Cattle
A Hot Spell in the Middle of Breeding Cooks a Bull’s Fertility, and the Damage Doesn’t Show Up for Two Months
A bull looks fine walking the pasture after a heat wave, but a stretch of hot, still days can drop his semen…
Cattle
A Cow Too Thin at Turnout Cycles Late, and the Late Cycle Is the One That Comes Up Open
Body condition at breeding decides which cows cycle and which ones don't. In mid-June you still have a little time to sort…
Montana Ranching
A Bull That Quits Halfway Through Breeding Leaves a Hole You Won’t See Until Spring
You checked the bulls before turnout, but the breeding season is where they get hurt, worn down, or beat off the cows.…
Cattle
Write Down the Bull Turnout Date, Because a Calving Season You Can’t Predict Is One You Can’t Manage
Setting a defined breeding season and pulling the bull on a schedule tightens your calving window and tells you months ahead which…
Cattle
Green Grass Hides a Mineral Gap, and a Cow Short on Copper Comes Up Open No Matter How Good the Feed Looks
Summer grass looks like it has everything a cow needs, but the minerals that drive breeding and calf health run short right…
Montana Ranching
A Thin Cow Comes Up Open, and the Late Calver Is the First to Fall Behind
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
A Bull Can Pass His Test in April and Quit on You by the Fourth of July
A breeding soundness exam gets your bulls to the pasture gate, but it doesn't keep them working. Riding through the bulls during…
Cattle
The Mineral Tub Runs Dry in June, and the Cows Pay for It at Breeding
Summer grass looks like it has everything a cow needs, but Montana range runs short on the minerals that drive conception and…
Montana Ranching
A Hurt Bull Quits in June, and the First Sign Is a Bunch of Cows Cycling Back
Turning bulls out isn't the end of breeding season—it's the start of the part where a lame or wrecked bull can cost…
Cattle
Mark the Bull Pull Date on the Calendar the Day You Turn Them Out
A breeding season with no end date scatters your calves across four months and quietly costs you money at every marketing. Setting…
Montana Ranching
Breed the Heifers a Little Early, and Keep Them Gaining Right Through It
Replacement heifers set the tone for your whole calving season. Get them to breeding weight, turn the bull in ahead of the…
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
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
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…
Montana Ranching
Turning the Bull Out Isn’t the End of the Job: Watch Him Work
A bull that passed his breeding test in May can still come up lame, sore-footed, or plain lazy by July. Riding through…
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
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
Bull Turnout Done Right: Getting the Breeding Season to Pay Off in Montana
Mid-June is breeding season on most Montana ranches. A little attention to bull soundness, cow-to-bull ratios, and pasture observation now decides what…
Ranching
Bull Power and Breeding Season Prep: What a Brangus Listing Signals for Montana Ranchers
As Montana ranchers line up breeding-season plans, a recent online listing for multiple Brangus bulls out of Central Texas is a reminder…