The end of the year means it might be a good time to review and perhaps update the employee management plan. Effective employee management is as important to the success of a ranch as understanding markets and production strategies.

Bull-buying season is just around the corner, and it is time to start making plans on how many and what type of bulls you may need. Before you head out to buy bulls, it is a good idea to determine what selection criteria are important to you, prioritize those criteria and establish a budget.

As 2017 comes to a close, what better way to reflect on the year than to look back at some of the key developments in agricultural law? From water to pesticides, manure to undercover videos, there have been many legal developments impacting agricultural producers.

Chance was a 17-year-old chestnut Arabian, given to my oldest granddaughter Heather by her great-aunt for Christmas in 2000, when Heather was 9.

When considering the purchase of livestock scales, producers should put a sharp pencil to whether or not knowing the accurate dosage for vaccines and dewormers, and benchmarking prices at the sale barn, is justifiable for their operation.

Is your feed mixer working correctly? One quick way to find out is by emptying a couple of packages of small marshmallows into the mixer while it is mixing other feed ingredients.

The aerial view of Adam and Sarah Wilson’s cow-calf operations in Abingdon and Lebanon, Virginia, reveals lush green pastures, tall trees and 300 cow-calf pairs in each location.

Here in the mountains and foothills of central Idaho, three generations of my family have developed natural springs in order to graze dryland pastures.

I can’t imagine a Christmas without kids. Holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are made special by those with wet diapers, no hair or teeth. And that’s just the old fogies among us; the babies are even more entertaining.