Every year, cow-calf producers reach for magic vaccines which will prevent their calves from getting sick. Calves’ immune systems are capable of protecting against the majority of disease threats.

We think of cattle and symbiotic relationships primarily with rumen microbes. The animal provides habitat and the microbes help optimize roughage digestion in the cow.

Skill set will dictate receiving protocol The need for skilled operators to take naïve, light or unhealthy cattle to the next level is as strong as it has ever been with tight supplies, expensive antibiotics and high feed costs.

Last week I attended an event hosted by the New America Foundation where speakers including Wayne Pacelle, Christopher Leonard (author of the new book "The Meat Racket"), members of HSUS’ new "agriculture councils" and others were speakers on the agenda. No subject was off the table: From confinement to painful procedures, even the beef and pork Checkoffs. It was like a firing squad, and agriculture was guilty in the eyes of the panelists – and the audience – from the get-go.

There are as many schools of thought on stocker management as there are stocker operators and livestock advisers.

Stronger than expected fed cattle prices so far this year have encouraged feedlots to market cattle aggressively and to place more cattle on feed. In the most recent USDA Cattle on Feed report, February placements were up 15 percent from last year’s low February placement total.

Stressors of weaning, transportation, processing and handling can significantly impact an animal’s exposure and susceptibility to respiratory diseases through the various stages of beef cattle production.

Larkspurs (Delphinium spp.) are abundant native plants found on foothill and mountain rangelands in most Western states.

Cow-calf producers commonly separate calves from their mothers, load them on a trailer and haul them to the nearest livestock exchange.