A series of sexual harassment allegations led to the resignation Friday of Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, one of the biggest critics of the livestock and dairy industries in the U.S.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service released a report Jan. 31 detailing the total inventory of cattle and calves in the U.S. as of Jan. 1, 2018.

What is scours? Scours, also known as calf diarrhea, is the result of inflammation in the intestinal tract. The USDA reports that 61 percent of calfhood sickness is due to scours. Severe cases of scours can affect animal growth and impact overall performance and profitability.

Red Angus Association and American Hereford Association announced a bold industry move to collaboratively create the Premium Red Baldy verification program for commercial cattle.

Most Progressive Cattleman readers think you should pay your kids for work on the ranch.

Groups contesting the 2015 “Waters of the U.S.” rule (WOTUS) now know where to take their cases. The U.S. Supreme Court made a unanimous decision on Jan. 22 to give federal district courts jurisdiction over decisions regarding WOTUS.

“Bing, bang, bongo,” says Utah veterinarian Mike Walburger, about his switch to using the  InPouchⓇ TF to test bulls for Trichomonas. Trichomoniasis (“Trich”) is a venereal disease caused by Trichomonas foetus, a protozoa that can wreak havoc on a rancher’s calving rates by causing abortions, early embryonic deaths, and temporary infertility within the herd.  

Christmas shoppers are familiar with Black Friday, the day when spending is strong enough to put many stores’ annual budgets finally into the black. A similar principle has applied to cattle markets, except the calendar is flipped. Strong cattle sales in the spring must be strong enough to balance the trend of dropping prices in the fall. And in recent years, that drop has slid into a problematic trend.

The Jan. 1, 2018, inventory of cattle in feedlots was 11.49 million head, 108.3 percent of year-earlier levels. This is an increase of 884,000 head compared with Jan. 1, 2017, and is the largest January on-feed total since 2012. For the 12 months of 2017, feedlot placements totaled 23.5 million head, up 1.91 million head (an 8.8 percent increase) from 2016. Total 2017 marketings increased 1.03 million head year over year, up 4.9 percent.

Affiliates of Pinnacle Asset Management L.P., a commodities and natural resources investment firm, announced Jan. 17 they have entered into an agreement to acquire the U.S.-based cattle feeding assets and farms, collectively known as Five Rivers Cattle Feeding, from JBS USA, a global food company, for approximately $200 million.