The Cattle Business Weekly
For cattlemen, by cattlemen is this podcast bringing you the latest in cattle industry headlines straight from the news desk of The Cattle Business Weekly in South Dakota. It's a dose of what's happening in markets, on the ranch and in Washington, D.C. It's news about everything that impacts a cattle operation's bottomline (aka profit). Listen to us in the feed truck, on the way to a cattle sale or on the porch with a beer! We promise you won't go away without having learned something.
Episodes
48 episodes
Four Market Headwinds for First Half of 2026
A new year brings with it new opportunities and challenges for cattle producers. Here are four trends to watch in the first half of 2026, and what they might mean for cattle producers navigating a complex market. 1. Interest rates to dro...
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5:24
BetterFed Beef: Best of Both Worlds
A locally sourced, producer-owned, certified and locally processed beef system seems like a dream for most cattle producers, but there are 17 family farms in the Upper Midwest that have cracked the code. BetterFed Beef partners with multi-gener...
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5:50
Could Agriculture Survive a Cyber-Attack?
Biosecurity plans. Emergency or disaster plans. Succession plans. It seems like ranches today need a plan for everything—and that’s the prudent thing to do. Add one more plan to that list: how to keep the ranch running in case of a cybersecurit...
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4:36
Using Ionophores to Increase Efficiency of Heifer Development
Ionophores are feed additives that improve ruminal efficiency by shifting fermentation toward greater propionate production and reducing energy lost as methane in the rumen. The ionophores monensin (marketed as Rumensin® by Elanco Animal Health...
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2:11
What's Your Plan for 2026?
Cattle and beef markets are poised to continue the path of the past few years in 2026. Despite turbulence in the fourth quarter of 2025, cattle markets ended the year strong. Tight cattle supplies, decreased beef production, and str...
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3:27
Charles Parks Named 2025 American Gelbvieh Association Commercial Producer of the Year
Charles Parks of Ekalaka, Mont., was announced as the 2025 American Gelbvieh Association (AGA) Commercial Producer of the Year at the 55th Annual National Convention on December 4, 2025, at the Margaritaville Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. Park...
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1:38
Cow-Calf Costs and Returns Update
Between late-November and mid-December, the USDA was releasing a flurry of data after the government shutdown this fall. Many important reports received most of the headlines (e.g., Cattle on Feed). However, the USDA also updated its Com...
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2:53
Food is Key to National Security
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Part 1 of a two-part series on cybersecurity and agriculture.) There’s a danger lurking that many may not even realize. Cybersecurity threats are a constant pall hanging over the agriculture industry—and our technology-d...
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3:53
Economic Impacts of the Tyson Beef Plant Closure in Lexington, Nebraska
The estimated annual statewide economic impact of the Tyson plant closure in Lexington, Neb. is 3.283 billion dollars, according to a report from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Tyson announced on Nov. 21 that it would be closing its Lexing...
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1:36
Is Leadership Just for the 60-Year-Old Ranch Owner?
Here’s a question that’ll make you think twice: When you picture a leader, who comes to mind? If you’re like most folks, you probably see someone with gray hair, decades of experience, and maybe a weathered face that’s seen it all. But what if ...
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4:25
Brand Books Donated to South Dakota State University Archives
South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections has some brand-new additions to its collection: More than 70 South Dakota brand books and other items from the history of branding in the state. Brands are marks that identif...
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4:36
Top 5 Online Stories in 2025
These are the most-read stories on CattleBusinessWeekly.com for the year 2025. 1) Rare bull quadruplet calves born at S.D. ranch Stavick Simmental at Veblen, S.D. welcomed four healthy calves born from one cow to their operation in February of...
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1:53
National Western Ready with Two New Buildings
Two new buildings will welcome the public to the National Western Stock Show in Denver Jan. 10-25. Since its start in 1906, the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) has been a mainstay of winter stock show events. In 2026, NWSS will host the gran...
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4:30
Bear Mountain: Building One Bull at a Time
In 1986, two young boys from Angels Camp, Calif., received registered Angus heifers, bought for them by their parents from Thomas Angus Ranch as 4-H projects. And so began a journey that has grown into a way of life for Brian Stoller, Palisade,...
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7:11
8 Positive Headlines from 2025
November, with all its cattle market chaos still fresh in cattle producers’ minds, makes the year feel like it didn’t have much to offer. But as Cattle Business Weekly takes a look back at headlines printed within its pages this year, many posi...
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5:12
Feeders Prepare for a Winter of Tight Supplies and Tighter Margins
As winter settles in across the Upper Midwest, cattle feeders are watching the weather, the markets, and their feed supplies with a mix of optimism and caution. “It’s a very interesting time to be in the cattle feeding business,” says Jo...
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4:46
A Gradual Rebuild of the Cow Herd
The question most asked of CattleFax analysts this fall has been whether or not the U.S. is in herd rebuilding mode. That’s according to Mike Miller of CattleFax who spoke at the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association Convention and Trade Show on...
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3:51
Announced: $12 Billion Farmer Bridge Payments
President Donald J. Trump announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will make billion available in one time bridge payments to American farmers in response to temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs that are...
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2:40
Finding the Sweet Spot: Why One S.D. Rancher Fall Calves
When cattleman Tom McCormick first experimented with fall calving, he wasn’t expecting a major shift in his operation. It began simply as a way to ease the workload. “We wanted to lighten that spring load,” McCormick says. “At the...
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4:50
One new Screwworm case, a topical drug, is now approved
Recently, there were two developments in the spread of the New World Screwworm in Mexico. First, a new case was confirmed in the northern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, about 120 miles from the Texas border on Dec. 2. The animal was part of a gro...
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2:12
Student Uses Artificial Intelligence to Study Risk Factors for Heart Disease in Cattle
In the cattle industry, AI usually means artificial insemination. But, for one groundbreaking UW scientist, AI in beef production also refers to artificial intelligence. A native of Wheatland, Wyo., PhD student Chase Markel has been invo...
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6:38
Bamford, Foote to be Inducted into Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame
Kent Bamford with Bamford Feedyard in Haxtun, Colo., and Bob Foote with Foote Cattle Company in Bucyrus, Kan., are the 2026 inductees in the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame. Honorees will be recognized at the 17th annual banquet on Feb. 4 du...
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2:00
DemKota Relies on Quality Cattle, Dedicated Workers
With a commitment to high quality and superior service, DemKota Ranch Beef in Aberdeen, S.D. has grown from its initial startup 10 years ago to currently providing a payroll of over one million dollars a week to workers and purchasing a billion...
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8:41
Tax Planning for Cow/Calf Operations: Don't Let Things Snowball
Tina Barrett Executive Director of Nebraska Farm Business Inc. The past several years have been profitable for cattle producers. Cow/calf operations are amid a period of unprecedented high incomes—something that crop farmers experienced back i...
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6:22
