Hay & Feed
Drought-Stressed Oats and Kochia Load Up on Nitrate, and a Hungry Cow Pays for It Fast
When a dry spring stunts your annual forage, nitrate can build to dangerous levels in the stems. Here's how to spot the…
Cattle
The Vaccine You Left on the Tailgate in the Sun Didn’t Protect a Single Calf
Modified-live vaccines quit working long before you'd guess, and heat, sunlight, and dirty needles undo the whole day's work at the chute.…
Montana Ranching
The Calf You Don’t Find on Summer Range: Cutting Predator Losses Without Chasing Ghosts
Coyotes, wolves, and grizzlies all take calves on Montana summer range. A few management calls made in June do more to hold…
Montana Livestock
Blue-Green Algae Blooms on the Stock Pond Can Kill a Cow the Same Afternoon She Drinks
Late June heat and still water set up cyanobacteria blooms that turn a good stock pond into a death trap. Here's how…
Land & Grazing
Scout the Grasshoppers While They’re Small, Because You Can’t Spray Your Way Out in August
Grasshopper outbreaks build in the dry corners of Montana rangeland every summer, and the window to do something about it closes fast.…
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…
Montana Livestock
Anaplasmosis Hits the Old Cows First, and the Bugs That Carry It Are Out Now
Anaplasmosis kills mature cattle by the middle of summer, and the ticks and biting flies that move it are already working. Here's…
Cattle
Keep Loose Mineral in Front of the Cows All Summer, and Keep Them Coming Back to It
A summer mineral program only works if the cows actually eat it and you put it where they'll find it. Here's how…
Land & Grazing
Larkspur Drops Cattle on the Foothill Range Just as the Grass Gets Good
Tall larkspur is most dangerous in June and early July, right when cattle move into the foothill country. Knowing when it's toxic…
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…
Cattle
Horn Flies Bleed the Gain Off Your Calves All Summer, One Bite at a Time
Horn flies don't kill cattle outright, but a heavy load steals weight gain and milk all summer. Here's how to knock them…
Calves, Cattle, Farming, Livestock Fencing
Ride the Fence Before the Cattle Find the Hole in It
Spring runoff, snow load, and elk pull down more fence than most people expect. Walk it now, because a cow that gets…
Land & Grazing
Don’t Graze It to the Dirt in June: Leave Enough Leaf to Get a Second Bite
How you handle pastures in the first few weeks after turnout decides how much grass you'll have in August. Grazing too hard,…
Water & Irrigation
High-Sulfate Stock Water Can Blind and Down Cattle by Late Summer
As dugouts and shallow wells drop and concentrate through the summer, sulfate levels climb — and sulfur-induced polio can put good cattle…
Water & Irrigation
Run the Water Line Before the First Heat Wave, Not During It
Stock water fails on the hottest day of the year, not the coolest. Walk your springs, pipelines, and tanks in mid-June while…
Hay & Feed
Bale It Too Wet and the Stack Cooks Itself From the Inside
Hay that goes in the stack a few points too wet heats, molds, loses feed value, and in a bad year lights…
Montana Ranching
Lightning Kills Cattle in Bunches, and June Is When the Storms Start
Summer thunderstorms put cattle at real risk on open range. Here's how lightning kills, why it takes several head at once, and…
Montana Ranching
Move the Deadstock Before It Draws a Grizzly to the Summer Country
Bears and other predators follow easy food. A dead cow left in the corner of a pasture teaches them where the cattle…
Hay & Feed
Cut It at the Boot, Not When You Get Around to It: Timing First-Cutting Hay
Every day you wait past the boot stage, your grass hay loses protein and gains stem. Here's how to read the crop…
Land & Grazing
Scout the Grasshoppers Now, While They’re Still Nymphs You Can Kill
Grasshoppers hatch on Montana rangeland in June, and the window to do anything about them closes fast. Here's how to scout, count,…
Montana Ranching
The Green Scum on the Stock Pond Can Kill a Cow Before You Find Her
Blue-green algae blooms turn a good summer water source into a killer in a day or two. Here's what to watch for…
Montana Ranching
Foot Rot Shows Up Lame and Swollen After the First Wet Stretch on Summer Grass
Foot rot turns up every June once cattle are walking wet ground and rocky trails. Catch the lame cow early and it's…
Cattle
Anaplasmosis Shows Up in the Fall, but You Set It Up in June
The biting flies and ticks working your cows right now spread a blood disease that quietly builds all summer and drops mature…
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
Water Hemlock Is the Plant That Kills in Minutes Along Your Wet Meadows
Larkspur gets the headlines, but water hemlock in your ditches and seeps can drop a cow before you finish morning chores. Here's…