Latest News From cow-calf

USDA announces an atypical case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), a neurologic disease of cattle, in an approximately five-year-old or older beef cow at a slaughter plant in South Carolina.

Implanting your calves before weaning is cost effective and will increase weaning weights of both steers and heifers with very little impact on reproduction rates of replacement heifers.

Decisions on when to administer the first round of vaccinations, castration, growth implants and parasite control will impact the profit potential of those calves in the months ahead.

Persistent drought in major beef cattle production regions continues to have a significant impact on the cattle industry despite improvements in drought conditions in other parts of the country.

Drier than normal weather conditions likely have put replacement heifers a little behind schedule with regard to target weights and body condition. Reproductive Tract Scoring can help make replacement heifer decisions.

A misinformation campaign is underway attacking NCBA and endangering the programs that generations of farmers and ranchers worked hard to establish.

A recent episode of The Angus Conversation explored bovine congestive heart failure.

Scientists at Clay Center, Neb., have collaborated to produce the first gene-edited calf with resistance to bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), a virus that costs the U.S. cattle sector billions of dollars annually.

Nearly all market indicators suggest the time to rebuild the cow herd is here, all we need is a cooperative environment. For those turning out bulls this spring the foundation of herd rebuilding has already begun.

If you haven’t recently contemplated how your breeding and calving seasons contribute to the value of your cattle operation, take some time to consider whether there are incentives to change it.

As beef producers, who is our real customer? While there is value in focusing on the person writing the check, it's also important to keep the whole supply chain in mind, Koester says.

This is the time of year when it is easy to get excited about the cattle business. It is also time to be planning for the future and keep your business poised for economic sustainability.

Strip-grazing milo (grain sorghum) is a money-saving alternative winter feed plan for cattle, according to Missouri Extension agronomy specialist Rusty Lee.

Bull breeding soundness exams offer the opportunity to identify and remove bulls from the breeding herd that have a low probability of siring calves.

Minimizing handling stress provides several benefits for ranchers, including improvements in animal immune response, appetite and performance.

During the Ranchers Lunchtime webinar series produced by Oklahoma State University, James Henderson encouraged beef producers to "hold cows accountable."

OFF supporters, in their effort to undermine the Beef Checkoff, are touting a meaningless measure – and in turn boondoggle their own credibility. 

Spring calving brings the promise of working calves and branding season. Each operation is set up differently with varying resources to work calves. How do you minimize cattle stress during this event?

Building a battle plan to protect calves from bovine respiratory disease (BRD) long before antibiotics are necessary should be incorporated into every cow-calf operation.

The Red River Basin is at severe risk of flooding along rivers and overland flooding. Ranchers can take steps to ensure that livestock have safe housing and access to feed resources and clean water.

When the guard dogs showed up in Colorado rancher Greg Sykes' yard he knew there was a problem. Early that morning in mid-March wolves killed Cisco, his daily companion and working cow dog.

Plowing headlong into spring we’re now observing the impacts of not only smaller weekly slaughter but lighter carcass weights in the north.

Adaptability of parasitic worms makes a proactive deworming protocol a top priority for grazing beef cattle.

AI gives producers access to high-powered genetics for their operation’s goals. Let’s look at the supplies you’ll need and best practices for the most success.

Milk fever, winter/grass tetany and pregnancy toxemia are the three most common diseases associated with poor or improper diets. Good stewardship includes providing nutrients to keep cows healthy.

Young calves continue to dot fields across the country. To help offer young calves a healthy start, Tony Hawkins, DVM, and Ray Shultz, DVM, shared some tips.

Calving is underway across the country, which means calf processing and branding (if applicable in your area) is just around the corner. Here's some things to remember heading into the season.

Today’s cattle industry is sensitive to increased imports, the cattle and beef industries find benefits from robust international trade.

The Livestock Indemnity Program may provide payments to agricultural producers for livestock deaths caused by adverse weather in excess of normal mortality.

Understanding why scours occurs is the first step in preventing the problem.  Calf scours outbreaks are the result of a contaminated calving and nursing environment. 

Given growing expectations that drought conditions will moderate through the coming months, bred cow and heifer values are likely to increase sharply by this fall.

University of Missouri researchers are tracking the invasive longhorned tick, which causes weight loss, lost pregnancies and even death in cattle.

Cash cattle prices turned sharply higher last week as supplies continue to tighten. Moderate to active trade pushed cash prices to new highs for the year with some eyeing another surge next week.

Although mastitis, an infection of the udder, is often considered a dairy cow problem, the disease may also impact beef producers. Here's what you need to know and look for and how to help protect your herd.

Proper range management is critical over the next few months. Resist the temptation caused by green grass, hold off on grazing pressure and manage your grazing eco-system for optimum, long-term benefit.

Managing cows in a drylot can be a way to maintain the herd when forage production is reduced. However, it's important to make sure cows are getting the vitamins and minerals they need.

Ranchers should make plans for moving feed and livestock to higher ground before flooding this spring, according to North Dakota State University Extension specialists.

Over the past four weeks beef production has averaged 6.4% lower than last year. Production is expected to drop more sharply the remainder of the year.

AGA's Carcass Data Collection Project will provide vital genetic information to re-charge the carcass database and enhance the predictability of current selection tools.

As full-time environmentalists, ranchers must speak up when it comes to topics like beef’s impact on land water and air. Unless we share our own true stories, others will control the narrative.

With large economic losses attributed to parasites, many forms of parasite control have been developed to target unique operational goals. Treating with feed and mineral supplements has been growing in favor.

Regardless of when your calving season occurs, manipulating the reproductive process of your cow herd can result in shorter breeding and calving seasons and allow producers to add value to calves.

Equine leaders will discuss the importance and sustainability of the working ranch horse at NIAA’s Annual Conference in April.

Sound care and handling practices, based on years of experience and research are known to impact the well-being of cattle, individual animal health and herd productivity.

Composite breeds like Lim-Flex provide hybrid vigor in a straightbred system.

Electrolytes can serve as a needed boost for a scouring calf. Here's a look at what’s in electrolyte products, how much electrolytes should be given and a few ways and tips on how to give electrolytes to a calf.

Significant declines to the beef cow inventory have led some to argue it's an indicator of the beef industry's decline. Further examination of the data, however, suggests that talking point is misleading.

While some parts of the U.S. remain in drought conditions and the soil moisture profile is in a deficit due to months of below normal precipitation, grass growth will likely be impacted this spring.

Now is the time to take a close look at our business model and specifically the “production factory” in the cow-calf business, says Mark Johnson of OSU.

The replacements you keep this year may be the most expensive cows in your herd in 5 years. Is her relative birthdate the most important factor to evaluate her merit as a replacement?