I spent a few days in March in Fort Worth, attending the Texas and Southwest Cattle Raisers Association annual convention. My traveling partner had an old friend who makes his home in Sunset, just outside of Decatur.

The other day, my dad, who is nearly 90, was hooking up the horse trailer to haul some cows out on the range. He gripped the steering wheel of the truck and with much effort climbed down and let down the tailgate to let the gooseneck trailer slide into place. He sized up what needed to be done and with equal effort, he climbed back into the truck.

I’ve read that many writers have a hard time letting themselves be happy. I don’t know if it’s the actual writing that causes depression or if depressed people are just drawn to the job.

“Doc, I’ve got a heifer that just had a calf. She’s not accepting it very well. Can I bring her in for psycowlogical counseling?” It all started with that call from the worried cowman. My veterinary specialty of cow psycowlogy has gained popularity since my article appeared. It was titled “Paranoia in Dairy Cows”

Cowboys, armed with VetGuns, are pursuing four pesky little parasites that steal profits. The culprits are known as horn flies, face flies, biting lice and sucking lice.

For some Oklahoma cow-calf operations, the bulls go into the breeding pasture with replacement heifers in mid-April. As the bulls are being removed from the replacement heifers in two months, this would be an ideal time to call and make arrangements with your local veterinarian to have those heifers evaluated for pregnancy after another 60 days.

Efficient use of feed resources in beef production is important on several fronts. Feed costs represent the largest of the cost of production items, ranging from 50 to 60 percent of cow-calf costs to 70 to 80 percent of feedlot production costs.

In the Midwest, the primary factor that influences quality of harvested dry forage is weather. In many instances, wet spring weather delays the first cutting, resulting in mature hay that is decreased in quality, palatability and digestibility.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on April 10 that the USDA has recently reached agreements allowing U.S. beef and pork producers greater access to consumers in Mexico and Peru.

Innovacyn has announced a new and improved formulation in its animal line of healthcare products – Vetericyn Plus, available for beef and dairy cattle.