Slow Pacific-Rim Progress Begs The Question, "Why?"

By Troy Marshall

This week, it was announced that Japan had agreed to discontinue inspections of entire meat shipments from the U.S. Both sides also agreed to speed up and facilitate Japan's inspection of U.S. plants to make implementation follow more quickly...

Korean FTA Is A Critical Crossroads

Get ready to add a new acronym to your vocabulary -- KORUS FTA -- the Korean-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. On April 1, at the last possible moment, the U.S. and South Korea reached agreement...

Eliminating PI Animals Makes Economic Sense

Montana cattle ranchers still have time to screen their herds for animals persistently infected (PI) with the bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus. And the managers of the Montana BVD-PI Herd Screening Project...

Persistently Infected Calves Cost

In a recent study of cattle herds in southern Oklahoma, nearly 17% of the ranches had at least one BVD persistently infected (PI) calf in the 2006 calf crop...

Fall calving with tall fescue

by Jim Gerrish contributing editor

Spring may not seem the right time to be thinking about the virtues of fall calving, but if you live in the tall-fescue zone of the U.S., you should be...

Victory Is In The Planning

By Dave Smith, DVM and Joe Roybal, Editor

Planning for calving is a lot like formulating a battle plan. It can fall apart when the first shot is fired, but preparation and planning for contingencies...

Is Your Dewormer WORKING?

By Joe Roybal Editor

Anthelmintics (dewormers) are among history's miracle drugs. Since first introduced in the 1960s, these products have literally helped feed a growing...

A Long, Thin Line

By Burt Rutherford Senior Editor

There are some words in an obscure country song that the tick riders along the Rio Grande River between Texas and Mexico can appreciate. It's a long,...

Immunity & Challenges

By Clint Peck Contributing Editor

BVDv (bovine viral diarrhea virus) often infects cows without signs that the virus is spreading in their body. The virus has the ability to pass through...

Vets Weigh In On Calf Health

By Joe Roybal Editor

Veterinarian John Peirce created a stir among cow-calf readers of BEEF magazine last fall when he chastised the job cowmen were doing in the health preparation...

The shape of things to come

by Dave Sjeklocha contributing editor

I came to a revelation recently that troubles me. Twenty years ago, my wife would have warned anyone to avoid the subject of animal-rights groups unless...

Planning for successful breeding

by W. Mark Hilton contributing editor

What tasks need to be done to help assure a successful breeding season this year? Let’s start with the bulls. Nationally, about 10% of all bulls fail ...

Up & Running

By Alaina Burt Managing Editor

Blame Mother Nature. Within the first few hours of a calf's life, it gets up, looks for the udder, and sucks on everything from the cow's brisket to the...

Divide & Conquer

By Wes Ishmael Contributing Editor

It's not easy being a calf. Just about the time you're fairly sure where your next meal's coming from, somebody you've never seen before wants to stick...