Most Progressive Cattleman readers begin paying their kids between the ages of 12 and 17.

Beef packers bridge the gap between producers and consumers, but even “the largest packer in the world” is nothing without its suppliers, John Gerber said.

It is fall and most of us are getting pretty excited for a paycheck. Come November, we'll be selling calves and putting money in the bank for the rest of the year. We budget, like most ranchers do, but then the skid steer broke, our main truck died and one of the kids needed her wisdom teeth out.

Many ranchers struggle to remain profitable. After all, cattle are an agricultural commodity, so prices fluctuate based on national or global supply and demand. While these prices naturally fluctuate, the cost of fuel and equipment tends to steadily rise over time.

Whether we are watching an NCBA Cattlemen to Cattlemen episode covering a successful commercial operation or reading about a well-established, multigenerational seedstock operation, one management practice seems to be a common thread for success: culling.

Just hours before the midnight deadline, U.S. and Canadian officials reached an agreement on a new trade deal between themselves and Mexico, revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) after more than a year of touch-and-go negotiations.

One of the most underappreciated tools of the cattle business is a pair of gloves. Even a worn-out pair of gloves will help keep your fingers from being cut, burned, sliced, shredded (hoof rasp anyone?) and stepped on.

USDA is planning to revive a rulemaking process aimed at balancing power between meatpacking companies and contract growers, more widely known as the GIPSA rules. The department will revisit GIPSA regulations in its spring 2019 regulatory agenda, which sets out a list of priorities for the year, a spokesman confirmed Thursday.

Earlier this year, Ireland became the first major European beef exporting country to be approved by China and already has six plants approved for beef exports to the mainland. On Sept. 11, the first container of Irish beef to arrive by sea cleared customs in Beijing.

President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held a signing ceremony Sept. 24, officially sealing a new U.S.-South Korea trade deal.