Each and every day, cattlemen buy and sell their livestock across the country. Video and Internet auctions have revolutionized how cattle are bought and sold, and knowing how to navigate these sales is important for everyone involved.

California farmers are still dealing with extreme dry conditions — and it doesn't look like Mother Nature plans to help anytime soon. Gov. Jerry Brown last week declared a drought emergency for the Golden State, saying it's facing perhaps the worst drought in more than 100 years. His remarks, made at his San Francisco office, came as firefighters continued to battle fires in the foothills of Los Angeles County, adding to the stress of an already parched land.

Joe Mushrush of Mushrush Red Angus, Craig Bieber of Bieber Red Angus Ranch and Steve Koester of Koester Red Angus tell why they recommend other beef producers read Progressive Cattleman magazine. This video was produced to show on RFD TV in January 2014 leading up to NCBA in Nashville, Tennessee.

More Progressive Forage Grower readers, 42.4 percent, support the EPA's proposed reduction in the Renewable Fuel Standards requirements.

With only two weeks in the books, 2014 has started strong out the gate with price records shattering for many segments of the industry. I suspect most observers are not shocked by this phenomenon, myself included, but events like this can cause some trepidation because as the adage goes "nothing cures high prices like high prices."

The USDA-AMS LGMN Branch provides a weekly video providing timely market information and quotes pertaining to feeder cattle. The LGMN Branch compiles and disseminates information aiding producers, consumers, and distributors in the sale and purchase of livestock, meat, grain, and their related products.

Beef market economists and feedlot specialists continue to preach the critical role beta agonists have played in building the national beef supply. Yet no one can say exactly when one beta agonist will return to the market.  

The final numbers won’t be available until February, but one result is already in: The U.S. set a dairy export record in 2013, shipping $6.1 billion worth of product in the first 11 months alone. That’s 17 percent more than the entire year of 2012, and likely to be about 30 percent more, or $6.7 billion total, when the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service releases year-end data next month.

Now you can tend to your cattle from several feet away. AgriLabs and SmartVet USA Inc. have formed a long-term partnership to launch the first-ever VetGun delivery system in the U.S. to effectively treat horn flies and lice in cattle.

As the busy bull-buying season approaches, Red Angus stakeholders are now armed with updated selection tools to assist them in bull battery purchases to enhance their own herds’ genetics for long-term productivity and profitability.