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…
Land & Grazing
Grasshoppers Hatch on the South Slopes in June, and You Kill Them Cheap Now or Feed Them Your Grass All Summer
Grasshoppers are easiest and cheapest to stop while they're still wingless nymphs clustered on warm ground. Wait until they get wings and…
Cattle
Anaplasmosis Turns Your Best Cows Pale and Mean, and the Bug That Carried It Left Weeks Ago
Anaplasmosis rides in on ticks, biting flies, and dirty needles, then hides for weeks before it drops your mature cows. June is…
Land & Grazing
Water Hemlock Grows Right Where Your Cattle Drink, and One Root Will Kill a Cow in an Hour
Water hemlock hides in the wet bottoms and ditch banks where cattle water in early summer, and the roots carry enough toxin…
Water & Irrigation
Get the Water on the Meadow Before the Creek Drops, Because August Won’t Give It Back
Early-summer runoff is the water you actually get to use. Move it onto the hay ground and pasture now, because the ditch…
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…
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
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…
Montana Ranching
Horn Flies Bleed Weight Off Your Cows All Summer, and You Stop Noticing Them by July
Horn flies cluster on the backs and bellies of grazing cattle, feeding on blood dozens of times a day. Get control going…
Water & Irrigation
Check the Pumps and Floats in June, Because a Dead Tank on a 95-Degree Day Costs You by Noon
Stock water systems fail in the heat when cattle need them most. Walk the pipelines, pumps, and float valves now, while a…
Calves, Cattle, Farming, Livestock Fencing
Ride the Fence and Rebuild the Water Gaps Before Your Pairs Find the Hole for You
Spring runoff pulls out water gaps and drops wire while your cattle are already on grass. Mid-June is the window to walk…
Land & Grazing
Rotate Off Your Best Grass in Early Summer, or You’ll Be Feeding Hay Before the Snow Flies
Cool-season grass on Montana range does most of its growing in a short window, and cattle left to graze it flat in…
Land & Grazing
Spray Spotted Knapweed and Leafy Spurge Now, Before They Trade Your Grass for Ground Nothing Eats
Mid-June is the window to hit spotted knapweed and leafy spurge while they're actively growing. Wait until they've set seed and you're…
Hay & Feed
The Alfalfa Weevil Frosts the Tips of Your First Cutting While You’re Waiting on the Swather
Alfalfa weevil larvae skeletonize the top leaves of a stand right before first cutting, and the damage looks like frost from the…
Montana Livestock
Worms Drag on Your Yearlings All Summer, and You Won’t See It Until the Scale in Fall
Internal parasites quietly siphon gain off cattle grazing summer grass, and young stock pay the steepest price. A little planning in June…
Land & Grazing
Build Your Fire Plan Before the First Dry Lightning, Not While the Smoke’s Already Up the Draw
Rangeland fire season builds through late June in Montana. A little work now—firebreaks, ready equipment, and a plan to move cattle—buys you…
Hay & Feed
Cut the First Cutting at Early Bloom, or You’re Trading Protein for Tonnage You Don’t Need
Waiting on the alfalfa to bulk up feels like the smart play, but every day past early bloom pulls protein and energy…
Cattle
Foot Rot Sets Up in the Muddy Corners of Summer Range, and a Lame Cow Won’t Travel to Feed
Wet ground around gates, water and salt sets cattle up for foot rot in early summer. Catch the limp early, because a…
Land & Grazing
Set Your Destocking Triggers in June, Not the Day the Grass Runs Out
Deciding when and what to sell before summer turns dry keeps you in control of the market instead of the other way…
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…
Water & Irrigation
Get Water Across the Hay Meadow While the Creek Still Runs High, Because July Comes Fast
Mountain runoff peaks and drops fast in a Montana June. Spreading flood water evenly across a wild-hay meadow now decides how much…
Water & Irrigation
Walk Your Summer Water Lines Now, Before a Stuck Float Empties the Tank on a 95-Degree Day
Stock water fails on the worst possible afternoon. A June check of tanks, floats, pipelines and solar pumps is cheaper than hauling…
Land & Grazing
Spray Leafy Spurge and Knapweed at the Right Growth Stage, or You’re Just Burning Diesel
Noxious weeds hit their most vulnerable window in June and early July. Hit spurge and knapweed at flowering with the right chemical…
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,…