I’ve always felt inferior to my hubby’s sense of direction. He can be dropped into any pasture, in any state, and know exactly where he is and how to get out. I understand that the sun is our guiding light, but when I say he has an uncanny ability, I mean it. His natural intuition is phenomenal. 

Producers across the varying sectors of agriculture have been forced to find ways to generate revenue and cut costs. In the heart of the Gulf Coast Rice Belt, innovation took the form of rice-based feeds.

It’s never too early to start planning for weaning. Several factors play a role in making weaning management decisions, such as drought, cow body condition, pasture conditions, weaning weight, calf sale contracts, labor and many others.

Drench guns are indispensable tools on livestock operations when administering oral dewormers or liquid medications. As with other tools on a cattle operation, it is important to know how to use these appropriately and maintain them.

The benchmark reports are interesting and folks tend to value them in different ways, but they are a little more than just a means to compare yourself with your neighbors or fuel a competitive spirit.

Cow-calf producers are expected to make $709 per cow over cash costs, including pasture, in 2024. These levels are nearly identical to the inflation-adjusted highs experienced by producers in 2014 ($534 in 2014 dollars, $708 in 2024 dollars).

Imagine this: You get a call today from your video sale rep, and they say, “We can offer you $275.93 per hundredweight (steers and heifers) for your 2025 calf crop.”

Most trace mineral programs can be dramatically fine-tuned by carefully evaluating the trace mineral source and level being fed. These two factors in trace mineral supplementation can make an enormous difference in cattle performance and profitability.

Cattle producers select their breeding stock variably, using an assessment of parentage production, price, expected progeny differences (EPDs), genetic testing or a simple eyeball test. A few swear by the oft-forgotten linear measurements, which gauge numerous body parts with uniquely designed calipers.