The summer forage is drying out and losing nutritional value, the snow is beginning to fly, and we are starting to feed our cattle. As winter starts, we are all ensuring that our cattle are still getting the feed they need to maintain a good body condition score. In general, a cow will eat about 2%-2.5% of her body weight in dry matter per day. For the majority of Gunnison…
Read MoreShipping Calves
Fall means a lot of things for cattle producers in the area. We’ve already discussed how we choose replacement heifers, but what do we do with the rest of our calves? Most ranchers will be selling their calves into the next stage of the production cycle, but some others are retaining ownership through the entire life cycle, retaining ownership until the calves are a year old, or even pre-conditioning their…
Read MoreThe Benefits of Grazing
Please note that this is republished from my column in the Gunnison Country Times. Fall is in the air – and that holds true for cattle ranchers as well. Fall means gathering cows and bringing them back to the low country to prepare for winter. Most ranchers have had their cattle on Bureau of Land Management or Forest Service land on their authorized allotments. These cattle (or other livestock) have…
Read MoreGrain Finished versus Grass Fed Beef
I’m writing to brag about beef – so buckle up because I think it has some amazing qualities. I am sure everyone has heard this age old discussion – grass fed or grain finished beef. Which is better? Read on to learn the benefits of both! First of all – let’s define grass finished versus grain finished. According to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, grass finished beef is beef that…
Read MorePAUSE – Colorado Initiative 16
Lets talk the Colorado Initative 16 or the PAUSE act. PAUSE is a citizen led ballot initiative that would criminalize accepted animal husbandry practices, assigns an arbitrary lifespan to farm animals, considers fish livestock, and places slaughter restrictions on those same animals. What does that mean for you? A lot – so lets begin to unpack it. Lets start with the lifespan and slaughter requirements. The PAUSE initiative would assign…
Read MoreEarth Day from a rancher’s perspective
Earth Day and ranching go hand in hand. Ranchers are stewards of the land and we all take pride in that fact. We work our hardest to utilize the newest technology and any other ways at our disposal to make ourselves the most sustainable we can possibly be. We rely on the land and we take pride in giving back to that same land. Lets go into details. Just how…
Read MoreAntibiotics and calving season
Antibiotics. That seems like a loaded word anymore – which is why we are going to break down antibiotic use and what it means for us as cattle ranchers and for you as a consumer. The first, and most important fact about antibiotics, is that there is absolutely no meat sold with antibiotics present, or none present at a level higher than approved by the FDA (or any drug residues…
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