Having grown up on a ranch, I never gave much thought about what ranch life looks like to a kid. To me, it was just life – I didn’t go to daycare as a kid, and my parents both worked on the ranch.

Each day, multiple times a day, you carefully calculate the amount of milk replacer and calf starter you feed each calf. But what about after weaning? What if you place the same level of focus on heifers 24 weeks and older?

You’ve probably heard or read it 100 times or more – cows love consistency. Numerous research studies and on-farm experiences show dairy cows perform better with day-to-day sameness in their care and routines – the way they are milked, the stalls they lie in, the number of hours they rest and even the number of times they drink water.

What makes a man who grew up in the San Francisco Bay area choose the life of a cattleman in eastern Oregon? A passion for the beef industry and a knack for the business to make it all work.

Throughout my 13-year career, I’ve had the opportunity to consult with many grazing land managers on management decisions.

In climates where wind chill is an issue, planning for winter weather can reduce feed costs, illness and health costs, with less loss of body condition and better gains on young animals.

Dung beetles, Mother Nature’s pooper-scoopers, benefit both cattle and pastures.

The life of an ag magazine editor is not a life of danger. Nonetheless, there are moments of dread and some mental anguish.

Montana ranchers and stockers in eastern Montana were hit with wildfires stretching across 425 square miles in late July, as the Lodgepole Complex became the third-largest fire in the settled history of the northern Rocky Mountain region, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Commercial beef production for 2017 is revised upward slightly to 26.5 billion pounds due to greater-than-expected commercial slaughter in the second quarter and higher anticipated commercial slaughter in the third and fourth quarters.