In this day and age, producers are great at making heifers. Reproductive and calf raising management practices have dramatically improved through the years, resulting in an abundance of replacement heifers. The benefit of that is we have plenty of animals to keep operations full and have the genetically best heifers possible.

Normally I try to keep things on the lighter side, but we’ve got some serious stuff going on in cow country.

September is upon us and many cow-calf producers are considering how to market their spring-born calves. Unfortunately, September is also the time of year when cattle markets typically take a seasonal downturn.

Results of the most recent beef checkoff-funded 2016 National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) for steers and heifers was released during the 2017 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in July.

Digest Highlights: Dairy Farmers of America forms solar energy partnership. Bureaucratic hoops earn expanded school milk plan a low grade so far. New I-9 form must be used beginning Sept. 18. Find a summary of these and other news here.

The fall season includes many seasonal highlights like cooler weather, football, back-to-school and of course weaning those spring-born calves.

In an effort to save their livestock from the torment caused by the plague of mosquitoes in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, some producers are making the mistake of misusing chemicals to control the pests, said a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert.

USDA has backtracked a bit after five consecutive previous monthly reports forecasting milk production reductions in 2017. Growth in milk per cow, which has been slow, is expected to pick up the pace, more than offsetting a slower rate of herd expansion.

The pace of life always quickens after the dog days of August, perhaps nowhere more so than in Washington, D.C., as Congress returns to town after its month-long recess. This September is shaping up as the beginning of an eventful period on Capitol Hill in which movement is expected on issues in which National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and its members are heavily engaged.

There is good news for beef producers in Western states: They might not have to wait two to three years after a spring wildfire to graze cattle on federal rangelands.