Trust in Food

Drovers Round Up: Product and Leadership Announcements

Fri, 29 May 2026 12:28:53 GMT

Bimeda Introduces Enhanced BOVitalize Plus

Bimeda recently launched its newly enhanced BOVitalize Plus, now fortified with Aspergillus oryzae (AO) to deliver an even more comprehensive approach to cattle health, digestion and performance. This advancement builds on the trusted formulation of essential trace minerals and vitamins — Selenium, Copper, Zinc, Vitamin A and Vitamin E — by adding targeted digestive support designed to help cattle get more from every bite of feed.

For producers and veterinarians, the inclusion of AO represents a significant step forward in rumen efficiency. AO provides enzymatic activity that enhances fiber breakdown, helping cattle maintain intake and digestive consistency during diet transitions, periods of stress, or when forage quality declines. By supporting more efficient fiber utilization, the upgraded BOVitalize Plus helps optimize nutrient absorption, stabilize the rumen environment, and promote improved overall performance across all stages of production.

“This enhancement reflects our commitment to delivering solutions that truly support the challenges cattle face every day,” says Dr. Eric Moore, Bimeda head of technical services North America. “By combining key vitamins and minerals with the proven digestive benefits of Aspergillus oryzae — and refining how the formula performs in suspension — we’re offering a more complete, performance‑driven supplement designed to keep animals healthy, efficient and moving forward.”

For more information, visit the Bimeda website .

SynovexOne Grower Receives Additional Label Indication for Drylot Cattle

Zoetis announced May 27 it received an expanded label approval from the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) for Synovex One Grower’s increased rate of weight gain for up to 200 days in growing beef steers and heifers in a drylot.

“This approval gives drylot cattle producers a long-acting implant option to support longer term drylot periods, whether in confinement or on pasture with insufficient forage quality/yield. As one of only three implants containing trenbolone acetate (TBA) approved for drylot production, it supports additional weight gain for up to 200 days in growing beef steers and heifers when paired with proper nutrition,” says Jase Ball, Ph.D, Zoetis associate director of global clinical research and development.

Effective immediately, existing packages of Synovex One Grower can be used in the drylot production phase. Animal health product suppliers and cattle producers will begin seeing packaging with the updated indications by the end of 2026.

“The approval of Synovex One Grower in the drylot production phase adds one more tool in the toolbox for drylot and integrated operations, especially those that are needing extra days of implant coverage in their production systems,” says Dirk Burken, Ph.D, MBA nutritionist with Zoetis beef strategic technical services. “It’s exciting to be able to offer this added flexibility and value to our growing cattle customers. This approval further reflects Zoetis’ commitment to implant technology and, most importantly, to our customers.”

For more information, visit the Zoetis website .

Ritchie Industries Appoints Chad Huyser as CEO

Ritchie Industries , a leading manufacturer of livestock watering products backed by Granite Creek Capital Partners, today announced the appointment of Chad Huyser as chief executive officer. Huyser will lead Ritchie’s next phase of growth, building on the company’s 105-year legacy of innovation, quality and reliability.

“We find ourselves at a significant inflection point across agriculture,” Huyser says. “Today’s landscape is shaped by evolving dynamics that impact our customers’ decisions every day. Our role is to stay deeply connected to producers and their needs, while continuing to innovate in ways that improve efficiency, simplify management, and support our customers’ long-term success.”

Nofence Becomes Trust in Food partner

Nofence announces a new partnership with Farm Journal’s Trust in Food initiative. The partnership allows Nofence to grow connections with U.S. livestock producers seeking tools and technical expertise to improve profitability.

“A partnership between Nofence and Trust in Food is the perfect recipe for producers who want to build a business that thrives into the future,” says Nofence National Sales Director Eric Yates. “Trust in Food works to empower producers to use practices that create profitable, sustainable businesses, and Nofence gives them the insights and the time to get there.”

Nofence adds another link in the web of support Trust in Food and its partners bring to livestock producers, says Andy Lyon, Trust in Food senior director of conservation agriculture.

“Trust in Food’s work begins with the central idea that farmers and ranchers are not a monolith. We understand producers. We study what they need to weather the noise around them,” says Lyon. “Then we bring that information to our public and private partners. Together we can reach producers faster with the critical information they need to be successful.”

Another tool for success is insight from the Nofence system producers can use to create livestock and land management plans. For example, producers can analyze data about animal movements to evaluate forage quality and quantity. By monitoring grazing habits, they can refine or develop rotational or seasonal grazing plans.

Spring Success: How Strategic Pasture Planning Boosts Annual Productivity

Mon, 04 May 2026 15:31:03 GMT

Springtime on-ranch can be a make-or-break time for the entire growing season, especially when pastures come out of dormancy and animals emerge from their low winter energy levels. This is especially true for regenerative ranches.

Putting your herd out on dormant pastures or pastures with depleted resources can negatively impact both herd health — leading to decreased body condition and overall health — and pasture health. Both of these eventualities can cause stress that lingers throughout the entire growing season.

We tapped the expertise of Travis Jones, regenerative ranching adviser for Noble Research Institute , for the top tactics his team recommends to start your high-impact grazing season off in a way that helps you finish with strong productivity, animal health and profitability.

Master the Art of Spring Monitoring

For Jones, this is the time for graziers to open their eyes.

“Spring is usually the time when grazing land producers start to monitor perennial forage growth and forage vitality coming out of dormancy,” he says.

That means it is the perfect time to evaluate past management decisions and determine what has benefited a ranch’s overall goals and objectives and what has caused challenges.

A good monitoring plan is a safe place to start, Jones says. Each spring, he encourages ranchers to get out in pastures to get eyes on the following:

Grazing enclosures
Watering systems
Photo points
Soil health systems
Grazing patterns and rotational grazing systems

In the spring, graziers should spend time diligently monitoring and tracking their grazing infrastructure and forage. Accurate data can help ranchers make better operational decisions in the following year.

(Noble Research Institute)

But monitoring shouldn’t be limited to infrastructure; observing and tracking forage is also critical.

Jones recommends keeping diligent data around the following forage observations:

Plant health and vigor
Winter precipitation
Plant species
Plant growth phase

“These are all factors that help producers stay adaptive in their management,” he says. “Current data is a must for making good grazing decisions.”

From Data Points to Pasture Profits

If the data collected during spring monitoring doesn’t give you hope for the growing season, Jones says that forage additions can be a way to course-correct for the future.

“Overall, ranch productivity can increase with a bump in forage production and quality,” he says. “Often, producers can sustain livestock production with forage additions rather than feeding hay.”

While every ranch’s unique ecosystem drives which forage additions are needed, Jones says that vibrant native systems should have multiple species of plants representing all forage groups, including:

Woody
Legume
Warm-season annual grasses
Cool-season perennial grasses

Depending on a ranch’s goals and context, interseeding a primary warm-season perennial pasture with a legume or cool-season grass can not only boost forage quality for an introduced system but also extend grazing from fall into early spring, giving a marketable advantage over others.

“For animal health, having high-quality forage after the winter months when animal energy consumption may be higher can help increase body condition and overall health,” Jones says. “Often, this early spring growth is good for building condition in bred livestock expected to give birth during the spring months.

“The more options you have regarding forage quality and availability, the more you can take advantage of opportunities in market and seasonal weather dynamics,” he adds.

High plant biodiversity contributes to overall soil health, which can enhance the resilience of pastures, giving them the power to withstand drought conditions.

Step-by-Step Tactics for Forage Enhancement

For forage additions to work in the spring, Jones says that fall planning is critical. Following these steps can help you choose the correct spring forage addition for your ecosystem, environment and ranch goals.

Test the soil — Using a traditional soil test can ensure that you have the correct soil chemistry to make your forage additions work. “Seed germination can be highly dependent on soil pH; if your pH isn’t right, you might not get the forage intended,” Jones says.
Choose a trusted seed mix — Knowing the makeup of your soil can help you choose a seed mix that works for your soil type and management style.
Start small — Investing in forage additions on your most at-risk pastures is a good way to start a forage enhancement program in a way that is cost-effective and will have maximum impact on your overall grazing plan. Additionally, at-risk pastures can often benefit from investments in soil health that forage enhancements provide.

Whatever spring changes you make to your pastures must be part of your holistic management strategy, Jones says.

“New ideas and plans should be documented and discussed for how they will impact overall ranch goals and mission,” he explains. “The beauty in capturing this data is that it establishes a baseline for future decisions.

“In our education courses, we advise ranchers to prioritize capturing data that will help make future management decisions,” he adds.

Noble Research Institute provides education resources and courses that can help regenerative ranchers capture productivity, profitability and stewardship on ranches throughout the U.S.

Your Next Read: 4 Ways to Boost Profitability Through Soil Health

Dakota Ranchers: New Program Available To Promote Data-Backed Grazing Management

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 17:36:10 GMT

Ducks Unlimited and AgriWebb are joining forces and taking aim at addressing the challenges of grazing on public lands in North and South Dakota.

Supported by a grant through National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), the program provides livestock producers in cow-calf or stocker operations with digital tools and infrastructure to manage their public land, livestock and profitability more effectively. Ranchers enrolled in the program benefit from AgriWebb software combined with temporary and virtual fencing to holistically manage their livestock and land.

“Keeping grasslands intact is essential to the long-term sustainability of waterfowl and other wildlife,” notes Billy Gascoigne, DU senior director of agriculture & strategic partnerships. “Ranchers are the primary stewards of these landscapes, and it’s imperative that we develop solutions that help them implement adaptive, profitable grazing practices while ensuring the next generation can continue this important work.”

According to the organizations, the partnership will provide a streamlined way to report livestock numbers and managed acreage to NFWF. By capturing this data, the partnership is tackling some of the industry’s biggest challenges, including:

● Enhance grassland health: Promoting vibrant nesting cover for waterfowl through ample rest and rotation.
● Empower producers: Providing the “productivity-driving” insights needed to manage herds more effectively on complex public lands.
● Strengthen the food chain: Ensuring long-term land fertility to support a growing global population.

“Producers wear many hats, but none are more critical than feeding the world while stewarding the land,” says Campbell Mauchan, AgriWebb vice president of partnerships. “By combining DU’s conservation expertise with AgriWebb’s ability to turn simple data collection into actionable insights, we are helping ranchers nurture the ecosystems we all rely on. When a rancher is equipped to not just record their data, but use it, they are able to make decisions that help them nurture the ecosystems that support their legacies.”

According to the organizations, the initial roll out focused on Dakotas state trust lands is being considered a pilot for a scalable model in how technology and conservation can work to support ranchers across North America.

For more information, ranchers can visit ag.ducks.org .

New Partnership Supports Ranchers in Grazing Management and Soil Health

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 12:57:20 GMT

Trust In Beef empowers a more resilient future for America’s beef supply chain by leveraging the power of Farm Journal’s Trust In Food and Drovers brands with the ingenuity and innovation of private-sector and non-profit partners.

Entering the program’s third year, Trust In Beef welcomes two new partners, National Grazing Lands Coalition and EarthOptics , to bolster the technical expertise provided by the coalition’s existing partners – which include ABS, Merck Animal Health, Ducks Unlimited, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Enogen/Syngenta, Tyson Foods, U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, PowerFlex and Country Natural Beef.

“Trust In Beef is experiencing significant momentum in supporting a resilient future for our beef supply chain at a time when ranching is facing significant challenges,” says Andrew Lyon, director of technical assistance, Farm Journal. “Bringing partners like National Grazing Lands Coalition and EarthOptics to the table expands the technical expertise that we can use to meet ranchers where they are and provide tools to build resilience, productivity and legacy on the nation’s grazing lands.”

The mission of the National Grazing Lands Coalition (NatGLC) is dedicated to providing voluntarily ecologically and economically sound management of all grazing lands for their adaptive uses and multiple benefits to the environment and society through science-based technical assistance, research and education.

“At NatGLC, we believe resilient grazing lands are the foundation of a strong beef supply chain. While we have supported the mission of Trust In Beef since its formation, we are excited to formally partner and expand opportunities to provide ranchers with science-based technical support that enhances productivity, profitability and the overall benefits to society as a whole,” says Rob Cook, chairman. “Healthy grazing lands contribute to improved soil health, water quality and biodiversity, all while ensuring long-term viability for ranching families. We are excited to collaborate with Trust In Beef to bring practical, on-the-ground solutions to producers across the country.”

Through innovations in soil health analysis, EarthOptics tackles agriculture’s most elusive challenges: accurately measuring and mapping soil nutrients, soil compaction, biology and carbon with a solution that gives ranchers and farmers precise insights while reducing unnecessary input costs and promoting carbon retention for healthier soils. EarthOptics is committed to advancing sustainable ranching with a new level of data-driven insights from cutting-edge technology – at prices that deliver high, in-season ROIs.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Trust In Beef and join this impressive coalition of organizations working to secure a more resilient future for American ranchers,” says Lars Dyrud, EarthOptics CEO. “At EarthOptics, we believe advancing soil health through innovation can transform ranching and agriculture, and this partnership represents a powerful opportunity to bring our technology and insights directly to those who steward our grazing lands.”

“Ranchers are at the heart of sustainable grazing practices, and we’re proud to support their efforts with practical tools and data they can trust,” James Clement, EarthOptics vice president of grass and rangeland. “By helping producers better understand their soil health, we can work together to improve productivity, increase resilience and ensure the long-term viability of rangeland operations — so that today’s stewards can confidently pass their land on to the next generation.”

Trust In Beef provides technical resources, insights, data analysis and support to help empower beef producers to understand, value and implement conservation practices while also connecting consumers to the industry’s accomplishments in conservation.

To learn more about Trust In Beef and its partners, visit www.trustinbeef.com .

Trust In Beef Expands Solution-Set for Ranch-Gate Conservation with New Partnerships

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 13:16:35 GMT

Since the program’s founding two years ago, Trust In Beef ™ has been working to empower beef producers on their sustainability journeys by leveraging the power of Farm Journal’s Trust In Food ™ and Drovers brands with the ingenuity and innovation of private-sector and non-profit partners.

“Trust In Beef brings to bear the full capabilities of Farm Journal’s Trust In Food, providing data and intelligence as well as reach at-scale, and then we layer that reach with conservation solutions and technical assistance from the nation’s leading innovators, truly providing a program that is having significant impact on helping to build a more sustainable beef supply chain in the U.S.,” says Andrew Lauver, director of climate-smart programs, Farm Journal .

Entering the program’s third year, Trust In Beef welcomes two new partners, Country Natural Beef and Powerflex Supply , to bolster the technical expertise provided by the coalition’s existing partners including ABS, Merck Animal Health, Ducks Unlimited, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Enogen/Syngenta, Tyson Foods and U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.

Country Natural Beef (CNB) is the largest ranching cooperative in the western U.S. with nearly 100 members across thirteen states. Over the course of the last 38 years, CNB has created marketing opportunities for cattle that maximize premiums to rancher members and sustain multi-generational ranches. Together with their ranchers, they work to improve soil and water while protecting plant and wildlife diversity across more than 4 million acres.

Powerflex Supply is a national retailer specializing in rotational grazing supplies. Founded by ranchers for ranchers, Powerflex Supply manufactures and sources the highest quality products, leveraging its buying power to offer these products at affordable prices and providing expert advice on products and rotational grazing practices, helping ranchers achieve the best results for their ranch.

“Joining the Trust In Beef coalition allows us to strengthen our commitment to sustainable practices and amplify the positive impact our ranchers make across the land they steward,” says Valerie Rasmussen, vice-president of marketing & communications, Country Natural Beef. “At Country Natural Beef, we believe that doing right by people, animals and the planet leads to lasting value for our ranching families and the broader communities we serve. This partnership equips us with new educational tools for our rancher members, and a voice among industry leaders on the Trust In Beef advisory council, where we can collaboratively shape a sustainable future for beef.”

“Our partnership with Trust In Beef and work alongside Farm Journal’s Trust In Food Partners and our ranching customers across the United States and beyond is a testament to our shared vision,” says Troy Goldhammer, CEO, Powerflex Supply. “We are committed to promoting and supporting regenerative ranching practices that not only enhance ranch profitability but also improve soil health, livestock well-being and biodiversity. Together, we are creating a sustainable future for ranching that benefits both the land and the people who depend on it.”

Trust In Beef provides technical resources, insights, data analysis and support to help empower beef producers to understand, value and implement conservation practices while also connecting consumers to the industry’s accomplishments in climate-smart production. Foundational partners serve as technical advisors to those efforts.

To learn more about Trust In Beef™ and its partners, visit www.trustinbeef.com .

Sustainability Support for the Cattle Industry

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 15:15:15 GMT

While U.S. farmers and ranchers have worked to revitalize the quality of beef and the efficiency of its production over the past 30 years, consumers are often the target of unflattering messages from a litany of activist groups. That fact first appeared as a quality concern in the 2011 National Beef Quality Audit’s (NBQA) top five as: “How and where cattle are raised.”

Today’s consumers are regularly encouraged by one group or another to eat less meat to help mitigate climate change, which is an attempt to seek a simple solution to a complex issue, one that overlooks the unique role cattle and other ruminants play in diverse ecosystems. One particularly sensationalist report recently caught our eye: A study by Nature Food claims “substituting just half a portion of beef with a handful of nuts, vegetables, fruits and seafood could buy you 48 extra minutes of healthy life and reduce your carbon footprint for that meal by 33%.”

While the initial reaction might be to ignore such reports, cattle producers must recognize that coupled with threats from animal welfare activists and vigorous marketing campaigns from alternative protein hucksters, a disruption to the future of cattle ranching seems plausible. Indeed, one anonymous government official was quoted in the 2016 NBQA as saying, “Perception is reality and drives more regulation than science.”
Today’s ranchers and cattle feeders, then, face the task of continuing to produce more with less — more of the highest quality beef in a sustainable manner.

A new initiative
Drovers and Farm Journal recognize that changing consumer demands create new and sometimes difficult challenges for beef producers. In an effort to help empower you with these challenges, we have launched Trust In Beef™, a new initiative aligned with Farm Journal’s Trust in Food. As part of this program, we’ll provide consumers with real-life proof points of the continuously improving environmental performance of U.S. beef.

Similarly, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has launched an initiative to respond to consumer demands for more transparency around animal welfare, traceability and sustainability with the release of U.S. cattle industry sustainability goals in August. Marty Smith, 2021 NCBA past president, a rancher and attorney from Wacahoota, Fla., says the goals focus on four critical areas:

• Demonstrate climate neutrality of U.S. cattle production by 2040.

• Create and enhance more opportunities that result in a quantifiable increase in producer profitability and economic sustainability by 2025.

• Enhance trust in cattle producers as responsible stewards of their animals and resources by expanding educational opportunities in animal care and handling programs to further improve animal well-being.

• Continuously improve our industry’s workforce safety and well-being.

“Cattlemen and women have demonstrated their commitment to sustainability for generations,” Smith says. “Producers deserve recognition for their use of cutting-edge practices and technologies that minimize environmental impact. By setting goals, we’re publicly committing to continuous improvement and setting targets to measure those efforts.”

Separately, Drovers’ Trust In Beef™ initiative is committed to assist beef producers on their sustainability journey.

“Our vision is that we amplify and extend the great work of many stakeholders at work on this topic already,” says Amy Skoczlas Cole, executive vice president of Farm Journal’s Trust In Food™. “But we also expect to drive cohesion — simplifying the process for cattle producers to meet the challenges of a changing world. That’s why we’re tapping into the full force of Drovers, a trusted voice since 1873.”

Common ground
Earlier this year we surveyed more than 900 cattle producers from 43 states to better understand their perspectives, beliefs and actions regarding sustainability. Seventy-nine percent of respondents said U.S. beef producers “should change their production management strategies to meet consumer demand.”

Yet, a majority of respondents, 56%, said the average American beef ranching operation is “somewhat but not entirely environmentally sound,” while 40% of respondents said ranches are “very environmentally sound.”

The biggest takeaway from our survey was that today’s producers know the industry is changing but many are unsure of what they can and should do and what impact they can have.

“That’s a gap that we at Farm Journal and Trust In Food™ can help to fill,” says Skoczlas Cole. “We can start the process, but we won’t be in this alone. We expect to find common ground and collaboration opportunities with many.”

This first-of-its-kind initiative seeks to unite every link in the beef value chain to do two things:
Empower cow/calf and backgrounding operations to start (or accelerate) their sustainability journey by providing them with (and linking them to) the resources, education and motivation they need to thrive in an evolving market and world.

Connect beef consumers to beef’s sustainability story, enabling marketers and communicators to better engage about the realities of cow/calf and stocker production as it relates to sustainability

Drovers and Farm Journal are committed to helping beef producers navigate this transitional period of rapid change in ways that keep operations viable for generations to come — economically, environmentally and socially.

Learn more about Trust In Beef here.