As fall arrives, it is time to start making or finalizing plans for winter feeding. A first step should be to take inventory of stored forages: hay, stockpiled native range or stockpiled introduced forages like bermudagrass and bahiagrass.

Fall is here, which means weaning time is upon us. Weaning can be stressful for both calves and producers. The actual weaning period offers some unique challenges that can lead to poor calf performance and negatively affect calf value.

Typically, feed represents 50 to 60 percent of total costs in the cow-calf sector, and a proportion of these costs in the Upper Midwest can be attributed to harvested feed. Drought conditions in much of our region have minimized harvested forages this summer and, in return, forage prices are higher.

In 2014, live calves with four legs brought top dollar. Those days are over, and things have definitely changed. Still, everyone wants premium prices for their calf crops.

Most Progressive Cattleman readers prefer to use hard copy versus digital record keeping.

It might not feel like a quick ascent, but agriculture will climb out of the slump affecting nearly all sectors in recent years.

Normally I try to keep things on the lighter side, but we’ve got some serious stuff going on in cow country.

September is upon us and many cow-calf producers are considering how to market their spring-born calves. Unfortunately, September is also the time of year when cattle markets typically take a seasonal downturn.

Results of the most recent beef checkoff-funded 2016 National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) for steers and heifers was released during the 2017 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in July.

The fall season includes many seasonal highlights like cooler weather, football, back-to-school and of course weaning those spring-born calves.