With respect to cattle inventories and price levels for both cattle and beef, the cattle industry is experiencing unprecedented times. Certainly, there have been swings both upward and downward in the feeder calf market, but prices have generally been historically high the past couple years, with the same expectations for 2025 and 2026. 

As the year transitions from winter to spring, producers are ready to stop feeding hay, and the livestock are eyeballing the “weakest link” in the fences to get to the green grass.

Succession planning is not just another task on your to-do list – it’s a defining moment in your leadership. Are you willing to step up and take ownership of the future of your operation? It’s time to stop waiting for the right moment and start leading with intention.

Resiliency can be interpreted as the ability to withstand or recover from disturbances in grazing systems. This can include resilience to natural disasters, but it also includes the ability of perennial forages to recover from grazing.

In the last 75 to 100 years, we have seen cow size go from belt-buckle cattle to hat-brim cattle. Between 1975 and 2005, the average cow weight in the U.S. at slaughter increased from 1,050 to 1,350 pounds. Since 2005, cow size in the U.S. has probably pushed into the 1,400- to 1,500-pound range. 

For cattle producers, feral swine aren’t just another wildlife species to be ignored or even tolerated. These wild pigs cut into profit margins, destroy land and threaten the livelihoods and buying power of landowners and consumers.

Young Rayburn Smith only had one goal for his life: to live the American dream. To him, that dream was to raise cattle along the Red River, “ranching Louisiana style.”