Latest News From Management

Once again the brisk fall air is here, which means most cow-calf producers are busy processing and tending to new weaned calves. 

Calf Crop Percentage may be the most important production calculation that a cow/calf producer can record. 

What options are there to build the nation's cow herd or add a beef cow/calf enterprise with limited pasture that will no doubt be expensive?

When feed costs are too high, consider selling the higher-maintenance cows.  

Getting a better handle on expenses involves keeping track of costs.

The way to maximize calf weight is knowing and controlling direct and overhead costs incurred up to weaning.

Weaning weight numbers imply that pounds of calf weaned off commercial cows are not increasing.  

Beef cow-calf producers have worked hard since that 60 to 90 pound calf hit the ground in the late winter-early spring calving season.

Calf weaning is just around the corner for most spring calving herds. 

NCBA’s 2016 Redbook Helps Ranchers Secure Efficient Recordkeeping

Can weaning calves at 100 to 180 days of age be profitable? 

One of the biggest expenses is total direct and overhead costs.

The Feed Cost Cow-Q-Lator is used to make a comparison of the costs of feeding a representative beef cow.

As fall is rapidly approaching, ranchers are taking the necessary steps to prepare for weaning. 

Wildfire season is here and there’s fuel to burn.

Price and market uncertainties pose a significant risk to cattle producers.

Early weaning is a management strategy that can alleviate grazing pressure on pastures.

There is more than one way to make sure your cows are pregnant.

I must confess some consternation with this expectation of restrictions such as protective boots and clothing and bottles of disinfectant.

The point and challenge is that beef producers need to have a plan. In other words, it is the process of slowly changing stocking rates to reflect the changing plant communities in response to changing moisture supplies.

Every nice spring brings the comment: “Wish I could calve all my cows now.” Of course, those springs that bring cold weather and extensive snow and slush bring more negative comments about early calving.

A holiday break makes a good time to tighten up your calving season with controlled breeding.

The market price of a calf minus the direct expenses of producing that calf often is stated as profit. However, that calculation is far from any indication of the financial status of a beef operation.

The month of March signals two seemingly very different events, basketball playoffs and for many ranchers, the peak of calving season.

Heat detecting with a drone may not be the stuff of science fiction.

Drought can play havoc on pasture leases.

What is the best way to move a year-round calving herd to a defined calving season?

With calving underway, next year's calf crop may be the last thing cattle producers are thinking about, but according to Robin Salverson, SDSU Extension Cow/Calf Field Specialist, it's never too late.

A calving book is a book that allows producers to write down the tag number they put in the calf to record the date of birth as close as possible.

Time of day of feeding is the variable most easily changed by management.

Additional profit centers can be a means to generate extra income.

Tips for having a successful calving season.

The first and greatest cost is maintaining the cow inventory.

Get ready for calving season.

What did it cost you to produce a calf this year? What will it cost you in 2015?

While rain is a welcomed sight, it often leads to rain and poor cattle performance.

People management is one of the most difficult parts of the business.

Buying someones late bred cull cows could be a potential profit center for you.

Have you done taken a look at your cows' body condition scores lately?

Aggressively identifying ways to reduce depreciation expense should be a goal for cow-calf producers.

Cows that do not produce are just one notch above those cows that are open.

November 15, 2014 is the deadline to purchase or change coverage for the 2015 calendar year.

Are your cattle ready for the winter?

Choosing the right feeding site could pay dividends.

This is the time to make good on that long-promised opportunity to do something for the family and ranch help.

How many replacement heifers should you keep and how many cows should you cull?

Tips for cow-calf management in confinement situations.

The cow herd averages 5.6 years of age. Does this mean that all the cows should be managed as 5-year-old cows?

With beef prices at all-time highs culling cows can be a profit center.

Employees want to know why.