Montana Ranching
Run Your First-Calf Heifers With the Old Cows and They’re the Ones That Come Up Open
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.…
Cattle
A Black Cow Can’t Shed a Hot, Still Afternoon Until Night Cools Off, and a Bad Stretch Can Cost You Breed-Back
Heat stress builds through the afternoon and only lets go overnight. When a run of hot days doesn't cool down after dark,…
Cattle
Trich Rides In on an Untested Bull and Empties Half Your Calf Crop Before You Know It
Bovine trichomoniasis spreads at breeding and shows up as open cows and a strung-out calf crop next spring. A little planning before…
Cattle
Your First-Calf Heifers Come Up Open First, and June Is When You Save Them or Lose Them
Two-year-olds nursing their first calf carry the heaviest load in the herd, and they're the cows most likely to be open at…
Montana Ranching
An Empty Mineral Feeder in June Costs You Breed-Back You Won’t Notice Until Preg-Check
Summer grass looks like all a cow needs, but it runs short on the minerals that drive conception and immune function. Keeping…
Montana Ranching
Put the Mineral Where You Want the Cattle Grazing, Not Where It’s Easy to Fill
A summer salt and mineral program does two jobs at once: it covers what the grass is short on, and it pulls…
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
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
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…