It seems like every day we are learning more about the best ways to artificially inseminate cattle.  New protocols appear to pop up daily, but as a producer, who is to say which protocol will give the highest pregnancy rates?

It’s the time of the year when farmers markets start sprouting up in communities around South Dakota and residents are able to purchase local goods and fresh items as they come in season.

A variety of plants that occur as normal constituents of native pastures can accumulate toxic compounds and represent a risk to grazing livestock if they are consumed.  Surveys suggest that 3 to 5 percent of the cattle, sheep and horses that graze native rangelands in the western U.S. are affected by plant toxicity – representing a major economic loss.

The agricultural industry is taking steps to better understand today’s consumers. A recent study commissioned by the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA), presented the results of consumers perceptions of food production.

Sexed Semen in the beef industry in previous years may have seemed out of reach for the commercial producer. In a previous article, “How Does the Cost of AI Compare to Natural Service?” by Warren Rusche, it discussed the cost of AI service versus natural service.

Spring is a great time of year.  We are surrounded by new signs of life with the baby calves, green grass and new leaves on trees.  With this also comes the time for making the best management decisions for the health and well-being of your calves, with an extremely important one being the castration of the bull calves.

The concluding segment (Part IV) of the “Managing for Reproductive Success” and final factor of the “Equation of Reproduction” discussion involves “Fertility of the Herd”. Fertility of the herd may be the most difficult factor to evaluate. Accurate detection of estrus, inseminator efficiency and fertility of the semen (Parts I, II, and III) of this discussion are all vital to the success of any breeding program. However, even when these three elements are well managed, if the cow herd fertility level is compromised, pregnancy rates may not meet cattlemen’s expectations.

Summer months in the northern plains mean an opportunity for cattle producers to graze weaned calves on pasture.  While “grass calves” are considered to be under less risk of infectious diseases compared to calves weaned and concentrated into drylots in the fall, these calves still are at risk for certain disease issues while out on pasture.