Let’s run through the January checklist: grass tetany prevention for grazing winter annuals, spring-calving herds need to make sure bulls are in a body condition score (BCS) of 5 or 6 and have a breeding soundness exam, and ensure appropriate nutrition for cows in peak lactation.

For the last several years, calving in a confinement setting has been on the rise because of the advantages offered, including better opportunity to monitor and assist during parturition if needed, ability to control feed intake and waste, and avoid dealing with mud.

The new year symbolizes a great opportunity to reflect about ways to reduce costs and improve upon 2018 profitability. Ranch profitability is essentially determined by enterprise cost structure.

Bull buying season is just around the corner, and it is important to have a plan in place prior to attending a sale or visiting a ranch for a private treaty purchase. Identifying the goals and marketing strategy for your operation is the first step in the decision-making process.

The forecast for 2018 beef production was lowered by 30 million pounds to 26.9 billion pounds. The mild revision is based on numbers at the closeout of the third quarter along with fourth-quarter expectations of slightly fewer steers and heifers to be slaughtered and fewer bulls in the slaughter mix.

Cattle producers attending the 2019 National Cattleman’s Beef Association (NCBA) annual Cattlemen’s College in New Orleans, Louisiana, Jan. 29-30, are in for a widely varied educational experience.

Lance Pekus is a rancher from Salmon, Idaho. He works on a 300-pair cow-calf operation with his father-in-law and, with the support of his wife and two children, competes yearly on the TV game show American Ninja Warrior, where he has become known as the “Cowboy Ninja.”

You raise your cattle for a lot of reasons – is profitability one of them? Agriculture operates on razor-thin margins, and sometimes those margins aren’t just thin, they are nonexistent.

“Company culture” refers to the shared values, attitudes, standards and beliefs that characterize members of an organization and define its nature. It is rooted in the organization’s vision, goals, strategies and structure.

In the fertile, black soil of Iowa, pastureland sells for more than $5,000 an acre, and rent isn’t much more affordable.