Stagnant summer stock ponds can grow a toxic cyanobacteria bloom in a matter of days, and cattle that drink from the downwind…
Cheatgrass cures early and grass fires move fast on a Montana afternoon. A little work in June — clearing fuel, prepping equipment,…
Predator losses climb once cattle scatter onto big country and forest allotments. Finding the kill is half the job; documenting it before…
A rundown on prepping your haying string before first cutting hits full swing in Montana — sickle sections, knotters, bearings, and the…
Summer processing puts vaccine through heat, sunlight, and dirty needles before it ever reaches the calf. Handle it wrong and you paid…
June and July thunderstorms drop cattle in bunches, often under the one shade tree in the pasture or along a wire fence.…
The first real hot spell of summer hits cattle before they've slicked off, and a black-hided cow packing extra flesh feels it…
A blood parasite spread by ticks and biting flies hits your older cows hardest, and by the time one lags behind the…
Rangeland grasshoppers build quietly through June, and by the time you notice bare ground they've already eaten forage you can't get back.…
A bull looks fine walking the pasture after a heat wave, but a stretch of hot, still days can drop his semen…
Frothy bloat on lush clover and alfalfa regrowth can kill a healthy cow in an hour. Here's how it happens and what…
Summer pasture looks like it has everything a cow needs, but Montana grass runs short on the trace minerals that drive breed-back.…
Getting irrigation water where it does the most good in June sets up your hay crop and your fall regrowth. Here's how…
Foot rot shows up fast on summer grass, almost always in one foot, and it spreads from the wet, churned-up ground cattle…
Body condition at breeding decides which cows cycle and which ones don't. In mid-June you still have a little time to sort…
June high water wrecks fence at every creek crossing and low draw. Ride the line and rebuild the water gaps now, before…
Cows graze the bottoms bare while good grass sits untouched on the high ground. Where you put salt, mineral, and rubbing spots…
Larkspur is one of the surefire killers on Montana's foothill and mountain ranges, and cattle die from it fastest right when you…
Trichomoniasis doesn't make a cow look sick — it just quietly kills the pregnancy and hands you a wreck of open cows…
You checked the bulls before turnout, but the breeding season is where they get hurt, worn down, or beat off the cows.…
Horn flies cluster on a cow's back and belly by the thousands, and every bite pulls a little weight and milk off…
When rain quits and cereal forage sits stunted in the field, nitrates pile up in the bottom of the stalk. Here's how…
Infectious pinkeye spreads fast on tall grass and dusty pastures once face flies get going. Here's how to slow it down and…
Early-summer grass grows fast and tempts you to sit in one pasture. Push it too hard now and the regrowth stalls, leaving…
Waiting an extra week to cut first-cutting alfalfa or grass hay buys you tonnage and costs you feed value. Here's how to…