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
Trail the Pairs Slow to Summer Range, or You’ll Spend a Week Sorting Mismothered Calves
Moving cow-calf pairs to summer pasture in June is where calves get separated, stressed, and sick. A little patience on the trail…
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…
Land & Grazing
Larkspur Greens Up on the Foothill Range Right When You Turn Out, and It Kills the Good Cows Standing Up
Tall larkspur is one of the deadliest plants on Montana mountain range, and early summer is when it's most dangerous. Here's how…
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
Horn Flies Are Bleeding Weight Off Your Cows Right Now, and You Won’t See It on the Scale Until Fall
By mid-June the horn fly numbers climb fast on summer pasture. Here's how to knock them back before they cost you pounds…
Cattle
Pinkeye Runs Through a Summer Herd Fast, and the Calf That Goes Blind Never Catches Up
Pinkeye costs Montana producers weaning weight and doctoring time every summer. Here's how to catch it early, slow the spread, and keep…
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…
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…
Cattle
Summer Pneumonia Sneaks Into the Calves on Grass, and You Won’t See It Until One’s Down
Respiratory disease in nursing calves shows up on green pasture in June and July, long before weaning, and the ones you catch…
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
The First Real Heat Wave Hits Before the Cattle Are Used to It, and That’s When You Lose One
Early-summer heat stacks up faster than cattle can shed it, especially on black hides and in still air. A few changes to…
Cattle
Legume Pasture Bloat Fills a Cow Up Fast on Lush June Alfalfa and Clover
Turning cattle onto wet, fast-growing alfalfa or clover in June can froth up a rumen and kill a good cow in an…
Cattle
Foot Rot Shows Up Lame in the Wet Corners, and June Mud Is Where It Starts
A cow that comes in three-legged lame with a swollen foot after a wet June has foot rot until proven otherwise. Catch…
Cattle
Water Hemlock Comes Up in the Wet Meadow, and a Bite of the Root Will Kill a Cow
Water hemlock is the deadliest plant on most Montana outfits, and it grows right where cattle graze in June — along creeks,…
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
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…
Cattle
Pinkeye Blows Up in the Calf Herd Fast, and Tall Grass and Face Flies Start It
Infectious pinkeye can move through a summer calf herd in a matter of weeks. Here's how to knock down the causes before…
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…
Horses
The Green Grass That Founders Your Best Ranch Horse Comes on in June
Lush spring pasture and a little extra grain put more good using horses out of work with laminitis than any wreck. Here's…
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…
Livestock
A Rattlesnake Bite to the Nose Is a Breathing Problem Before It’s a Venom Problem
Prairie rattlers come out with the warm weather, and a cow or horse bitten on the muzzle can be in trouble from…
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…