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…
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…
Cattle
Foot Rot Shows Up in the Wet Spots: Catching the Limp Before It Costs You Pounds
Foot rot turns up every summer where cattle stand in mud and standing water. Catch the limp early, treat it clean, and…
Cattle
Anaplasmosis Drops Your Older Cows in Late Summer: The Tick-and-Fly Disease That Hides All Year
A carrier cow looks fine until the heat and the flies bring it out, and the cattle it hits hardest are your…
Cattle
Mineral on Summer Grass: The Cheap Insurance Cows Quit Eating in July
Loose mineral keeps cows breeding and calves gaining all summer, but only if they actually eat it. Here's how to get consumption…
Cattle
Green Scum on the Stock Pond Can Kill a Cow by Morning
Blue-green algae blooms turn warm summer stock ponds toxic fast, and cattle that drink the wrong water can be dead before you…
Cattle
Your Vaccine Is Only as Good as the Cooler It Rode In: Cold Chain and Clean Technique on Summer Working Days
You can buy the best modified-live product on the shelf and still vaccinate a whole bunch of calves with nothing. Heat, sunlight,…
Cattle
Watch Your Bulls Like Hay: Keeping Bull Power on the Cows All Summer
Turning bulls out in June is the easy part. Keeping enough sound, working bulls on your cows through July is what decides…
Cattle
Pinkeye in June: Stop the Spread Before Half the Calves Are Squinting
Face flies, dust, and tall seedheads make early summer prime time for pinkeye in Montana cattle. Here's how to catch it early…
Cattle
Trich Test Your Bulls Before They Hit the Cows: The Quiet Reason Cows Come Up Open
Trichomoniasis spreads silently through a breeding herd and shows up as open cows in the fall. Here's why testing bulls matters and…
Cattle
Move Cattle Like You’ve Got All Day: Low-Stress Handling on Summer Range
Hauling pairs to summer country and pushing them through gates is where a lot of shrink and wrecks start. Slowing down and…
Cattle
The Two-Year-Old That Won’t Breed Back: Keeping Your First-Calf Heifers in the Herd
The young cow that calved last spring is the one most likely to come up open this fall. Here's why she struggles…
Cattle
Blackleg Strikes Your Biggest Calves: Why the Cheapest Shot You Give Still Earns Its Keep
Clostridial diseases like blackleg kill thriving calves on summer grass with almost no warning. Here's why a low-cost vaccine still belongs on…
Cattle
Heat Stress in Montana Cattle: Reading the Warning Signs Before You Lose Gain
Montana summers can turn hot fast, and cattle feel it before you do. Here's how to spot heat stress early and ease…
Cattle
Pasture Bloat on Lush Legumes: The June Killer That Hits Your Best Pasture
Turning cattle onto green alfalfa or clover when grass is rank and wet can kill an animal before noon. Here's how frothy…
Cattle
Summer Pneumonia in Nursing Calves: The Sickness That Hides in a Healthy-Looking Herd
Pneumonia in calves still on the cow catches a lot of Montana producers off guard in midsummer. Here's what triggers it and…
Cattle
Foot Rot in Summer Pastures: Catch the Limp Early or Pay for It Later
Foot rot shows up every summer in Montana, usually in wet corners and around water. Here's how to spot it early, treat…