Leaving sufficient residual plant material (leaves, lower stem bases and crowns) is essential to maximize next year’s production for perennial grasses.

If the local farming community’s coffee row were surveyed about the beef industry’s major players, the rancher, feedlot operator and packing plants would likely dominate responses.

Efficiency is efficiency, right? Turns out, it’s probably not that simple. Efficiency in a feedlot and at the cow-calf level are two very different things.

The journey from pasture to plate is fraught with challenges, particularly during the initial receiving period when cattle are most vulnerable. The receiving phase, typically encompassing the first 45 days after cattle arrive at a feedlot, is critical for ensuring their health, well-being and subsequent productivity.

Nearly 50 head of cattle and a moose have died from anthrax in Carbon County, Wyoming. The deadly bacterial disease was last reported in Wyoming wildlife in 1956 and cattle in the 1970s.

Ensuring the health and productivity of starter cattle is a complex challenge. One of the critical aspects of managing this is understanding and supporting their immune systems, especially during the stressful transition from pasture to backgrounder or feedlot.

Today’s beef industry is moving through uncharted territory. Record prices are being recorded for finished animals, weaned calf dollar amounts have never been higher, and more younger calves are entering feedlots than ever before.

Developing replacement heifers is one of the most expensive and complex management decisions for a cow-calf producer and also has long-term implications for profitability.

As we near the feedlot fall run and cow-calf producers market their calves at the highest prices received to date, every additional pound of gain has greater profit potential.

In agriculture, uncertainty is a constant challenge, from unpredictable weather patterns to fluctuating market conditions. However, these uncertainties should not paralyze decision making or delay essential long-term strategies such as succession planning.