In this Progressive Cattle Podcast episode, David visits with Kent Bacus, vice president of governmental affairs for the National Beef Cattle Association, at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference about trade negotiations with Canada, and Tyrell visits with Charley Martinez with the University of Tennessee about a study using artificial intelligence (AI) and tracking eye movement to gauge interest in what genetic information producers are looking at in bull sale catalogs.

Over recent decades, cattle disease management, prevention and treatment have changed dramatically. Vaccines, antibiotics, technology and even diseases have altered course.

Fink Beef Genetics owns about 200 head of mother cows. Each of those, presumably, raises about one calf per year. Yet, somehow, in 2023, the Finks managed to sell more than 600 bulls carrying their herd’s genetics to customers across the country.

As the agricultural industry continues to provide higher yields using fewer resources, innovation and improvements made on family operations drive the changes necessary to feeding an ever-growing population. For one of these operations, located in Elkader, Iowa, innovation began with a camcorder in a hog barn.

Raising the best kids, cattle and corn – in that order – is the goal of Jesse and Michelle Weber of Weber Land and Cattle in Lake Benton, Minnesota.

Genomics has become one of the most powerful tools in the cattle industry over the last decade, but the technology is often misunderstood. The goal here is to help dispel some myths and confusion around the use of genomics.

Spring Cove Ranch, owned and operated by the Art and Stacy Butler family in Bliss for over a century, continues to etch its name in Idaho’s agricultural history.

“The U.S. beef cow herd is the smallest since the 1950s,” says John Hall, a professor and extension beef specialist at the University of Idaho. In light of this, both those buying and selling bulls will feel the effects.

The American Simmental Association presented the Golden Book Award to Hart Simmentals of Frederick, South Dakota, at the ASA’s Fall Focus event Aug. 26 in Denver. Recipients of the Golden Book Award are recognized for being lifelong promoters of the Simmental breed.

Unlike in decades past, nailing a hand-painted plywood sign to a fencepost or running a small print ad in the local paper no longer fills out the itinerary of a cattle sale’s marketing campaign.