McDonald's USA recently announced that it has selected Dean Foods, a leading dairy supplier for many of McDonald's restaurants, as the 2011 U.S. Supplier of the Year. McDonald's revealed the U.S. Supplier of the Year Award at the recent U.S. Supplier Summit, an annual gathering of key U.S. McDonald's suppliers and distributors, held in Schaumburg, near its Oak Brook, Illinois, headquarters.

Mahindra USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra LTD., the No. 1 selling tractor in the world, has given its website, www.mahindrausa.com, a new, user-friendly facelift. The dramatically redesigned site, created by Houston-based Tangelo Ideas, embodies the farm equipment leader’s forward-thinking vision and commitment to the growing and evolving needs of its customers.

As a teenager, my best friend would often take me to his grandmother’s home. She was born in New York, the daughter of Russian immigrants, and made strudel and soup that could shame Julia Childs. One summer day, we dropped by her house before doing some back-to-school shopping. She lectured us not to blow through our summer savings on expensive duds. But there was one purchase where we should always shell out some extra bucks. “Only a fool buys cheap shoes,” she warned. “Quality shoes and a nice haircut – that’s what makes the man.”

Somewhere today a family is watching its 2011 calf crop sell. Whether it be through the sale barn, direct off the ranch or via video, selling cattle can be a nerve-wracking experience.

The single-most important factor in the survival of beef calves immediately after birth is receiving adequate colostrum and the protective antibodies it contains. Calves are born without any significant level of antibody protection and the only way a calf can access life-saving antibodies and other important immune factors is through the ingestion of colostrum from its mother in the first few hours after birth.

Most cattle buyers have preferences regarding health management of calves when they take delivery from a farm or ranch or purchase them through a marketing program.

Beef cattle producers have long debated the correct size and type of cattle in the industry. Historically, the differences in animal size and type have resulted from producers selecting and raising animals to meet the needs of the industry and the consumers that rely on the industry for food products.

It is a tough year to raise cattle. As the Southern tier of the United States continues to struggle through one of the worst droughts on record, many Northern states are experiencing record precipitation and cool temperatures, which caused late planting and slow growth of forages.

Scanning a group of cow/calf pairs with a keen eye, Olive, Montana, rancher Ben Minow points and says, “There’s a good one, take a picture of that one.”