As summer heat pulls down pond levels, dissolved salts and sulfates climb in what's left. High-sulfate stock water can stagger cattle, blind…
Stagnant summer stock ponds can grow a toxic cyanobacteria bloom in a matter of days, and cattle that drink from the downwind…
A blood parasite spread by ticks and biting flies hits your older cows hardest, and by the time one lags behind the…
Frothy bloat on lush clover and alfalfa regrowth can kill a healthy cow in an hour. Here's how it happens and what…
Foot rot shows up fast on summer grass, almost always in one foot, and it spreads from the wet, churned-up ground cattle…
Larkspur is one of the surefire killers on Montana's foothill and mountain ranges, and cattle die from it fastest right when you…
When rain quits and cereal forage sits stunted in the field, nitrates pile up in the bottom of the stalk. Here's how…
Infectious pinkeye spreads fast on tall grass and dusty pastures once face flies get going. Here's how to slow it down and…
Prairie rattlesnakes come out of the rocks in June, and a cow or horse grazing head-down is an easy target. Here's what…
Water hemlock is the deadliest plant on most Montana places, and the soft June ground along creeks and ditches is exactly where…
When ponds warm up and drop in the June and July heat, cyanobacteria can bloom into a toxic scum that kills cattle…
In a dry summer the stock water gets more concentrated as it evaporates, and rising sulfates and total dissolved solids pull down…
Heat stress builds through the afternoon and only lets go overnight. When a run of hot days doesn't cool down after dark,…
Spread by ticks, biting flies, and dirty needles, anaplasmosis can smolder through a herd all summer before you notice the anemia. Here's…
Lush alfalfa and clover regrowth can blow a cow up in an hour. Here's how frothy bloat sets up on June pasture…
Standing water around tanks and gates sets cattle up for foot rot in early summer. Here's how to spot it early, treat…
Tall larkspur is one of the deadliest plants on Montana mountain range, and the danger climbs right when cattle move to summer…
Mid-June is when pinkeye starts showing up in Montana calves — a weepy eye, a squint, then a white spot in the…
When cereal hay and green chop grow under drought stress, nitrate concentrates in the lower stems and can kill cattle fast. Here's…
Low blood magnesium hits older cows nursing calves hardest, right when the grass looks its best. Here's how to spot it early…
Pneumonia isn't just a fall weaning problem. It hits unweaned calves on summer pasture, and the ones you notice are usually the…
Cyanobacteria in warm, calm stock ponds can kill cattle within hours of drinking. Here's how to spot the risk, when the danger…
Prairie rattlers come off the dens and spread across summer range by mid-June. A bite on the muzzle rarely poisons a cow…
Those silvery seedheads coming on in the low ground and the field edges aren't harmless. Foxtail barley awns work into gums, cheeks…
When ponds shrink and shallow wells go bad in a dry summer, dissolved salts and sulfates concentrate fast — enough to knock…