Located near Cooperstown in east-central North Dakota, Red Legend Cattle is a family ranch focused on producing high-quality Red Angus genetics. Brothers Mark and Bryan Ressler formed their partnership in 2013 and today manage a herd of registered Red Angus cattle alongside a diversified grain and row-crop operation.

Heavy hay inventories are colliding with deepening drought, wildfire losses and stalled late-spring pastures across major beef regions. As more cattle move into drylot management, stored forage is becoming a critical lifeline.

When wildfires tore through the Nebraska Sandhills this spring, they moved fast – faster than communication, faster than formal response systems and, at times, faster than families could fully process what was happening.

The most rewarding time on a ranch is the time of new life – newborn calves hitting the ground. Calves have resiliency and spirit and often thrive even when born in the wrong circumstances or weather. Still, any beef producer will have the occasional calf who was stuck or had some other mishap that requires extra care.

Ranchers shifting from cattle production to other endeavors are driven by many reasons and goals. Operations must have a solid plan backed by knowledgeable direction and commonsense experience for a greater chance of success.

In the last 75 to 100 years, we have seen cow size go from belt-buckle cattle to hat-brim cattle. Between 1975 and 2005, the average cow weight in the U.S. at slaughter increased from 1,050 to 1,350 pounds. Since 2005, cow size in the U.S. has probably pushed into the 1,400- to 1,500-pound range.