Over the years, we’ve had a number of Christmas visitors here at our ranch on Withington Creek in the mountains near Salmon, Idaho, and the most memorable were baby calves.

When food animals are given medication, it takes a certain amount of time for the body to break down the medication and eliminate it. During that period, the animal should not enter the food chain.

Feedlots depend on pen riders to move cattle, monitor them for health issues and ease one out of a pen without stressing it or the other cattle. Pen riders can also reduce the stress level in a pen of cattle.

Inbreeding is defined as the mating of related individuals. In the broadest sense, all animals within a certain breed are somewhat related.

Herd health management for disease prevention is crucial, and vaccination is an important aspect of most herd health programs.

Most farmers/ranchers are unfamiliar with OSHA regulations unless they hire a lot of employees. Even then, there can be misunderstandings about regulations that might apply to them.

A typical problem during cattle drives is cows and calves getting separated. If they start bawling and trying to find one another, they may try to leave the herd and go back where they came from.

Antibiotic use is a big issue today in cattle production. Consumers have concerns about the way antibiotics are used in livestock production but sometimes confuse the problem of antibiotic resistance (which is a crucial issue for stockmen).

Chutes and calf tables have made livestock handling easier – on the animals and the people doing the job, whether branding, castrating, dehorning, implanting calves, etc.

How do ranchers protect their livestock? Ranchers across the West are currently experiencing more incidence of livestock depredation by wolves as these efficient predators expand their territory and numbers.