When, Not If, Disaster Strikes

By Wes Ishmael

Finding dead cattle from time to time isn't exactly uncommon. Finding a bunch of them all at once is another heartbreaking matter. An Arizona rancher...

Homeland Security Launches Educational Campaign

-- DHS release

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Ready Campaign, in partnership with The Advertising Council, is introducing a series of social media tools to further engage Americans in emergency preparedness. ...

BSE Sanctions Costing U.S. Billions

Source: Rod Smith, Feedstuffs

The sanctions that countries around the world placed on U.S. beef following the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the cattle herd in 2003 -- despite being inconsistent with international standards -- cost U.S. cattle ranchers and beef processors billions of dollars in export losses. ...

Experts Note Progress Against BSE Disease

Source: Angus e-List

Overreliance on meaningless testing and a lack of focus on documenting the effectiveness of steps that are making significant inroads against bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) are hindering a hungry world’s access to protein, driving up food costs and harming local economies as well as the U.S. beef industry...

Eliminating PI Animals Makes Economic Sense

Montana cattle ranchers still have time to screen their herds for animals persistently infected (PI) with the bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus. And the managers of the Montana BVD-PI Herd Screening Project...

Persistently Infected Calves Cost

In a recent study of cattle herds in southern Oklahoma, nearly 17% of the ranches had at least one BVD persistently infected (PI) calf in the 2006 calf crop...

A few more calving tips

As a veterinarian with 40 years' experience, plus an instructor of veterinary obstetrics at Washington State University, I would add the following points...

Calving Tips

By Heather Smith Thomas

As calving season draws near, there's a myriad of situations ranchers find themselves in. Ron Skinner, DVM and seedstock breeder from Hall, MT, gives...

Texas Awarded Federal Grant To Fight Fever Ticks

By Burt Rutherford

USDA Secretary Ed Schafer says Texas animal health officials will have an extra $4.9 million to help fight cattle fever ticks from spreading into the U.S. ...

A Lousy Deal

By Burt Rutherford Senior Editor

Now you see 'em. But mostly you don't. And that makes diagnosing a lice problem in your cattle a bit challenging. However, says Jack Lloyd, professor...

Rating BVD vaccination programs

By Clint Peck

Relatively new resources for bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) control programs are within reach of nearly every cattle producer in the U.S. Successful and...

Spoiled Potential

By Wes Ishmael, Contributing Editor

Those cattle pharmaceuticals you stick in the ice box, just like the label says, may still be compromised or rendered useless if you're not monitoring...

Understanding PAMTA antibiotics in cattle production

Mike Apley

The Preservation of Antimicrobials for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) was introduced in the U.S. House this spring (H.R. 1549). A companion bill was introduced...

When to castrate calves

W. Mark Hilton

The 2008 National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) data indicates 77% of bull calves in the U.S. are castrated before marketing and 75% of those...

Weaning management

by Clint Peck contributing editor

Weaning time is harvest time in cow-calf country. This can be a stressful time for the cow, the calf and the rancher. Probably the most critical weaning...

Late Calving, Early Weaning Nets Higher Return

Kansas Livestock Association

Calving in April and weaning during August may produce a lighter calf, but with feed costs at record levels, cow-calf producers will see better returns under this production system...