Cattle
A Bull That Quits in the Middle of Breeding Season Can Leave a Third of Your Cows Open
You turned the bulls out and the branding's done, but a bull that goes lame or gets whipped in the first three…
Cattle
Horn Flies Are Bleeding Weight Off Your Cows Right Now, and You Won’t See It on the Scale Until Fall
By mid-June the horn fly numbers climb fast on summer pasture. Here's how to knock them back before they cost you pounds…
Cattle
Pinkeye Runs Through a Summer Herd Fast, and the Calf That Goes Blind Never Catches Up
Pinkeye costs Montana producers weaning weight and doctoring time every summer. Here's how to catch it early, slow the spread, and keep…
Cattle
A June Thunderhead Builds in an Hour, and a Whole Bunch of Cattle Under One Tree Can Die at Once
Summer lightning kills more range cattle than most producers expect, and the losses come in bunches. Here's what raises the odds and…
Cattle
Grass Tetany Still Bites in a Cool, Wet June, and It Takes the Best Cows First
A lush, late-growing spring keeps magnesium short in the grass just as older cows are milking hard. Here's how tetany shows up,…
Cattle
The Vaccine You Left on the Tailgate in the Sun Didn’t Protect a Single Calf
Modified-live vaccines quit working long before you'd guess, and heat, sunlight, and dirty needles undo the whole day's work at the chute.…
Cattle
Summer Pneumonia Sneaks Into the Calves on Grass, and You Won’t See It Until One’s Down
Respiratory disease in nursing calves shows up on green pasture in June and July, long before weaning, and the ones you catch…
Cattle
The First Real Heat Wave Hits Before the Cattle Are Used to It, and That’s When You Lose One
Early-summer heat stacks up faster than cattle can shed it, especially on black hides and in still air. A few changes to…
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…