Latest News From Wyatt Bechtel

A sale barn in South Dakota recently saw a larger than normal amount of cattle go through the auction ring and the influx is being attributed to the government shutdown.

It is unlikely the NASS Cattle on Feed publication will be released even if the government opens next week. Those reports take time to survey, collect, compile and release and the backlog is mounting.

Passive immunity obtained from colostrum was an important factor determining the health of calves both pre- and post-weaning, and indirectly influenced calf growth rate during the same periods.

Here are some areas that might be worth more attention this New Year.

The bright spot is that the price of a 900 pound steer is the same as the price of an 800 pound steer which provides incentive to keep feeding cattle and growing them larger.

After helping illegally move more than 60,000 cattle across state lines a Kentucky veterinarian has pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges.

Winter came early for much of cow-calf country, and now calving season is at the gate.

Service is top of mind for this Kansas veterinarian.

Four Oregon activist and conservation organizations participating in a wolf stakeholder group are protesting an update to the state’s Wolf Conservation and Management Plan.

Readers of Drovers share their thoughts on a border wall through story and Facebook comments. Here is just a sampling of what farmers and ranchers are saying.

Several reports were not available, including the World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates, Quarterly Grain Stocks, Winter Wheat and Canola Seedings and weekly export sales.

An issue facing the rancher at calving time, is the amount of time heifers or cows are allowed to be in labor before assistance is given.

After 16 separate cattle attacks in the last few months of 2018, a wolf pack in Washington has killed three more cattle to start out 2019.

Authorities in Missouri arrested a man nearly a year after seven cattle went missing from a pasture in the northeast part of the state.

A major winter storm this past week extended in a belt across the middle of the country from Denver east to the mid-Atlantic coast.

Heifer development should be focused on increasing long-term profitability of the cowherd and creating value of the heifer rather than focusing on yearling pregnancy rates or achieving certain percentage of body weight.

The feeder and fed cattle spread is certainly the dichotomy present in today’s market.

As the debate on border security intensifies see how two Arizona ranch families view the issue of securing the border from the frontline.

With a new U.S. Congress, policy and regulatory changes might be hard to come by for cattle producers.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has made 35 appointments to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board.

One-way cow/calf producers can make the time they do have go a bit further is by using an electronic personal assistant called the Management Minder. 

Authorities in California are looking for two suspects after three cows were shot and killed along a road.

Any producer wanting to have more cows and heifers calve in daylight hours should try to delay putting out hay and cubes until late in the day.

Looking forward, some may question whether feedyards will continue to take cattle to the same days on feed for their grid or formula-bound pens in 2019 as they did a year earlier if the lower Prime value continues.

Evolving market dynamics make it easy to underestimate how the impacts and costs of trade issues will continue to grow in 2019.

Not feeding pregnant cows enough protein can have serious consequences.

February through August live cattle futures show strong upward trends with resistance planes repeatedly broken and the trend holding when tested. 

An accident on a Montana ranch resulted in a woman losing her life.

As the spring calving season approaches, an increased understanding of the parturition process is helpful.

The New Year is an opportunity for many to make a clear change in expectations for business practices.

The calf and feeder cattle markets have been slow the past two weeks due to Christmas and the New Year holiday.

A research grant program has been started in the Arizona to deter interactions with wolves and cattle.

After killing seven cattle last year, a wolf pack in Oregon started the New Year off by attacking and injuring a calf that was later euthanized.

The major effect of cold on nutrient requirement of cows is increased need for energy.

This year will likely bring a mostly flat year for national herd growth which will position the industry at a pivotal point for supplies and prices moving forward.

A cattlemen’s group is calling the potential reauthorization of a federal conservation fund a blank check for the government to keep buying land in rural America.

Given the variability and seasonal trends of cattle prices throughout the year, it is necessary to supply an expected annual average cattle price based on given heifer, steer and slaughter cow weights.

Cows need a lot of feed to fill them up and keep them full.

With cattle numbers still growing, cattle feeders have continued to move larger supplies of cattle through feedlots in a very timely manner.

A thorough discussion of the signs of impending calving is followed by a description of when and how to examine a cow to determine the need for intervention.

Continued strong demand for Texas barbecue will help fuel the need for steady supplies of beef in 2019, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service livestock economist.

As we wrap up 2018, it’s worth a moment to pause and consider the amazing day to day performance and accomplishments of the U.S. cattle and beef industry.

New computer model from Texas A&M uses decades of data to help producers predict wheat forage success.

Authorities say a south-central Iowa man was charged with livestock neglect after failing to euthanize a cow whose partially delivered calf was frozen.

An Arizona man who stole $3 million worth of cattle sale proceeds from a sale barn has been sentenced to five years in federal prison and repaying the money he stole.

An Arizona man who stole $3 million worth of cattle sale proceeds from a sale barn has been sentenced to five years in federal prison and repaying the money he stole.

Authorities say gray wolf OR-7′s Rogue Pack has killed another cow at ranch southwest of Crater Lake, Oregon, marking the seventh confirmed livestock kill attributed to the pack since late October.

Supplementation is important for pairs grazing cornstalk residue.

A third generation ranch in Japan that specializes in Wagyu genetics is partnering with a California-based lab-grown meat startup.

A third generation ranch in Japan that specializes in Wagyu genetics is partnering with a California-based lab-grown meat startup.