A common marketing claim is the source and age verification of calves. As producers gather cattle to go to market, they have the option to provide documentation to a third-party verifier that their calves are eligible to be source and age verified. Seems simple, and many producers are offering their calves as sourced and aged.

Third-party verification sounds and is very simple. For someone who wants assurances that others are doing what they say they are doing, you simply ask a third, unbiased person to validate the claims.

Fall is, depending on where one lives, the time to process calves. As producers, fall also is the last time we physically have the calf in our possession. We need to take the time to note or record the information we would like to have for each calf..

Producers utilizing the CHAPS (Cow Herd Appraisal Performance System) record-keeping program through the North Dakota Beef Cattle Improvement Association (NDBCIA) have a cow pregnancy rate of 93.5 percent and will follow through in the spring by calving out 92.

Each year, the North Dakota Beef Cattle Improvement Association (NDBCIA) summarizes the average performance of beef cattle herds that are utilizing the Cow Herd Appraisal Performance Software (CHAPS) programs.

As those who are involved in the process of selling beef know, once a commitment is made, that commitment needs to be honored. With the tight supplies of beef and the need to plan long term, kinks in the supply chain can make for some very long days..

If one stands by the fence and discusses calving, most producers are sympathetic to the late- calving cow. At least she has a live calf, is the general response. That is true, but the challenge is to move beyond acceptance and perhaps refocus and rethink this subtle, but real acceptance of late-calving cows.

The Dickinson Research Extension Center has fed cattle for many years. For at least the last 14 years, the center has fed cattle in a commercial feedlot. Those cattle have performed well, but a struggle always remains between weaned-calf value, backgrounded-calf value and fed-calf value.

One of the driving factors in the beef business is cost. As a producer, even a producer with poor records, the cost of doing business keeps going up. Survival means balancing cost and income.

The cattle business is very dynamic, so it is very easy to get lost in the shuffle. The current news or the latest color print catches our eyes and we start talking. Our conversations tend to be filled with lots of thoughts sprinkled with a few facts.