Cattle
A String of Open Cows in the Fall Can Trace Back to a Trich Bull You Never Tested
Trichomoniasis quietly stretches out the calving season and leaves you with open cows nobody can explain. Breeding turnout is the time to…
Cattle
Legume Pasture Bloat Fills a Cow Up Fast on Lush June Alfalfa and Clover
Turning cattle onto wet, fast-growing alfalfa or clover in June can froth up a rumen and kill a good cow in an…
Cattle
Foot Rot Shows Up Lame in the Wet Corners, and June Mud Is Where It Starts
A cow that comes in three-legged lame with a swollen foot after a wet June has foot rot until proven otherwise. Catch…
Cattle
Water Hemlock Comes Up in the Wet Meadow, and a Bite of the Root Will Kill a Cow
Water hemlock is the deadliest plant on most Montana outfits, and it grows right where cattle graze in June — along creeks,…
Cattle
Keep Loose Mineral in Front of the Cows All Summer, and Keep Them Coming Back to It
A summer mineral program only works if the cows actually eat it and you put it where they'll find it. Here's how…
Cattle
Check the Bull Halfway Through Breeding, Not Just Before You Turn Him Out
A breeding soundness exam in May tells you a bull was good the day the vet looked at him. What happens in…
Cattle
The First-Calf Heifer Is the First One to Come Up Open, and June Is When You Lose Her
The two-year-old nursing her first calf is pulled harder than any cow in the herd. If she doesn't rebreed this summer, you…
Cattle
Horn Flies Bleed the Gain Off Your Calves All Summer, One Bite at a Time
Horn flies don't kill cattle outright, but a heavy load steals weight gain and milk all summer. Here's how to knock them…
Cattle
Pinkeye Blows Up in the Calf Herd Fast, and Tall Grass and Face Flies Start It
Infectious pinkeye can move through a summer calf herd in a matter of weeks. Here's how to knock down the causes before…
Cattle
Vaccine You Cooked in the Sun Is Just an Expensive Way to Poke Holes
Modified-live vaccine dies fast in heat and sunlight. Handle it wrong at branding or turnout and you've paid for protection you never…
Cattle
Summer Pneumonia Sneaks Up on Nursing Calves While Everything Looks Fine
Calves on green grass with mothers still milking hard can still come down with pneumonia in June and July. Here's what sets…
Cattle
Blackleg Drops the Best Calf in the Bunch, and It Does It in Summer
Clostridial diseases like blackleg kill fast-growing calves on lush summer grass, usually before you ever see a sick one. Here's why the…
Cattle
Handle Cattle in the Cool of the Morning: Beating Summer Heat Stress Before It Costs You
Heat builds in cattle all day and doesn't shed until night. Knowing the signs and timing your work around them keeps weight…
Cattle
Bloat Kills the Cow That Was Fine an Hour Ago on New Alfalfa
Frothy bloat on lush legume pasture can drop a healthy cow before you finish morning chores. Here's how to turn cattle onto…
Cattle
Anaplasmosis Shows Up in the Fall, but You Set It Up in June
The biting flies and ticks working your cows right now spread a blood disease that quietly builds all summer and drops mature…
Cattle
Water Hemlock Is the Plant That Kills in Minutes Along Your Wet Meadows
Larkspur gets the headlines, but water hemlock in your ditches and seeps can drop a cow before you finish morning chores. Here's…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…