August 10 The weather continues hot and dry, with thick smoke most days from the big fire that just keeps growing north of town. By last Sunday it had grown to more than 70,000 acres and more than 1,000 firefighters were trying to control it, but it is still growing daily. August 20 Last Saturday […] Read more
Effective treatment for a case of diphtheria
Several projects during the month including bovine as well as human health concerns
Burdock control is a year-round project
Plants reduce forage production and their sticky burrs can devalue and injure livestock
Burdock is an invasive plant that causes problems for livestock and crops. The tall burdock plant (a native of Eurasia, brought to North America by seed burrs stuck to imported animals) is a biennial. Burdock flowers in late summer, producing a composite seed head which matures by mid-August in southern areas and later in northern […] Read more
Grass tetany claims a young cow
Rancher’s Diary: Dry conditions, forest fires and a brush with a rattlesnake
July 1 Last Thursday the water tank on the hill pasture was nearly empty so Andrea, Lynn and I took the pump and hoses up there and pumped from the ditch across the road and filled it again for the six pairs grazing up there. That afternoon I helped Andrea finish putting up electric fence […] Read more
Cattle welcome some green grass
And a team effort gets branding, vaccinating and tagging done in one operation
May 20 Sunday morning I did chores early and got gates ready for moving cattle so we could brand and vaccinate. AWOL Alice was out again, but grazing in the buffer zone between the two electric fences, which made it easy to get her back in. Charlie came to help brand, and Dani’s friends Jack […] Read more
Grass tetany relates to magnesium deficiency
It goes by many names and has many causes
Springtime brings risk for metabolic and nervous system problems brought on by acute magnesium deficiency. This condition has been called tetany, grass staggers, milk tetany, lactation tetany, winter tetany, wheat pasture poisoning, crested wheatgrass poisoning, barley poisoning, and perhaps others. It mainly affects mature cattle grazing lush forage and is due to deficiency of magnesium […] Read more
Finally some rain to get irrigation started
April 26 This past week has been cold and windy. The creek is still very low. None of the high snow is melting yet and it may be days before we get more flow in the creek for irrigating. On Thursday, Jim drove to Missoula to pick up his twin sister, Melanie, who flew from […] Read more
A gatepost that shouldn’t move
Trick is to get the post deep enough below subsurface water and frost line so it won't lift out
Corral gates, or any long, heavy gates that need to be securely stable and never sag, require a deep and sturdy post that won’t lean, shift or work up out of the ground with frost heaves. A post not set deep enough, or in unstable ground, will eventually shift with the weight of the gate, […] Read more
Calving wrapped up in 20 days
We have well-aged manure to spread for fertilizer on pasture
March 22 This week we started our “fertilizer” project. We have big piles of old manure that Michael sorted out of the other debris when he cleared out the junk and old fallen-down sheds by the corrals. Heifer hill needs fertilizer the most since we haven’t been able to feed cows on it enough for […] Read more
Select herd sires to meet end-use objectives
Are you breeding for meat production or replacement heifers? A program could be a combination of live service as well as AI
Sire selection depends on the producer’s goals, how the offspring will be marketed and/or if heifers will be retained as replacements. The genetics and phenotypical traits of the cow herd will be a factor in trying to select bulls that complement those cows and ultimately produce the best calves possible to meet those goals. Often […] Read more
New herd record-keeping technology being tested
A simple hand-held device collects on-the-go information
Modern technology has provided some easy methods for keeping accurate track of cattle. Flokk is one new system for beef herd management and traceability reporting, and is currently undergoing initial testing. It’s designed for the cow-calf producer — large or small. Bill Leask, a rancher near Dog Pound and Mark Olson of Carstairs, two communities […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
