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Cull cows represent between 15 and 30 percent of a cow-calf herd's revenue, but relatively little attention is given to cull cow marketing. Most cow-calf producers traditionally sort and sell cull cows in the fall when prices are at or near the seasonal low.

Someday in the future we may look back and think the opening paragraph of Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities sums up the situation facing production agriculture in the mid 1990's.

To help provide producers options for managing and marketing cull cows, researchers at the Noble Research Institute and Oklahoma State University teamed up and conducted a study that evaluated the economics of two alternative management and marketing systems for retaining open beef cows.

The IBeef program is a joint effort between the Noble Research Institute consultation program and participating cooperators. It endeavors to be a producer-led program with the Noble Research Institute serving as consultants to the program.

To maintain profitable operations in today's volatile times all agricultural producers must remain flexible. They must delay final production decisions as they gather and assess information from throughout the world that affects the profitability of their enterprises.

Historically, feeder calf prices decline as weight increases. That relationship of price to weight still exists, but it has narrowed considerably due to the high price of corn and feedlot cost of gain. Feedlots and the market are telling us to make calves heavier at home before selling them as feeder calves.

After much time and deliberation, H.R. 2419, the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 became law on May 22, 2008. A congressional news release urged the government to "ensure that the entire farm bill is enacted into law swiftly" after clerical errors occurred involving the trade title. The 5-year bill totaling approximately $300 billion is set to expire in 2012.

If we reflect back fifty or more years, what did the term beef mean to most of the consuming public? Since I wasn't born, it's hard for me to know; however, I think beef was thought of as the premium red meat.

I can't remember a time when the grass has been as green, the cows have been as fat, ponds have been as full, and producers have been as worried about their future and the future of agriculture as a whole. The really frustrating part about the predicament we find in mid-2008 is that so many of the contributing factors are beyond our control. Seemingly, the only silver lining is that calf prices have stabilized and are staying relatively strong.

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