By Patti Wilson Contributing Editor Providing preventative care for livestock is an objective that Boehringer Ingelheim takes seriously. I spoke with Dr. Joe Gillespie, Professional Services Veterinarian for the animal health company, during the Cattle Industry Convention in February. His suggestions to mitigate summer stresses entail good management advice for cow-calf producers in particular and yearling operations in general. Gillespie says that there are many factors involved in summer calf stress. 2023, in particular, provided a variety of opportunities for infections to creep into calf c ..read more

Members of the Texas A&M Forest Service watch as a plane drops fire retardant on a portion of the Smokehouse Creek Fire in Hemphill County, Texas, after high winds caused a flare-up to reignite the record-breaking fire. Photo courtesy Sam Craft/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications By Larry Stalcup Contributing Editor The largest wildfire in Texas history stole much of the lifeblood of hundreds of ranchers in the northeastern Panhandle in late February and early March. Quick to catch national attention, the roaring, ruthless infernos killed 15,000 or more cattle and burned mo ..read more

By Patti Wilson Contributing Editor Calhan, Colo. native Danielle Kasselder has traded the Rocky Mountains for a new home in Nebraska. Her youth was spent on the family ranch, showing cattle and small animals. She ran her own cows, going to AI school at the age of 15 to supply a source of home-raised steers and heifers for 4-H. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) senior said she chose UNL because of the quality of education offered and because agriculture “gets more respect” than Colorado residents can muster. She’s impressed that Nebraska has more cattle than people and reports that Nebr ..read more

By Patti Wilson   Contributing Editor Environmental Justice advocates of the California Air Resources Board (an arm of the California government) are pushing to deny carbon credits to any farm or ranch raising livestock feedstuffs. They also wish to deny methane emission credits to livestock feeding facilities using anaerobic digesters, adding “Any other potential pathways for livestock producers to gain credits.” They have labeled our management as discriminatory and highly pollutive. Farm methane digesters are most notably used on large dairies and confinement hog units. They are n ..read more

By James Coope  Contributing Editor As you walk into Tribe Riverwalk, you immediately notice the strikingly modern and uplifting décor, which is in stark contrast to the traditional stone buildings in historic Castle Rock, Colo. Your eyes are drawn to the eclectic bar and the expansive herb garden next to the open kitchen. After sitting down, you are handed a menu that is unlike anything in town. When you strike up a conversation with the staff, you will quickly realize that Tribe is more than just a menu and a fancy place. Tribe is the culmination of decades of learning, experimentation ..read more

By Jim Whitt Contributing Editor The League of Nations was created in 1920 at the Paris Peace Conference that ended World War I. It was formed to maintain world peace, but obviously that didn’t work out. After World War II, the United Nations (UN) was formed to achieve what the League of Nations failed to do with the stated objectives of maintaining international peace and security, protecting human rights, delivering humanitarian aid, promoting sustainable development and upholding international law. With a membership of 51 nations, the UN Charter was ratified in 1945. It created a Security ..read more

By Megan Webb, Ph.D.  Contributing Editor In the face of unprecedented challenges, agricultural organizations are finding strength in collaborating with other organizations to address the pressing issues plaguing farmers and ranchers. As inflation, soaring input costs, and interest rates create an economic storm for those involved in farming and ranching, the question arises: How can grassroots organizations foster greater collaboration to navigate these turbulent times for their members? The financial burden on farmers and ranchers is exacerbated by escalating inflation and overhead expe ..read more

By Chris McClure   Contributing Editor As we sit at a point of very low numbers in our national cow herd, it is time to get serious about building back. How is that for an obvious, somewhat late statement? It’s one that likely will elicit a “Duh!” as it is read. (I would have added to that chorus had I been reading this.) Although I am not a fan of the folks in D.C., there has been a phrase that I like that has been in use by a particular political party for about four years now – “Build Back Better.” I mention it despite the negative connotations most of you who read this will attac ..read more

By Blaine Davis Contributing Editor Enduring the first bitter cold snap of 2024, I have had much cabin time. With all the normal inactivity, my hands have held a snow shovel and my mind has been occupied with social media and television, or aptly called the “boob tube.” Last weekend I stopped my remote on an automotive channel to find an inane subject matter of modifying an all-electric vehicle to make noise like a V-8 powered gasoline-fueled performance car. The gist of this was to install a sound system under the chassis to emit the throaty exhaust sounds ranging from a factory high-output M ..read more

By Betty Jo Gigot Publisher Members attend a council meeting at the KLA Convention Photo courtesy KLA Kansas Livestock Association (KLA) members met in December in Wichita, Kan., for their annual meeting. More than 850 members elected officers, attended council meetings and were updated on the current state of the industry by Greg Doud, former chief agricultural negotiator in the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and CattleFax CEO Randy Blach. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Senior Executive Director of Scientific Affairs Mandy Carr Johnson presented an analysis of the late ..read more