No doubt about it, the grill is hot. From the smallest hibachi to the titanic gas rotisserie models, Americans love to fire them up. Summertime sizzles, of course, but some folks even cook steaks under the stars in December. Flashlight and coat are optional, but flavor is a must.

When you breed or turn out bulls with heifers or cows, you have certain expectations. Ideally, you want each of them to become pregnant, deliver an unassisted, healthy calf, and raise it to half its mommas weight six months later.

These ideas are pretty much universal, but lets consider your cowherd. Across the country, cattle are getting better based on trends in daily gain, efficiency and quality grades. For decades, the improvements were uneven, giving up beef quality for better performance on the ranch or feedlot.

If theres one thing beef production cant be, its too predictable. We deal with erratic weather and markets, so dependable profit hangs its hat on cow and calf performance that follows a steady and improving trend line.

Every decision is really an opinion, but theres probably a wide range in your comfort zone based on the amount of information behind the choices you make.

When you count your blessings, remember to include the ones disguised as challenges. Some of them you decided to take on as calculated risks; others intruded on your farm or in your life, but turned out to be mixed blessings.

In reality, animal identification has been around since animals were domesticated and will continue as long as we own animals. As soon as the new family dog arrives at home, the discussion turns to naming the new pet, along with the purchase of a collar and tags.

Nows the time many people save money on spring-calving cows. They have just weaned the calves, or perhaps weaned them several weeks ago, so that the cows are in pretty good shape. That would usually be at least body condition score (BCS) 5 to 6, depending on where they live and how much money the owners plan to save on feed.

You take stock of what you have every day, sometimes in satisfaction and thanksgiving, sometimes in need.

If you make a living on a ranch, thats a success. Just living on a ranch is a success. Heck, just taking one more breath can be a victory. Everybody is a winner, at least in some small way.