The House Ag Committee finished its markup of the new farm bill on May 24. The legislation now awaits its turn on the House floor.

For almost 100 years, cattle producers in the West experienced an awful phenomenon: large numbers of strange, late-term abortions in otherwise healthy cattle. What caused these abortions, and what can producers do to avoid this loss?

In anticipation of the cattle industry’s inevitable rebuilding of the national cow herd, AngusLink, the American Angus Association’s USDA process-verified program, has introduced a new tool for objectively describing the genetic potential of replacement females. 

Drought conditions around the country can be a mixed bag any given year. This year, portions of the Central Plains, West, Southwest and Midwest have dealt with various drought conditions.

All animals face constant changes and challenges to their health. The maintenance of a healthy homeostatic state within the gut is important, not only to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, but it also can affect such diverse systems such as the respiratory and reproductive system. We also know that it can affect the brain and the skin health as well. The GI tract and remote organs in the body share bidirectional communication via immune, neural, endocrine or metabolic links called the “gut-organ axis.”

One of the biggest challenges facing modern society is accurately understanding agriculture and its role in our everyday lives. In an era of information being readily available, it is amazing how quickly that information can be misinterpreted or misunderstood.

Have you, or a cattle producer friend, ever encountered a situation where you vaccinated your cow herd against rotavirus scours but still had problems with rotavirus scours? What about experiencing a Histophilus somni (H. somni) break in pens of vaccinated feedlot calves? Or Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis)? Or pinkeye?

The USDA’s latest Cattle on Feed report, published May 24, showed that 1.87 million head of fed cattle were marketed in April, a more than 10% increase from the same period last year.

In this episode of the Progressive Cattle Podcast, Editor Tyrell Marchant interviews Frank Mitloehner, from UC Davis, as they talk about sustainability and the industry’s relationship with the public when it comes to these issues. Additionally, Editor Carrie Veselka discusses all things mental health and resources available for farmers and ranchers with Jessica Cabrera of the American Farm Bureau Federation.