It’s been a good 15 years now since the cow that killed Christmas nearly took the entire U.S. beef export system down with it. How the industry bounced back should prove useful in tackling the next danger peeking over the horizon.

President Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill into law on Dec. 20, 2018, much to the relief of lawmakers and agriculture interest groups alike.

Your upcoming calf crop is two things: revenue and food. First, on the revenue side, we have discussed the importance of pre-conditioning and health protocols numerous times.

Benchmarking is a unique tool that allows producers to evaluate their enterprise’s strengths but, more importantly, areas where improvements can be made, such as management, genetic selection or herd health programs.

For many of you, the upcoming calving season is right around the corner, and if your email boxes are anything like mine, they are full with upcoming bull sale advertisements.

As discussed last month, regardless of your operation goals, it is critical to evaluate all bulls for scrotal circumference, calving ease, birthweight, structural soundness and disposition.

The forecast for 2018 beef production is increased by 25 million pounds to 26.9 billion pounds. This minor adjustment is based on greater expected steer and heifer slaughter, which is partially offset by anticipated lighter steer and heifer carcass weights and lower expected cow slaughter in the fourth quarter.