At a time when prices for inputs are uncertain and markets waiver significantly, there is one incredibly important way to increase the profitability of any cattle enterprise – by using genetic improvement.

Recently I was reading a novel set in Great Britain during the time of the Viking invasions. At one point, a peasant was trying to hoist his pregnant cow out of a mud bog. When the cow emerged, with a broken leg, the devastated peasant went into his hut, retrieved a knife and cut a live calf out of the cow. The loss of the cow – representative of his family’s worldly wealth – was bad enough, and the man would save the calf if at all possible.

Are you tired of grinding and storing hay? Losing money because of shrink or mold? It might be time to consider updating your feeding program to improve your bottom line. As a veteran livestock nutritionist, I am one of the first to see how our industry is changing. In order to stay in the black, we all must be one step ahead of the times. We’ve got to do our best to improve every day. (I believe it was Noah who built the ark while it was still sunny outside.) As a nutritionist, it’s my great challenge and responsibility to recommend what’s best for those I advise. My report card is the ROI of the cattlemen I serve and is based on competency gained through education, experience and deliberate experimentation. Part of the value I provide is to push cattlemen I serve towards calculated risks when the payoff for them is great enough.

From Fourth of July cookouts to entertaining visiting relatives, summertime is a season that brings together loved ones and lots of food. This summer, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is providing tips on how to “grill like a PRO” during your outdoor festivities.

Five years after the national TV audience was introduced to the term “pink slime,” a lawsuit has been settled between ABC News, one of its reporters and Beef Products Inc. (BPI), the largest producer of beef trimmings, at the heart of the case.

The Trump administration made an official strike against the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rules on Tuesday, as the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers dumped the controversial Obama-era mandate that widened federal control of navigable waters.

Negotiations with China regarding the details of an agreement to ship U.S. beef to China have been ongoing for the last few months, and were finalized June 12. It didn't take long for the Greater Omaha Packing Company to take advantage.

Since wildfires swept across the Texas Panhandle on March 6, 2017, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has urged farmers and ranchers affected by the fires to contact their local NRCS office in USDA Service Centers to make an Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) application for recovery assistance.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced yesterday the suspension of all imports of fresh beef from Brazil because of recurring concerns about the safety of the products intended for the American market.