Category: Stockmanship

An end to stonewalling

Date: Oct 12 2015

There’s a stone wall of sorts near the top of our country lane. People don’t know if it’s coming or going unless they visited here 10 years ago.

In the cool of the spring, plan for the heat of the summer

Date: Mar 26 2015

As soon as the planters are in the shed, the crew at Weborg Feeding Co. near Pender, Neb., will unpack the shades in preparation for summer in the yard.

No bidders

Date: Mar 09 2015

At his Cattlemen’s College session last month, I heard Mark present a pretty convincing case for preconditioning (a 11-year analysis of Indiana producers showed a profit of more than $80 per head, on average for 60+ day programs, for example).

But it wasn’t just about the economics of it all. It was about the principle.

Don’t Get Bit

Date: Jun 06 2014

Routine vaccines and treatments are one of those little tasks that can have a big impact on meat quality.

Banishing bad attitudes

Date: Dec 18 2013

One of our Black Ink Basics Tech Sheets spells out a $57.69/head grid advantage for docile cattle compared to nervous counterparts.

Dressing Percent: Real or Imagined?

Date: Jul 29 2013

It is mostly just common old biology, but you have to put your thinking cap on to rationalize some of the factors that affect it.

You know, stuff like that!

Date: Jul 12 2013

if you’re going to individually identify an animal, then you need to use that identity to keep records.

Branding traditions and values

Date: Jul 09 2013

If not born wild or mishandled, dollars add up

Date: May 08 2013

Nobody wants cattle with too much “attitude,” but it takes focused genetics and handling to improve docility in a herd. “We’ve always tried to be careful about selecting bulls for disposition,” says Roger Jones, of Tri-Tower Farm, near Shenandoah, Iowa. “It’s very important to us to have a cowherd that we can handle, without a lot of wild calves in it. You know, the cattle do better in the feedlot when they aren’t wild.” Since he operates both enterprises, Jones knows how those issues carry from the field to the feedlot.

Care about your cows

Date: Apr 15 2013