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Cattlemen’s Craft

Guides on bull power, cow herd fundamentals, working cattle and tools of the trade.

Bull Power

• Bull Buying Checklist for a First-Time Cow-Calf ManA bull is half your herd. Here is how to shop for one without getting talked into the wrong animal.
• Bull Care All Year: Feeding, Feet, Safety and Breeding SoundnessA bull works a few months and costs money twelve. How to keep him sound, in shape, safe to handle and ready to breed.
• Calving Ease or Growth: How to Pick a Bull's NumbersPull fewer calves and sell heavier ones. You can get both, but you have to buy for it.
• Don't Buy a Bull on One NumberEvery trait you ignore comes due eventually. Here is how to buy a balanced bull and live with his daughters.
• Feed Intake EPDs: What a Bull's Calves Eat Matters to Your Bottom LineA bull's feed number is one more tool, not a magic wand.
• How Angus Took Over the Beef BusinessHardy, hornless and good on the rail: the plain reasons one breed won the steakhouse.
• Methane Sires: What a Cattleman Should Know FirstLow-emission bulls are a headline. Here is what is actually proven and what is not.

Cow Herd Fundamentals

• Cull Hard, Keep the Right CowsA herd gets better by who you sell, not just who you buy.
• Feed Today's Angus Cow Like Today's CowThe cattle changed. If the feed program did not, you are leaving money in the pasture.
• Feeding the Cow That Works Hard: Stage by StageA cow that raises a big calf and breeds back is burning fuel. Here is how to keep the tank filled.
• Hay Days Are Money Days: How to Shorten the Winter Feeding StretchEvery day you feed hay costs real money. Here is how to count them, trim them and stop throwing hay on the ground.
• Poor Hay, Good Cows: How to Make Rough Feed Work in an Angus HerdStemmy, weathered hay can carry a cow if you know what it is missing and fix that, not everything.
• Small Herd or Big Herd: How Size Changes the WorkTwenty cows and two thousand cows are different jobs, and the man running either one needs to know it.
• The Cow Pays the Bills: Running a Herd That PerformsBulls get the glory, but the cow is where the money is made or lost.
• Who Stays and Who Goes: Culling the Cow Herd Without RegretSet your rules before sorting day and the pen gets a lot quieter.
• Winter Protein: Feed Only What the Cows Are Short OnProtein cake is the usual winter fix. It is a good one when protein is the problem, and cash down the drain when it is not.

Working Cattle

• Working Cattle Without Getting Hurt: Chute and Pen BasicsCattle are bigger, faster and less forgiving than you. A few habits in the pen keep you, your family and your animals safe.

Tools of the Trade

• Building a Fence Cattle Respect: Electric vs. Barbed WireFence is the biggest cost on most ranches and the biggest headache when it fails. How to build it once and build it right.