A producer makes an initial call to their veterinarian, concerned about a sudden and severe case of neonatal calf scours in their herd of calving beef cows. This is a call that veterinarians dread receiving and cow-calf producers throughout the country make far too often.

Cattle, like humans, incur stress daily. They can run short on feed, develop ruminal acidosis, get moved to a new pasture or location, be exposed to coyotes on the prowl or deal with extreme cold and heat events.

Whether you are striving to raise elite seedstock or high-quality commercial calves, a major goal of your operation is – or should be – getting as many cows pregnant as early in the breeding season as possible. Estrus synchronization protocols are a proven tool to do just that.

In this episode, David, Paul, Tyrell and Carrie discuss China’s population decline, the price of eggs and, just for good measure, the weather (see Paul’s column for full details.) 

While agriculture extension has and continues to provide solid financial resources to teach farmers "in-house" accounting and finances, with growth, a farm or ranch must determine if and when to seek outside help. That outside help may mean outsourcing – or farming out — the financials.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on Jan. 18 gathered some three dozen Department of Agriculture staff to discuss the future of U.S. agriculture and upcoming farm bill talks.