Our K-12 and college students are starting another year of their educations. You will soon see announcements for winter educational sessions. In this article we stop and reflect on “learning.” In order to look ahead, let’s first look back.

Unfortunately, the majority of the Southeast has summered through a substantial drought. Needless to mention, the region is going through some rough times. As many have tried to restock herds over the last two years, many are now culling hard and have probably weaned spring calves a month or more earlier than normal.

For those in the West, this time of year is when much of your lush green grass – so abundant during the early months of the year – has peaked and either reached the end of its life cycle or come really close to it.

Weaning season is here. Critically assess udder quality, temperament and structure of cows while calves are still at their side. Proper heifer selection starts with assessment of her dam.

Weaning time is approaching quickly for spring-calving cow herds, which raises many questions. When should my calves be weaned? If the cow herd is in suboptimal body condition, weaning earlier and increasing the number of grazing days prior to frost should increase condition and reduce feed costs through the winter.

The Choice/Select spread, which is the difference in value between the Choice beef cutout and Select beef cutout, provides indications of the underlying supply and demand fundamentals in the beef complex over time.

At the annual Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) symposium, held in Manhattan, Kansas, June 14-17, industry leaders and experts shared insight on what progress needs to be made to ensure producer profitability and sustainability over the next 20 years.

In May, the USDA provided an update on the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Media headlines from this announcement were something along the lines of “USDA adds more than 800,000 acres to program.”

Rough-coated cattle loafing in the shade, wading in the pond or making a muddy mess at the water trough are common drive-by indications of fescue toxicity in the “fescue belt.”

283 days. Nine months. Three trimesters. Those are the numbers we tend to think of when we think of a cow’s pregnancy. But what if I told you there was a more important number? The number of “bad days” a cow has during her pregnancy.