Rather than looking backward to see which cows lived the longest and had the most calves, you can use DNA tests on young heifers to better predict which females to keep.

Spring showers bring flowers and a breeding season for most beef cattle producers across the U.S. Whether it is the sole season or the first of two, making sure the males responsible for 50 percent of a herd’s genetics are prepared for the mating marathons ahead of them is not something that should be overlooked.

The young lactating heifer has and will continue to be a rancher’s biggest nutritional challenge in the beef herd. If the young cow’s mature bodyweight is between 1,200 and 1,300 pounds, she likely only weighs a little over 1,000 pounds the first month after calving.

I’m often asked by young students what they should study in college in order to become a professional writer. If I was one, perhaps I’d know. Other than the four mandatory years of English in high school, I’ve never taken a writing class in my life. Never.

Last spring, my wife and I proudly attended the commencement exercises at Utah State University, where our second daughter graduated magna cum laude with a double major in political science and some sort of social work.

“By gosh, that’s a new twist,” thought Terry as he tightened his collar against the biting wind and stared at the heifer. She was trying to calve standing up. He eased up on her and dropped a loop over the horns.

A Kansas State University expert says the region’s grasslands will need some moisture and higher temperatures to recover from wildfires that scorched an estimated 1 million acres in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

The USDA is announcing the availability of more than $6 million in funding to implement practices that will help private farmers, ranchers and forest landowners affected by the wildfires blazing in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

The recent wildfires in Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado have caused considerable financial loss and the devastation of livestock, homes and equipment. The Red Angus Foundation Inc. (RAFI) is rising to the occasion to accept and distribute donations that will assist our fellow friends, neighbors and cattlemen in their recovery efforts.

In the wake of the devastation recently caused by the wildfires in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado, Merck Animal Health has announced it will donate $20,000 to help support communities impacted by the fires.