Some 400 attendees from across North America gathered in Loveland, Colorado, to hear the latest in beef cattle research from some of the industry’s leading experts from government, academia and industry.

Range Beef Cow Symposium XXVII took place in Loveland, Colorado, on Dec. 13-14, 2023.

Now is the time to start early and take advantage of some strategic opportunities to save on taxes for both you and your family this year.

So many of us were still waiting, hoping and assuming that the turn of summer into fall would bring the only thing we could practically fathom: higher market prices for beef cattle.

Calving season is an ongoing process that can occur over a few months, rather than a single short-term event like pregnancy checking or weaning. Recording calving records provide great benefits and opportunities to collect data and details that can then be used to evaluate and rank cows in the herd.

Michael Uetz, co-founder of the meat-oriented marketing firm Midan Marketing, encouraged Wagyu breeders to understand their consumer target to better market their beef.

Water rights can make, or break, an agricultural real estate transaction. Irrigation rights alone were appraised at over $24 million in a deal this article’s author helped to close.

While drought and other economic challenges tightened the U.S. cattle herd in recent years, the constriction eventually created a significant – and welcomed – upswing in profitability for many beef cattle producers.

Farm succession planning is a critical topic that often gets brushed under the rug due to a variety of emotional and practical reasons. Families and farmowners may avoid discussing succession because of deeply rooted values, fear of mortality and the uncertainty of what lies ahead.

For ranching families, it is common for their household expenditures to be included in their operating budget and loan. With that, household budgets need to be managed differently for ranch families than for families who don’t utilize operating loans.

Our family members and employees have many distractions that can affect their productivity and efficiency if not managed in an appropriate manner.

Bovine viral diarrhea virus, or BVDV, is one of the most frequent diseases dealt with in cattle, in all sectors of the industry.

All vaccine types can help set cattle up for success when used according to label directions, but which type makes the most sense for your herd?

Due to the advanced knowledge of DNA sequence and new technologies, we can utilize and manufacture messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines to address traditional vaccine inadequacies.

Johne’s disease is often thought of as a dairy problem. In fact, beef producers also need to be vigilant to prevent the spread of this destructive, chronic disease.

The ionophore, monensin, is a class of antibiotics that can improve animal health, maintain body condition and increase feed efficiency, yet limit feed intake. This supplement may be beneficial during dry spells when ranchers scramble for additional feedstuffs.

As the winter frost melts and ranchers catch up on sleep after bringing new calves into the world, nature welcomes spring. Breeding season is not far away, and bull sales are an opportunity for ranchers and livestock producers to upgrade their genetics.

In the past 20 years, genetic potential of the cow herd and production costs have steadily increased; however, production outputs (pregnancy rates and weaning weights) have been stagnant or declined.

Crossbreeding isn’t a new technology. We’ve known about it and have been doing it for ages. Yet, crossbreeding remains a severely underutilized tool industrywide, with less than 50% of commercial operations using it meaningfully.

High weaning weights, a uniform calf crop and a high calf crop percentage are every cow-calf producer’s goal to obtain the highest profit margin. Genetics combined with management is integral to achieving these goals.

Creating beef from dairy supply chains is not a new concept. For the past seven years, Penn State research programs have emphasized dairy progeny as part of the beef supply chain.

A well-prepared calving area with proper equipment that emphasizes safety and accessibility, ensuring proper cattle nutrition and having a solid emergency plan with detailed records to fall back on will serve you well.

Bottle teats can be more than just an inconvenience during calving; they can play a major role in the economic efficiency of that cow.

To work safely around cattle, handlers must understand how to read their behavior and take advantage of natural behaviors.

In a world where it’s difficult to get anyone to agree on anything, the court of public opinion leans heavily in favor of a reduction in greenhouse gases within our agricultural supply chain. But how to accomplish that goal – and who in the chain is ultimately responsible for it – are other matters altogether.

As ranching comes under near-constant fire for being ecologically disruptive, the FR Ranch Preserve of southwest Louisiana utilizes cattle to continue the mission of wildlife preservation and surface ecology dictated by their founders.

Everything – soil health, pasture productivity, the symbiotic relationship between grass and cattle – is interrelated. When trying to fit this all together, Riley and Jimmie Kammerer became part of something much bigger. Something good.

In most instances, the dormant season (late fall and winter) provides the best opportunity to remove litter and germinating annual grass seedlings without negatively affecting perennial plants.

Except for forage producers using hay analyses for marketing purposes, the real advantage of hay testing is not simply getting the results, but using those results to make meaningful decisions and make the hay feeding period more efficient.

Winter can take a toll on your sleep, stress and energy levels. Keep in mind that your cows are experiencing at least equal levels of stress. 

In an exchange parroted ad nauseam with my buddies with every charming ounce of teenage wit available to us in the mid-2000s, two movie pirates discuss their Plan B should Plan A go awry: “What if the worst should happen?” “Keep to the Code.”