Unlike in decades past, nailing a hand-painted plywood sign to a fencepost or running a small print ad in the local paper no longer fills out the itinerary of a cattle sale’s marketing campaign.

Higher wages being paid across the country create a disadvantage for an industry that already fights to keep margins at a profitable point. Those who do a good job recruiting and taking care of qualified employees will have the upper hand.

Aren’t we often waiting for something to happen, dreaming of some future set of circumstances that we hope will make our operation profitable?

In the realm of cattle feeding, navigating a bullish market can feel much like riding a bull – thrilling, swift and inherently risky. But for those equipped with the right financial tools and strategies, this volatility can be beneficial.

The transition from summer to fall can bring tremendous uncertainty for beef cattle producers. The shorter day length not only signals the coming cooler weather, but also the end of the growing season for most forages, especially warm-season grasses. 

While producers and industry professionals alike recognize why forage sampling is important and generally agree with the oft-cited mantra of, “You cannot manage what you do not measure,” taking sufficient and accurate samples often falls to the bottom of the priority list.

Successful beef producers are constantly looking for ways to keep their cattle happy, healthy and well fed, while making sure to not break the bank. One way to ensure long-term profitability is to keep feed costs down.

As the much-anticipated lull in calf numbers settles down upon us, flashbacks to middle school lessons on supply and demand jog our memory as cattle prices continue to soar to new highs each month.

Winter backgrounding systems can vary greatly from backgrounding in a drylot to grazing cornstalks or native range.

Yeast has been part of the human diet for thousands of years, from leavening bread to fermenting wine and beyond. More recently, its beneficial properties have been used in human medicine and health supplements.

It’s imperative that weaning goes perfectly because a calf in today’s economic cycle is worth at least $1,500. However, one very important thing can easily be forgotten: the calf’s nutritional plan from now until weaning. Will the cattle be ready when weaning day arrives?

Efficiency of production, quality of product and sustainability are the intuitive goals of the cattle industry. Producers and consumers alike are interested in the economy of scale and acceptance of beef.

Feedlots must adopt innovative strategies to maintain their competitive edge while upholding the highest standards of animal welfare.

Do you need a more efficient and stress-free cattle-working system for your operation? Explore the key differences between manual and hydraulic chutes before you make your decision.

There are a few things you as a producer can do to help increase the odds that your calves will overcome calfhood diarrhea.

When lameness issues arise, there are many things we can do as producers, and veterinarians, to help these animals recover and get back to a high level of performance.

“Male sexed semen is an opportunity to capture value,” said Kansas State University's Ken Odde, who also helps manage a family cow-calf ranch in South Dakota. “The opportunity’s greater when the price spread between steers and heifers is significant.”

The number of straws of beef semen sold to the dairy industry has more than doubled in the last five years, although dairy cow numbers have been relatively stagnant. So what has changed?

Over the past few years, genetic testing has become more readily available and used by commercial cattlemen. Information that was once used mainly by registered cattle producers is being utilized to make improvements on commercial operations and produce higher-performing cattle by making decisions with more information.

To remain competitive in today’s beef industry, commercial producers must identify and implement technologies that have favorable impacts on their beef cattle enterprises, and crossbreeding is one such technology.

While choosing replacement females may seem like a singular task, you know that months and years of strategic planning lead up to the moment. Every replacement heifer is evidence of the work that’s been done and is the foundation of future herd performance and profitability.

For over a century, Wendt Ranches has been battling the elements to raise high-quality, yet hardy, cattle to fit the highly specific needs of the coastal rancher.

When it comes to better pasture maintenance and increasing the overall richness of the soil, have you considered the idea of integrating multispecies livestock into your grazing program?

Vetch is not vetch is not vetch. Poison ivy is not an ivy, and poison oak is not an oak. Yes, names for common plants can be delightfully whimsical and inconsistent, but there’s nothing delightful about the toxins in these plants.

Nebraska producers Brock and Heidi Terrell and University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL) extension educator Mary Drewnoski helped address whether strip grazing is worth the additional time and labor when utilizing cover crops in the fall season.

Activities outside of work provide benefits that go far beyond taking it easy for a few hours.

There was a bit of a chill in the air – a friendly one, not the angry kind that would come whipping out of the north in a month or two – as I cruised with my window down along Highway 20.