Latest News From Cattle

The new animal science center, expected to be completed in 2023, includes research labs, educational spaces, animal handling areas along with dedicated research lab space for emerging technologies and practices.

Most producers provide free choice mineral to cows during grazing season and assume that it provides adequate minerals. However, there are some important factors to consider to ensure mineral requirements are met.

The upcoming PAC Summit for Industry Leaders focuses on leveraging new technology to ease labor constraints, provide opportunities for increased profitability, and improve connections between animals and caregivers.

The ongoing drought continues to squeeze available hay supplies and drought this year is a severe threat to 2022 hay production. May 1 hay stocks in the 17 plains and western states were down 17.7 percent year-over-year.

Check out the photographs of nine common problems Dr. Ahmed Tibary, Washington State University, says he most often sees in the sperm of bulls that fail breeding soundness exams.

This week could be very unpredictable in the cattle trade. The North-to-South spread may continue to narrow as calves are still not ready and packers seem to be chasing more mature cattle in the South.

Imports and exports create value and provide opportunity for all trading partners, thereby underpinning the very reason international trade exists and it is integral to economic freedom.

Beef prices have been notably higher this year and demand will remain key as supplies tighten into 2023 with consumers continuing to face ramped inflation.

If we get it right, agriculture can, in fact, save the planet, said Jack Bobo, CEO of Futurity, during the Animal Agriculture Alliance's 2022 Stakeholders Summit in Kansas City.

The House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis alleges meat packers pressed “baseless” claims of beef and pork shortages early in the pandemic to persuade the Trump Administration to keep operations running.

Estrus synchronization can be an important management tool to get cows settled as early in the breeding season as possible and get cows bred to bulls with highest possible genetic value.

Wildfire threats are not over in Texas, but preliminary estimates from early March through the end of April put losses to ranchers at $23.1 million from multiple fires that covered 433,000 acres.

Why are we importing beef, especially processed beef, from Brazil? Why aren’t we and all the environmental groups working together to hit DC like Jan. 6, demanding we stop importing that stuff.

Recognizing the need for research means cattle producers, scientists, and many other stakeholders agree there are opportunities to improve diverse areas of cattle health and well-being, production, and economics.

Established product requirements in the beef industry may differ somewhat from one segment of the industry to the next, but there are some common expectations fundamental to each.

As the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak fire continues in New Mexico, Texas Panhandle residents are under a severe fire risk warning with high temperatures and high winds forecast all week.

In production agriculture, the output is largely a commodity. But whether the output is commodity or differentiated, the system of how the output is produced matters as much as the output itself.

With the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act top of mind for many cattle producers, director of government relations at the Iowa Cattlemen's Association, Cora Fox, shares her thoughts on the bill. 

Boxed beef prices have come down from a period of extremely strong demand and adjusted down from a counter-seasonal January peak to current levels, 11.2 percent lower compared to the last week of January. 

TSCRA reminded the committee ranchers and landowners are right beside law enforcement officers on the front lines of the battle, confronting regular thefts, burglaries, damaged infrastructure and armed intimidation.

Opponents of American Foods Group's proposed Missouri packing plant have appealed the conditional permit granted for the facility and a hearing is scheduled for later this month.

“Don’t shoot where the duck is. Shoot where he’s going to be.” It’s a lesson Steve Cornett thinks some young cattle folk need to consider.

Focus on factors like body condition score and estrus intensity for breeding season success.

Demand for U.S. beef continues on a record-setting pace in March while pork exports were the largest of the year, yet well below last year's record set in March.

With exploding populations, our working lands are developed, subdivided and converted to other uses diminishing these benefits. As a result, it is harder for cattle raisers to find affordable rangeland for livestock.

A solid annual forage strategy can produce cost-effective, high-quality feed, and for some varieties, aftermath grazing.

Vaccination plans are only one pillar in an effective herd health program and should be viewed as a mechanism to minimize risk of disease.

Undoubtedly, consumers increasingly want more transparency. But reference to “where food comes from” invokes very specific connotations – beyond just country-of-origin.

Kansas State Animal Sciences and Industry students earn national title for second consecutive year at the Collegiate Meat Animal Evaluation Contest hosted in Lubbock, Texas.

Every re-treatment puts additional stress on calves and reduces profit due to additional medicine and labor. But waiting too long to re-treat calves that need an additional dose can increase the number of sick calves.

The 7th Annual Gardiner Angus Ranch "Meating Demand" bull sale was held Monday, May 2, 2022, at the ranch near Ashland, Kansas.

A new poll of global consumers suggests they’re not giving up beef burgers for environmental reasons, but the study itself maligns livestock production with faulty claims.

Extension beef cattle specialists from four northern plains universities are accepting registrations for the series, titled “Mineral Nutrition for the Beef Cow Herd.”

Addressing the water needs of cattle is a complex process depending on water quality, weather patterns, time of day, feed moisture content, and animal factors such as bodyweight and stage of production.

Gross incomes for both cattle and hog producers were up double digits from 2020 to 2021, according to a recent report from USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service.

The fast pace of cow slaughter thus far implies the likelihood of significant beef cow herd liquidation in 2022. The next few months will likely have impacts on the cattle industry for several years. 

Cattle sold steady to firm and cattle feeders should still have a few weeks to try to push the market higher before cattle inventories increase.

Cash cattle trade was active at steady prices while cattle futures saw sharp losses triggered by USDA’s bearish Cattle on Feed report, with chart breakdowns fueling technical selling.

Rather than running to the politicians to solve a problem, perhaps the better strategy might be to gather a plan to create a better understanding of the economics of the industry.

As winter storms hit the region and families seek to manage their farming efforts in the coming days and weeks, many farmers, farm laborers, agricultural professionals and family members are facing increased stress.

An emergency preparedness plan can assist a cattlemen’s ability to respond to varying threats.  Developing a disaster plan is a good idea for both people and all the animals they care for on a farm or ranch.

All four bosspackers testified in Washington this week, and none of our elected congressbeings made anybody squirm.

These goals and targets aim to identify and supplement sustainability practices and support the collection of benchmarking data for current industry sustainability efforts.

The Bien Ranch of Veblen has been selected as the recipient of the 2022 South Dakota Leopold Conservation Award®.

A review of the data shows widening packer margins during the past several years have occurred for multiple reasons.  The timing of that occurrence post-COOL is coincidental.

Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), ranking panel member reveals he had ‘spirited conversations’ and 'unsuccessfully attempted to secure the expert opinion of the Office of the Chief Economist on S 4030.'

Concerned about consolidation of the feeding industry, R-CALF has asked the FTC and DOJ to investigate the degree of buyer power beef packers exercise over feedlots – in particular, the 77 largest feedlots. 

Montana's Office of Consumer Protection estimates that a Canadian company has stolen up to $5 million from Montanans after receiving payments but never delivering the promised product.

Cattle will continue to come in lighter than expected and lose grade due to high ration costs. This could help keep forcing the packer to harvest more cattle than expected to keep their orders filled.

Cash cattle prices saw a surprising but welcome rally ahead of Friday’s Cattle on Feed report, which looks bearish for next week’s futures markets. COF totaled 12.1 million head, 1.7% higher than last year.