involved.

I was a bit disappointed, I was expecting (or perhaps hoping for) more info on the different breeds. And more breeds discussed then were in the book. Information like which do better in different enviorments etc. If anyone knows of such a resource let me know.

Grate for starting out On both beef&dairy cattle. But if your in the business for profit, go with beef cattle.

Good book, covers most aspects of starting a cattle herd for a beginner. Geared towards US small farmers but still helpful