It’s shipping season, the time of year when herds are gathered, the year’s calf crop is loaded to be shipped and checks are collected. For most cattlemen, focus will then shift to winter feeding of pregnant or stocker cattle, but for those in the feedyard sector of the industry, this is a busy season referred to as the “fall run.”

Every day, roughly 125,000 fat cattle travel across the U.S., and that number jumps even higher when adding in calves, stockers and feeder cattle. Cattle trailer design is important to the beef industry due to animal comfort and beef quality assurance.

Among the numerous management issues facing cattle producers, a key nutritional challenge is to satisfy the trace mineral requirements of the cow herd throughout the production year.

As soon as producers turn the cows out on cornstalks this fall, they need to also put out a supplement. Since cows need the protein that cornstalks are lacking, producers need to put out a protein supplement right away.

For a vast amount of beef producers, October can be an anticipated month, while for others it may be a time of stress. Preparing for the decisions one will make this month is important.

For most beef producers in North America, the answer to the title of this article depends on the season. Vitamin D is not always an essential nutrient for cattle, as vitamin D3 (the main form of vitamin D utilized by cattle) is produced in their skin when exposed to the sun’s UVB rays – hence its nickname as the sunshine vitamin.

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) complex, also called shipping fever, is the leading cause of morbidity (sickness) and mortality (death) in the beef industry, based on the report of the 2011 National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS).

Success in feeding corn silage involves following a hierarchy of observations and measurements in the nutritional program. The corn silage evaluation plan becomes essential when evaluating beef rations containing higher-corn-silage inclusions.

Cattle have a large digestive tract, holding many gallons of feed or fluid. Bodyweight may vary depending on whether the tract is full or empty. This will depend on time of day, how much the animal has eaten or exercised, or how far it has been hauled.

With fall approaching, most spring calves are leaving the home ranch and moving to both backgrounding operations and feedyards. This will be one of the most stressful times in those calves’ lives, second only to being weaned from the cow.