Freeze branding, also known as CryoBranding, was developed at Washington State University by Dr. R. Keith Farrell in 1966. This method of branding with extremely cold irons is characterized by white hair replacing the natural hair coat in the branded area of cattle.

Technology has definitely changed over the years, almost to the point where some wonder who’s watching who. Look on many prominent Internet websites and you can find a satellite picture of the home place. Cell phones now come equipped with locators to help parents know if children are where they’re supposed to be. Military personnel are given serial numbers to track movements or identify deceased.

One weaning practice that continues to gain favor with both researchers and producers is fence-line-weaning, a management system which breaks the cow-calf bond gradually through a fence. Pairs are separated but can still see, hear and have nose-to-nose contact.

Shipping day should be more than, “We got them on the truck, and they’re gone.” Forward thinking and improved management practices can reduce challenges on this important payday by keeping stress and shrink to a minimum.

Even with the best of intentions, situations exist where the calving season gets to be longer than ever intended. Conditions that result in poorer body condition at calving and breeding can lead to delayed return to estrus and a long calving season the following year.

Heather Smith Thomas has raised cattle since the age of 12, and owns and operates a cow-calf ranch in Salmon, Idaho with her husband Lynn. She is the author of several prominent books on raising cattle, including “The Cattle Health Handbook,” the “Essential Guide to Calving” and “Storey’s Guide to Raising Beef Cattle.” Her work is also featured regularly in several horse and livestock publications.

I should be pushing up daisies in some bone orchard right now after having flown on hundreds of flights piloted by auctioneers, cattle buyers, stocker operators and feedlot owners. I’d be in good company because there have been enough country western singers, auctioneers, rodeo announcers and cowboys die in airplane crashes that you could put together an impressive Plane Crash Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Sandra Silverstone’s fingers skated over the dusty top of the mahogany dining room table. She watched the letters of her name appear on the beautiful wood. How did Bart convince her to sell it? She sighed. Bart liked things in order. Anything that hadn’t been used in the last six months must be discarded. He was right, of course. They hadn’t used the table for several years. The beanbags and the easy chairs facing the huge wide screen T.V. didn’t match the antique French provincial dining room set.

Most of us use the terms taste and flavor interchangeably, but they’re actually different. Taste refers to the five basic receptors: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami (the one we didn’t learn about in school).