Thanks in part to researchers at the University of California – Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, cattle ranchers in California, Nevada and Oregon are one step closer to having a vaccine available to treat a tick-borne bacterial disease – commonly known as “foothill abortion” – which kills cow fetuses.

Mike Apley, Kansas State University veterinarian and professor of production medicine, shares insights with Progressive Cattleman on the future changes coming to agricultural use of antimicrobial drugs.

Cattle operations are often directly affected by weather events, so it’s no surprise that most Progressive Cattleman readers are at least somewhat concerned about climate change.

Antibiotics are one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century, and they have saved millions of human and animal lives. Antibiotics are vital for treatment of bacterial infections in both humans and in animals.

Some trends in the cattle industry we can predict, but others surprise us – like the magnitude of the upswing in cattle prices over the past few years. But when grain prices slumped in 2014 and cattle prices headed still higher, it shouldn’t have surprised anyone that we started adding days on feed (DOF) to feedlot cattle.

The presence of Kentucky 31 tall fescue in pastures could be causing more problems for beef producers than they realize.

As I suppose is the case with most ranches, branding time is a momentous occasion at our place each year. Despite the inevitable minor wrecks – like when 35 calves break and run just as you’re getting the tail-enders pushed into the branding trap – it’s one of those things that can be considered an event, rather than just another day.

In the cow-calf business, fall profits depend heavily on decisions producers make in the spring for both cows and calves. Keeping calves healthy and prepared for top marketing programs and getting cows rebred are universal keys to ranching success.

Humans and cattle share a similar epigenetic fetal overgrowth disorder that occurs more commonly following assisted reproduction procedures.

Change, as the well-worn mantra always goes, is usually for the better. Life has a way of teaching and softening our coarsened, callow habits, leading us to the road of wider wisdom.