Articles

Process Verified Program, that is

- by Merridee Wells

- Photo by Sage Pool


Process Verified Programs, or PVP’s as they are commonly called, are another of the many new-fangled phrases which are becoming commonplace in our cattle industry today. Breed associations draw them like a gun while marketing programs dazzle you with their PVP requirements and the auction companies brag on their value-added benefits.

Minerals are important for herd health, reproduction and efficiency during winter.  However, that is only part of the picture.  Extra protein and energy are vital during cold, wet weather.  Producers should also be aware of forage and by-product supplementation quality, as well as body condition scores. 

The M&M team in the steer doctoring at the Ring of Fire Ranch Rodeo in Boerne, Texas. That’s James Fitzgerald doing his crowd-pleasing Superman impression.

During a time when most Texans were stretched to the max by wildfires or drought, it’s encouraging to know that some folks down in the south part of the state responded by doing what they do best - getting on with the game and forming a brand new ranch rodeo association. Founded in 2010, this past October 22, 2011 marked the second annual finals of the newly formed South Texas Ranch Rodeo Association in Cotulla, Texas.

Your secret weapon? Ionophores

by Melissa Albertson

photo by Malloree Barnes

As you consider all the different products available to help increase the performance for your herd, you can’t ignore the proven benefits of feeding ionophores: improved feed utilization, increased gain, prevention and control of coccidiosis, and cost effectiveness. Even so, while ionophore use is extremely common in feedlot finishing diets, they still are an underutilized product in grazing operations.

by Corinne Brown

All five members of the Triangle / Black Cattle Company Ranches
team hail from various parts of Texas.  (L to R) Sam White, Clay Igo,
Tell Good, Esrain Corrales, Eugene Corrales

It might be the fiery red shirts that make them stand out so clearly, or the precise way they move as a team, but the boys from the Triangle / Black Cattle Company Ranches of Texas demand to be noticed. I first saw Esrain Corrales, team captain, his brother Eugene Corrales, and team members Tell Good, Sam White, and Clay Igo while watching last year’s Amarillo WRCA World Finals DVD.

with this custom-built Safety Training Trailer

By Gordon  Moore

Photo Courtesy of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association

This is a great idea; a fully-equipped Safety Training
Trailer that you can take direct to the feedyard crew.

It was just about time to take a break and get a well-deserved cup of coffee.  Two pen riders rode by a third, a young man who was hurrying to catch up with his friends.  But first, he had one more pull to get down the alley before he could fill a cup.  He called to them that he would join them in about 10 minutes.  After several minutes of the young man not showing, the two riders remounted and began looking for him.  They found him at the end of the alley where they had last seen him.  He was lying on the ground …  seriously injured.

Losing a loved one is never an easy process. But for American farmers and ranchers, the death of a family member could also mean the loss of their livelihood. Because of the federal estate tax, often called the “death tax,” many ranching families are facing taxes which a great number of them cannot afford. Too many ranches have already fallen victim, so understanding the tax and planning accordingly is more important than ever.

Land EKG Monitoring provides simple guidelines for
gathering rangeland data and interpreting the information
to help create grazing strategies.
Photo by EKG

Accurately tracking pasture conditions might seem overwhelming at times, but it’s critical to making good decisions and optimizing the grazing potential of your outfit. As Charley Orchard grew up and worked with his family on their + 100 section Wyoming ranch in the 70's and 80's, he began to see that standard academic or Agency monitoring techniques had some weaknesses (too much rigor and too few answers). His efforts to fill those gaps led him to develop the Land EKG™ Monitoring system he started sharing with ranchers and land managers in 1994.