Cycles of very cold then warm weather have been hard on animals and people at the Eppich farm this winter.
Cattleman’s Corner
Birthdays and an eastbound colt
Eppich News: Cycles of very cold then warm weather have been hard on animals and people this winter
U.S. cattle herd contraction coming to an end
The Markets: Watch for calf prices to start to decline in 2026
Beef calf price should continue to be strong in 2025, but a growing cow herd could mean lower prices in 2026.
Feed an all-star diet to your beef cows after calving
Better Bunks & Pastures: It pays to invest in cows to get them from calving to their next pregnancy
For a cow to feed a calf and retain its own body condition requires a good solid intake of essential nutrients. First-calf heifers also need more of the same nutrients to gain a couple of hundred pounds of weight as they grow into maturity.
Cattle market volatility increases as tariff uncertainty continues
Resumption of U.S./Mexico cattle trade will temper market upside
At the time of writing this article, the implementations of U.S. tariffs and Canadian retaliatory measures were delayed for 30 days. However, the threat remains. This is the wild card moving forward.
Using technical analysis for feeder cattle marketing
The Markets: Looking at charts from the past few months shows the market could range higher
Looking at charts from the past few months shows live cattle futures could range higher.
Castration via banding makes gains in popularity, safety
Animal Health: Pain relief in the bands can make the experience less irritating for young calves
The first castration banders were likely developed to replace knife or scalpel castration. They were easy to use and eliminated the complications of infections and blood loss. Castration with a knife or scalpel is harder to master and animal welfare issues must be considered. Banders have been around for a while; I recently saw an […] Read more
Watch dairy heifers grow on well-balanced diets
The Dairy Corner: There are numerous ways to get a quality mix to a farm’s heifers
I have balanced many dairy heifer replacement diets in the last few months. It’s a pretty easy exercise once I put it down on a PDF spreadsheet and email it to the dairy producer. I am confident all heifer nutrient requirements are met, given how heifers consume it. Plus, I want to make these diets […] Read more
Tariffs not on U.S. rancher radar
Cattle groups take their advocacy directly to U.S. livestock producers
Glacier FarmMedia — The Canadian Cattle Association says the threatened 25 per cent tariffs would cut Canadian wholesale beef prices by 13 per cent, but effects would be tempered slightly by a low Canadian dollar. “Obviously a huge blow to the benchmark beef price,” CCA vice-president Tyler Fulton says. “I think many of us would […] Read more
DNA testing can have value in commercial beef sector
Costs of Production: There are advantages to testing some cows, heifers, bulls and calves
There is growing interest in the commercial beef industry around using DNA to inform selection decisions. While traditionally the realm of the seedstock industry, commercial DNA testing and changes in the way we manage cattle have led to some big changes in how we think about genetic selection. DNA testing, in broad terms, means using […] Read more
Corralling cattle and calling on family
Eppich News: This winter’s agenda included moving cows in the snow and a trip northwest for visiting
The end of November brought us more snow. On the 25th John and Gregory went out to the Landis pasture to move some snow around so we could bring the cows home. The next day we took a couple of horses and pushed the cows from the south pasture to the native pasture to the […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
