Cattle
The Two-Year-Old Is the Cow Most Likely to Come Up Open
First-calf heifers have to grow, milk, and rebreed all at once, and they lose that fight quietly. Here's how to keep your…
Cattle
Fly Tags Work Better If You Wait: Timing Horn Fly Control So It Lasts Into August
Horn flies cost you pounds all summer, but hanging tags too early burns them out before the worst of the season. Here's…
Cattle
Pinkeye Blows Up Fast Once the Flies and Cheatgrass Get Going
Pinkeye costs you weaning weight and calves you can't sell right, and it moves through a herd faster than most people expect.…
Cattle
A Bull That Doesn’t Test Is a Guess You Can’t Afford
A breeding soundness exam catches the shooter bull, the foot problem, and the low-fertility two-year-old before he spends a whole season not…
Cattle
Implant the Steer Calves at Turnout: Cheap Pounds You Leave on the Table
Growth implants are one of the lowest-cost tools in the calf business, but plenty of Montana producers skip them or place them…
Land & Grazing
Split the Big Pasture With One Hot Wire: Temporary Fence for Summer Grazing
A single strand of poly wire and a few step-in posts can turn a season-long pasture into two or three grazing periods.…
Cattle
Worm Your Cows Before the Grass Does the Damage: Strategic Deworming on Summer Range
Internal parasites quietly cost you pounds and open cows all summer. Here's how to time a deworming that actually works, and why…
Montana Ranching
Your Stock Dog Overheats Before You Do: Keeping the Help Working Through a Montana Summer
A good cow dog will run itself into the ground trying to please you. In June and July heat, that loyalty can…
Land & Grazing
Spray the Weeds While They’re Still Green: June Is the Window on Spotted Knapweed and Leafy Spurge
Noxious weeds on Montana rangeland are easiest to kill before they set seed. Here's how to time June herbicide work and biocontrol…
Land & Grazing
Cattle Camp the Creek: Getting Them to Graze the Whole Pasture
Cows will hammer the bottoms and coulees while the ridges and back corners go untouched. A little planning with salt, water, and…
Water & Irrigation
Test the Stock Water, Not Just the Grass, When It Turns Dry
In a dry June, the water in your reservoirs and shallow wells concentrates fast. High sulfates and salts can pull cattle off…
Horses
Bring Your Saddle Horse Into Summer Legged-Up, Not Sorry
The long circles of June and July are hard on a horse that spent the winter standing around. A few things done…
Montana Ranching
Keep a Shovel and a Full Tank Behind You: Fire Season Starts in the Hayfield
Most ranch fires in Montana don't start with lightning — they start with hot equipment in dry grass. A little prep in…
Water & Irrigation
Shut the Headgate in Time: Timing Your Last Flood Before First Cutting
On Montana's flood-irrigated hay meadows, the trick isn't turning the water on — it's knowing when to shut it off so the…
Land & Grazing
Leave Grass Behind on Purpose: Stubble Height Sets Next Year’s Feed
Grazing a pasture into the dirt in June costs you regrowth this fall and vigor next spring. Here's how much to leave…
Farm Equipment
Grease It Before It Grinds: Getting Your Hay Equipment Ready Before the First Windrow
A day spent in the shop before first cutting beats a day broke down in the field with a storm building. Here's…
Calves, Cattle, Farming, Livestock Fencing
Ride the Fence Before You Turn Out: Fixing the Wire the Runoff Tore Up
Spring runoff and frost heave wreck more fence than cattle do. Ride it before turnout so you're not chasing pairs down the…
Cattle
Rattlesnake Bites Hit the Nose First: Handling Snakebit Stock on Summer Range
Prairie rattlesnakes get active as the ground warms, and a grazing cow or a curious colt usually takes the strike on the…
Hay & Feed
Bale It Too Wet and It’ll Cook: Watching Moisture on the First Cutting
Hay put up a little green feels like a win in a short weather window, but bales stacked too wet heat, mold,…
Cattle
Grass Tetany Drops the Best Cows First on Lush Green Grass
Hypomagnesemia kills fast on fast-growing cool-season pasture, and it usually takes your heaviest-milking cows. Here's how to spot the risk and keep…
Land & Grazing
Scout Grasshoppers in June, Before They Eat Your Fall Pasture
Grasshoppers do the most damage as small nymphs in early summer. Counting them now and hitting the hatch beds early is cheaper…
Hay & Feed
Cut the First Crop at Bud Stage: Hay That Tests, Not Just Fills the Stack
First cutting is where you make or lose your protein for the year. A few days' delay and the right baling moisture…
Cattle
Heat Stress Sneaks Up in the First Hot Spell: Reading Your Cattle Before They Pile Up
The first 90-degree stretch in June catches cattle that haven't shed off or found the water yet. Here's how to spot heat…
Cattle
Frothy Bloat on Lush June Pasture: The Death You Find Before Breakfast
Legume-heavy spring pasture can blow a cow up tight by morning. Here's how frothy bloat builds, what raises the odds, and the…
Cattle
Summer Pneumonia Hits the Calves You Thought Were Past the Risk
Bronchopneumonia in two- to four-month-old nursing calves shows up in the dog days, often after a cold rain or a long dusty…