Successfully developing good replacement heifers depends on many factors, including age at puberty, herd health (biosecurity, vaccination, etc.) and nutrition.

With drought plaguing much of the West, producers may have to adjust their management and use creative thinking to maintain production in spring- and fall-calving herds.

There’s no denying the numbers – frozen beef semen sales are on the rise in a big way. Not only has this influenced dairy producers, it’s also having an impact on the marketing of specific breeds and their associations.

Every year, large amounts of money are invested in bulls grabbing a producer’s fancy, and buyers wager on them to increase production and profit in their herds.

Pregnancy loss is frustrating. We have waited a whole season for the cow or heifer to calve – only to find that she doesn’t calve or loses the calf near calving time.

Breeders who choose to use in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology create the opportunity to obtain more offspring from valuable females in their herd.

The value of bull breeding soundness examinations (BSE) is well known. Approximately one in five bulls do not meet the minimum BSE standards established by the Society for Theriogenology. Bulls not meeting these minimum standards are seldom infertile; they are usually subfertile and will have lower conception rates than those who meet these standards.

Calving season is not only stressful and physically demanding for ranchers and hired hands but also stressful and nutritionally challenging to cows.