Beef production costs can be a moving target. With costs of transportation, feed and fertilizer varying as they do, most producers are compelled to do everything possible to manage these costs to maintain profits.

As an extension specialist and a nutritionist, I get a couple calls a week from folks who ask, “Hey Doc, will you throw together a ration for me?”

With much of the Midwest still suffering from moderate to extreme drought conditions, beef and crop producers are keeping a close eye on both foreign and domestic markets, hoping to maximize profit margins on the commodities they have to sell.

The greatest demand for nutrients (above and beyond maintenance requirements for normal body function) is during lactation.

Feed is one of the big expenses in cow-calf production, so applying economics to the nutrition plan usually produces a positive response to ranch profits.

A tremendous benefit of cattle is their ability to convert a wide range of feedstuffs into edible products for humans. This is very evident in the growing or backgrounding component of the industry, where it seems variation and creativity are the norm.

It was a cowboy’s worst nightmare. Pen after pen of lethargic cattle. Feed intake down by 50 percent. Skyrocketing pulls. Even heavy 1,300-pound cattle heading to the hospital pen in higher-than-normal numbers.

When it comes to trace mineral supplementation for cattle, there is an abundance of information and research to consider. Here are five minerals myths that have been debunked to distinguish fact from fiction.

By this time of year, breeding season is well underway, and summer is winding down. Between haying and harvesting, there isn’t much time left in the day to manage the cow herd, besides checking water troughs and rotating pastures.

If all the cars in the world were placed end to end ... they’d probably be behind a slow-moving cattle truck.