Kady Porterfield is the current president of the Washington CattleWomen organization. She grew up raising beef on her family’s cattle ranch.

The last few years have been a challenging time for even the most seasoned producers.

Many livestock and horse owners around the country are concerned over potential liability if someone gets injured during a horse or livestock activity.

Making decisions on any agricultural enterprise can be challenging. Decisions such as purchasing new equipment, how long to retain ownership of calves or even figuring out how to properly calibrate a sprayer can leave producers feeling frustrated.

Stockmanship, like sustainability, is a commonly used word many might find hard to clearly define succinctly.

Many ranches today utilize ATVs for jobs that historically were done on horseback, and some beef operations do not even own a horse.

Ranchers and rangeland managers sometimes use fire to retard invasive brush such as juniper or cedar and create more forage. In the process, this also reduces fuel loads to prevent catastrophic wildfires.

For the nearly 50 years I have been involved with the sale and management of ranches, I have preached the same gospel: Just because you own a ranch, doesn’t mean you have to own cows.

Parasites impact every aspect and segment of cattle production – feed conversion, immune response, milk production, reproductive performance and overall health.