Chris Cassady, Ph.D., Beef Technical Sales Manager Spring is a time of renewal. Trees are budding, grass is greening up, and tractors are hitting the fields planting that next crop. If you are in the cattle business, you’re likely planning a future calf crop, too. It’s almost breeding time for those spring calvers, so you’re […]
Tag: Progressive Cattleman
Progress is Constantly Evolving in Cow-Calf Business
Fifth in a Series based on 1980s Ads Featuring BioZyme® Founder Have you ever wondered why the windshield is significantly larger than a rearview mirror? The road in front of you has greater importance than where you came from. That is progress. You need to know where you are going, but you also need to be […]
Fetal Development in Beef Cattle
One of the most rewarding days of the year for cow-calf producers is sale day. However, watching a calf crop grow from calving to weaning brings many challenges. Braving the blowing snow to save a calf from the ice and cold to ensure survival to make it to the sale barn is a challenge. Waiting […]
Amaferm® – A wise investment, not an extra cost
Chris Cassady, Ph.D., BioZyme® Inc., Beef Technical Sales Manager Profitability in beef production is dependent upon output revenue exceeding input costs. Elevated calf prices have pushed gross returns yet profit margins have shrunk due to the rising cost of production. A general rule of thumb is that at least 60% of your operational expenses are […]
Progressive Cattlemen: Longevity is Benefit of Commitment
Longevity. It seems like a term that doesn’t get used much anymore. Many things in the marketplace are “single-use” items, and products just aren’t made like they used to be. However, for one couple in the cattle business in southeast Louisiana, longevity is a trait that they have become accustomed to. Arnold and Missy Hess, Morganza, […]
Progressive Cattlemen Focus on Improved Efficiencies over Generations
To be successful in any business, takes dedication, skills and the desire to improve efficiencies with new technologies while embracing tradition that still is applicable. Alpers Farms at Hudson, Kan., is one such business that has stood the test of time and has adapted to new technologies to improve proficiencies and increase profitability with each generation that […]
Progressive Cattleman Breeds Cattle with Commercial Producers’ Bottom Line in Mind
Among the hills of Northern California exists a three-generation seedstock operation that is striving to produce the kind of cattle that will add profit to their commercial bull buyers’ herds. Dan and Chris Byrd started Byrd Cattle Co. at Red Bluff, Calif., more than 40 years ago. Ty and Brooke, their two children enjoyed showing […]
Take the Stress Out of Weaning
A high-quality, healthy calf crop doesn’t just happen. It takes well-planned matings, caring for gestating and lactating cows with proper nutrition and management, and a low-stressed, healthy weaned group of calves. Producers know that perhaps the most challenging aspect of that equation is reducing the stress during weaning time, but one progressive seedstock operation in Central Illinois has found a […]
Progressive Cattleman: Tips for Growing Bulls During Summer Heat
Oil and water. Cats and dogs. Bull fertility and summer heat. All of these are things that don’t necessarily mesh. When it comes to reproductive performance of your herd, you work hard to make sure your cows are in an ideal body condition and are reproductively sound; however, the bull’s reproductive health and condition also […]
Seeing is Believing When it Comes to Healthy Calves
For one progressive cattleman, seeing is believing. And seeing a program on RFD-TV several years ago, has made a difference in the way Tom Carter, Reidsville, North Carolina, backgrounds and markets cattle. Carter buys 300 head of calves throughout the year that he backgrounds on grass, hay and mineral. He puts the calves together and […]