In Montana, there is almost always an abundance of snow at Christmastime. Our cows know how to find feed in the snow, though. We leave feed in the fields for them because we don’t have farm equipment and leaving grass for grazing is a better use of resources for us.

Christmas is just another day to a cow. Be it a Holstein, Hereford or Maine Anjou, Red Angus, Black Bally or Belgian Blue from Tabor, Texas – or Timbuktu.

In Part I of “It’s always the bulls,” one Charolais bull had been delivered to the auction, but Charolais bull number two had refused to go anywhere near a trailer.

Keeping records is a fundamental part of ranch management that often gets relegated to a dingy notebook or a shoebox of receipts. However, successful ranch managers know that in order to cut costs, save money and take the best care of animals, crops and equipment, meticulous record-keeping is key. As has been said before, "You can't manage what you don't know."