Latest News From cow-calf

The award honors farmers, ranchers and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their management of soil health, water quality and wildlife habitat on working land.

Kevin Lynch shares the pros and cons of multispecies grazing as well as what beginners need to consider in Season 7, Episode 16 of the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast.

Do America's trade policies push ranchers out of business? That's a protectionist's view, but there's no evidence suggesting ranchers “displaced” by beef imports – nor being unduly damaged in the marketplace.     

One of the most important decisions cattlemen and cattlewomen face today is how to engineer their selection and mating program to add value to their next calf crop.

Steve Swaffar encourages producers to be prepared to plant cover crops in a wet year if they are looking to increase ground cover and extend days spent grazing.

Thanks to a reader's observation, another county has been added to our list of those with more than 50,000 beef cows.

Horn flies are a small black fly that feeds on the back, sides and belly of cattle and are the most common fly in beef cattle. Economic losses begin when fly populations reach 150-200 per animal.

Manipulating the reproductive process of your cow herd can result in shorter breeding and calving seasons with more calves born earlier in the season resulting in an older, heavier, more uniform calf crop when you wean.

Fertilization requires the ability to use increased forage growth in a timely manner. That's more important for stockers than cow-calf operations as excessive early pasture growth is more efficiently used by mature cows.

Research indicates multiple animal performance benefits linked to earlier castration (birth to 3 months), including shorter initial weight loss periods, lower disease susceptibility, and higher post-weaning ADGs.

Cherry County Neb. remains the U.S. County with the most beef cows, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture. South Dakota has seven counties ranked in the Top 33 while Texas has five.

Caitlin Word shares the difference between principles and practices in this week’s podcast episode as it relates to regenerative agriculture.

Five-hundred-sixty-three bidders registered for the annual sale with 264 buyers from 31 states and Mexico competed for 670 lots.

There's a lot of rhetoric surrounding beef trade that we shouldn't accept at face value. A closer look at the data shows America’s ranchers are the direct beneficiaries of international trade.

King Ranch has acquired a 50% stake in Cobalt Cattle, the nation’s fourth-largest cattle feeding operation with six feedyards in Colorado, Kansas and Texas.

Pesky horn flies can become prolific during the grazing season. However, there are control tactics that can help keep horn fly populations under wraps.

Producers who are looking to minimize time spent checking water may consider investing in one of many modern water monitoring solutions.

Colorado officials have confirmed the first wolf depredation of a calf since gray wolves were reintroduced in the state in December 2023.

Keeping replacement females from first calf heifers can work if producers plan and select sires that are adequate for calving ease and also offer maternal traits that are beneficial.

A recent Arkansas study showed deworming calves about two months before weaning improved weight gain and added value for producers.

Cherry County, Nebraska, and Connecticut are about the same size in square miles, but which one has the most beef cow operations? The answer may surprise you.

EPDs from multiple breeds can be compared by adding/subtracting the appropriate adjustment factors to the EPDs resulting from the most recent genetic evaluations for each of 18 breeds.

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) participants can donate emergency grazing authority to ranchers in Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas impacted by recent wildfires.

A new resource developed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and CattleFax helps cattle producers maximize profitability from their culling decisions.

We can’t care for our livestock, resources and families without caring for ourselves first. That seems even harder during the busy seasons, but it isn’t impossible and even one thing a day makes a difference.

The effects of drought conditions on the cow herd can extend beyond the cow to the newborn calves, especially if they’re born into wet conditions.

Weeks after the smoke has cleared from the wildfires in the Texas Panhandle, the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory is alerting livestock owners to watch their surviving livestock for respiratory issues.

Texas, Nebraska and Oklahoma Beef Councils joined forces to develop a promotional campaign resulting in nearly 4 million views during the National Finals Rodeo (NFR).

Improving the efficiency, sustainability and profit potential of commercial cow calf production involves reducing feed costs while improving pounds of calf weaned.

ranchers in 2024 have more tools to increase their confidence about management decisions than generations before them. One of these tools is genomic testing, like Igenity® Beef.

Ensuring cows are in an adequate nutritional status (body condition score of 5 or 6) and not overfed can help reduce concerns of dystocia and plays a role in determining the quality and quantity of colostrum.

A cowherd of optimum mature size and milk level relative to a given production environment creates the potential to increase revenue in the form of increased reproductive efficiency.

Turning out a subfertile bull means some cows in the herd won’t get bred or bred in a timely manner. Both problems are costly, says Chance Armstrong, DVM, Auburn University. Check out the two scenarios he outlines here.

Growing, lactating cows have greater nutrient requirements and smaller rumens than mature cows making it difficult for them to meet their nutrient needs with the same diet as the cow.

Once hay is available, priority should be given to providing enough long-stemmed hay to keep the rumen healthy and provide a balanced diet to sustain the animals until adequate spring forage is available.

Cattle are NOT fungible – value differences across the slaughter mix is enormous. Precision pricing – via a grid – makes a huge difference and attempts to mandate arbitrary levels of live cash trade negates that reality.

Selecting heifers that will have the optimum mature size and milk level to fit our production system, breed quickly, wean a calf annually and have longevity is important for the success of your ranch.

All classes of cattle and futures prices moved higher for the week ending March 1. April live cattle closed at the highest level since early November.

Comparing cutout values across USDA quality grades and Certified Angus Beef® brand carcasses provides the quality pricing component of fed cattle values for grid and many formula sales.

Calving distribution is a go-to production measure for its ease and the information it provides. Finding cost effective ways to front load our calving season can have significant financial benefits.

The first week in February saw 500-pound steers reach a new all-time record price in Oklahoma, supassing the mark set in November 2014.

Noble is offering a one-time-only discount in honor of the launch of its 2024 educational series, Noble Grazing Essentials course.

Control of the coccidiosis is based on preventing calves from being exposed to large doses of oocysts and maximizing immune function through good nutrition and minimal stress.

Neonatal calf diarrhea, or scours, is a common concern among cow-calf producers. Understanding why scours occurs is the first step in preventing the problem.

Because of health concerns, it is important to reduce the effects of mud in calving areas. The following are a few management strategies to decrease the risk of health events due to mud during calving season.

Cattlemen need to be aware of the causes, symptom and prevention steps for anaplasmosis, a bloodborne pathogen that has shown to be more widespread than previously thought.

The beef industry has significantly improved efficiency across the entire supply chain, and that’s helped control our production costs, which benefits all consumers.

This is the third in a series on Livestock Risk Protection. The previous two addressed misperceptions of market impact from LRP. The remaining topic – subsidy harvesting – is the most interesting and controversial.

Which segments of your operation aren’t serving you anymore? Luke Kovarik shares the realities of operating a diversified operation in this week’s podcast episode.

Bovine lameness is one of the costliest animal health issues to the beef industry and it’s also a major animal welfare concern that we can mitigate.