2017 WEATHER GUARD® PRCA World Standings Leaders – Unofficial through May 8, 2017



All-around 1. Tuf Cooper, Weatherford, Texa$59,445 2. Caleb Smidt, Bellville, Texas 58,619 3. Josh Peek, Pueblo, Colo. 57,784 4. Clayton Hass, Weatherford, Texas 49,327 5. Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Calif. 40,457 6. Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla. 34,190 7. JoJo LeMond, Andrews, Texas 31,355 8. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas 27,869 9. Seth Hall, Albuquerque, N.M. 24,535 10. Bart Brunson, Terry, Miss. 24,494 […]

Ag Ed teacher, farmer, wife, mom



By Wendy Sweeter Raising kids on the farm is the only way Sarah VanDerVliet wanted to raise her children. VanDerVliet, who farms with her husband, Ryan, near Humboldt, S.D., feels strongly about instilling the value of work in their four children – Weston, 12, Clara, 9, Taygen, 7, and Cashlynn, 3. “I feel very strongly about instilling the value of […]

Erickson keeps victory parade rolling



GUYMON, Okla. – It didn’t take much more than a moment for steer wrestler Ty Erickson to create another winning moment. The Montana cowboy, who is having a phenomenal season, added the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo to his 2017 victory list. Erickson claimed his latest title with a 13.0-second time on three head to win the average. “Man, anytime you […]

First U.S beef arrives in Brazil



While the U.S. has been warily keeping track of beef coming out of Brazil – especially in light of the recent meat packing scandals where it was found that several packers had made selling rotten meat products a habit – the U.S. has also been working on a plan to get American beef back into the hands of Brazilian consumers. […]

GENEX to market sexed semen with twice as many sperm cells



GENEX is adding GenChoice™ 4M semen to its product offering for dairy and beef producers. This new sexed semen product contains twice the number of female sperm cells than traditional GenChoice™ semen. GenChoice™ 4M will soon be available on a limited number of sires.  “As the industry leader in providing sexed semen, having sold more than 10 million units, we […]

Grandin to speak at cattle conference in Spirit Lake



National cattle behavior specialist Temple Grandin will be the keynote speaker at the Cattle Stewardship Conference June 8 at the Dickinson County Fairgrounds, Spirit Lake, Iowa. The conference also features beef cattle specialists from Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. Cattle Stewardship begins at 10 a.m. with a cattle handling demonstration conducted by Dean Fish. Fish is one of the national […]

In the Cattle Markets: Time to Act



By Stephen R Koontz, Agricultural and Resource Economics, Colorado State University The fed cattle and feeder cattle markets have continued their impressive rallies that took off two weeks ago.  Live cattle futures increased $15/cwt and better than $30/cwt since the beginning of April.  Feeder cattle futures $20/cwt and $30/cwt since April 1.  Do these rallies have legs or, in other […]

National Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary – Week ending May 5th



Compared to last week, feeder steers and heifers sold 3.00 to 8.00 higher with instances of 10.00 to 12.00 higher on very good demand. The big story this week in the cattle markets is the torrential rains and significant snow falls throughout the Midwest and Southern Plains. The rains closed many farm to market roads which hampered cattle movement to […]

National Grain Summary – Week ending May 5th



Compared to last week, grain and soybean bids were mixed. In general commodities, including corn, could look to recover some of Thursday’s sharp sell-off. The extended weather forecasts are drier, possibly allowing for corn planting to start up again and putting pressure on new-crop December corn. The old-crop soybean futures spreads continue to reflect an increasingly bullish commercial view of […]

National Hay Summary – Week ending May 5th



Compared to last week alfalfa and grass hay sold unevenly steady. Ground and delivered hay and dehy alfalfa pellets sold steady. Demand is sporadic. Some cattlemen are buying up last year’s alfalfa supplies and are stockpiling it for future use. Where other buyers buy on a hand to mouth basis. Non spring like weather last weekend brought a lot of […]