Ranching brings rewards, but it’s not all “sunshine and rainbows.” With drought and high input costs in the balance, it takes sharp management decisions to keep black ink on the bottom line.

Water resources have become a legitimate concern for U.S. agriculture.

Our decision on when to wean calves is an incredibly powerful lever we have as managers. How should we make the decision on when to wean?

2022 was a challenging year regarding precipitation throughout much of the Central and Western portions of the U.S. Many major cow-calf production regions, particularly in the central and southern Plains, are continuing to experience drought.

A cattle operation's feeding and nutrition program is the single-largest ongoing production expense and the one that may require the greatest amount of time, focus and planning to manage. It may also be the most variable, depending on the region and operations themselves.

Following drought, stand damage is readily apparent – even on well-managed pastures. When drought occurs during active growth of warm-season grass pastures, it is almost certain that root growth will be restricted, in addition to the more obvious decline in forage yield.