Noxious weeds like spotted knapweed and leafy spurge move fast on thin, overgrazed range. Hitting them in June — before they flower…
Alfalfa weevil larvae strip the leaves off new growth right before first cutting, and the frosted-looking field you're waiting on may be…
Prairie rattlesnakes come out of the rocks in June, and a cow or horse grazing head-down is an easy target. Here's what…
Blackleg drops thrifty, fast-growing calves on lush summer pasture, usually with no warning. A clostridial vaccine at spring works is the only…
Ranch horses carry the load through branding, gathering, and the long summer rides to the far country. A little attention to feet,…
Respiratory disease doesn't wait for weaning. Nursing calves two to four months old go down with pneumonia on summer pasture, and on…
Water hemlock is the deadliest plant on most Montana places, and the soft June ground along creeks and ditches is exactly where…
When ponds warm up and drop in the June and July heat, cyanobacteria can bloom into a toxic scum that kills cattle…
Baling first-cutting hay before it's dry enough sets off heating inside the bale that can spoil feed and, in the worst case,…
Turning cattle out to summer range in bear and wolf country means more than dropping the gate. A little riding, some record-keeping,…
In a dry summer the stock water gets more concentrated as it evaporates, and rising sulfates and total dissolved solids pull down…
A two-year-old is still growing while she raises her first calf, and she can't win a shoving match at the feed ground.…
Setting a defined breeding season and pulling the bull on a schedule tightens your calving window and tells you months ahead which…
Heat stress builds through the afternoon and only lets go overnight. When a run of hot days doesn't cool down after dark,…
Grasshoppers hatch along field edges and dry ridges in June, and once they grow wings they spread faster than you can respond.…
Spread by ticks, biting flies, and dirty needles, anaplasmosis can smolder through a herd all summer before you notice the anemia. Here's…
Lush alfalfa and clover regrowth can blow a cow up in an hour. Here's how frothy bloat sets up on June pasture…
Summer grass looks like it has everything a cow needs, but the minerals that drive breeding and calf health run short right…
Castrating and dehorning older calves in hot, fly-heavy weather invites infection and fly strike. A few changes to timing and technique keep…
Standing water around tanks and gates sets cattle up for foot rot in early summer. Here's how to spot it early, treat…
High-country snowmelt peaks and then fades fast in a dry June. The water you get onto your hay ground now is the…
Body condition at breeding decides more of next year's calf crop than the bull does. Here's how thin cows and late calvers…
Cattle on summer range will hammer the water and the bottoms and leave the ridges untouched. Moving salt and mineral is the…
Tall larkspur is one of the deadliest plants on Montana mountain range, and the danger climbs right when cattle move to summer…
Turning pairs out on summer grass only works if the fence holds. A slow walk of the wire in June saves you…