The beef industry is segmented with most cow-calf producers marketing their calves at weaning or started feeders to either stocker grazers or finishing feedlots. Selling calves directly off the cow or after a short weaning preconditioning period has been very favorable the last several years as numbers were down, demand strong and calf prices at record levels.

The holiday season will soon be here, that time of year when belts shrink and stretchy pants become your best friend. The big three of holiday celebrations come one after another, with scant time for the waistline to recover.

My granddad’s favorite way to describe his “spare tire” was that he had a bad case of “water on the belly.” Now certainly, this was not a physiologically accurate diagnosis, but people understood what he meant. Grandpa’s extra 15 pounds he put on most winters settled right on his gut.

There is a formidable argument to be made on behalf of the agricultural community as a whole in regards to their willingness to seek out and implement technology.

When food animals are given medication, it takes a certain amount of time for the body to break down the medication and eliminate it. During that period, the animal should not enter the food chain.

It’s fitting that I bring technology up for two reasons: It’s our focus topic this month, and I happen to be one of those pesky millennials – you know, the generation known for selfies, selfie sticks and thumbs that can punch out a sentence faster than you can speak. (If you don’t know what a selfie is, talk to me later.)

Beef producers all across the country, from every segment of the industry, are being encouraged to participate in a survey that will help establish a benchmark and course for the beef industry for 2017 and beyond.

With the reopening of the Chinese markets announced in September, Progressive Cattleman’s Cassidy Woolsey asked Joe Schuele, vice president of communications at the U.S. Meat Export Federation, if he would answer a few questions regarding the announcement.

ERS monthly retail beef prices (Choice and Fresh) have continued to decline year to date. The July retail Choice beef price was reported at $6.09 per pound, down 11 cents from the previous month and down approximately 28 cents per pound from July 2015.