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Often, producers will let lice populations decline naturally as cattle shed their winter hair, but the major damage has already been done by then.

As we manage the cow herd into the fall and through the winter, our primary focus should be on health and nutrition. These two areas of management determine reproductive performance, which is the number one factor that affects profitability.

There are some basic concepts to grasp immediately for new cattle producers starting an operation.

As you are looking for next winter's hay, you should take a sample of each lot before committing to purchase. A hay analysis prior to purchase offers one of the greatest returns on investment in the ranching business.

Traditional internal parasite control in cow herds has often been in conjunction with other trips through the chute, such as first calf-working in the early summer and at weaning in the fall. In recent years, however, producers have trended away from the routine of convenient deworming in favor of a more deliberate, strategic approach.

Pick up any livestock-related publication these days and you'll probably find an article on adding value to your calf crop.

Body condition score (BCS) is a proven tool to determine nutritional status of an animal.

Cattle producers should be on watch for two types of poisoning during drought. The potential for nitrate and prussic acid poisoning of cattle is most often associated with dry periods; therefore, livestock owners should take precautions, including forage testing. Often the first indication of a problem is one or more dead animals.

Anyone who's been through even one calving season has most likely dealt with calving difficulty.

We have a tendency to balance winter rations for cows in two phases: non-lactating, in the middle third of pregnancy (dry); and then post-calving, in peak lactation (wet). Using nutritional requirements for the average weight of the cow herd, it's simple to come up with two feeding regimes; one for before calving and one for after calving.