Happy New Year! It’s a great time for a fresh start. Maybe you’re writing New Year’s resolutions; why not include some new goals for your cattle operation?

Scours: To those in the cow world, scours is a four-letter word. Technically speaking, scours is diarrhea in young calves, typically occurring within the first two months.

The historic National Western Complex is starting to show its age, and that has been a concern. The National Western Stock Show was initially looking to move locations, but after a strategic partnership was formed and an agribusiness economic study was conducted.

Crossbreeding provides commercial cattlemen the opportunity to combine desirable characteristics of two or more breeds and increase performance due to hybrid vigor (heterosis).

As many producers prepare for calving season, they should be ready for calving complications. One complication in particular is uterine prolapse.

Successful calving seasons are the result of good planning and hard work. Observation of cows and heifers before, during and after calving is necessary to ensure the health and safety of cows, heifers and calves.

Let me start by saying that as nutritionists we are, by nature, control freaks. With a little tweak here and a small adjustment there, we can turn that mediocre feeder calf into something special.

Corn silage in cattle-feeding operations is certainly not a new topic, but changes to both the cattle-feeding and ethanol industries have led to some recent research which may make feeding elevated levels of silage in finishing diets more attractive.

When you think of the term “rumen bugs,” you might scratch your head a bit. A rumen bug? My cows have bugs? Yes, your cows have bugs. But when we reference rumen bugs, we’re not talking about insects – we’re talking about micro-organisms.