Ag-Visors

Most farmers and ranchers pride themselves on always paying their debts on time. Making late payments is not something most people take lightly. When...

We are almost through calving season and now it is time to focus on the bulls in your herd. This is one of the most important animals in your herd. He is responsible for 25 to 30 calves to be raised.

Last fall a freak early snow storm killed thousands of livestock and horses in South Dakota. Ranchers suffered a tremendous monetary loss of prized livestock and horses. More recently in Kentucky, eight horses were killed in a fire, four of which were yearlings slated for the Keeneland September sale. Three of the four were uninsured.

It’s the end of the year and we are in the midst of the holidays. Everyone’s mind is filled with thoughts of family, friends, food, gifts and parties. For the farmers and ranchers among us, those are joined by thoughts of harvest, winter planting, year-end stockyard sale days and new equipment discounts. We are making decisions on whether to sell the harvest now or later, to buy that new tractor or not, to cull that cow, to keep that heifer. Any and every decision we make, regardless of the time of year, has a lasting effect on our operations and the well-being of our families.

Recently, I had the privilege to judge high school agricultural students in the prepared speech contest at Crowder College’s Aggie Day. These students are passionate...

I like to tell folks I grew up on every farm in Barton County, Mo.

In the Tax Court case, Richard H. Daley, T.C. Memo l996-259, an Arizona surgeon was denied deductions with respect to his cutting horse activity. The Tax Court, which in recent years has become more and more hard-nosed, concluded that the activity was not conducted for profit within the relevant IRS Regulations.

As I write this article, we are right in the middle of FFA contest season, as our high school students prepare for district competitions.

Because state governments are hard pressed for revenue, state tax authorities are getting more aggressive in audits, and this has an impact on the horse and ranching industries. In a new case, the Minnesota Tax Court ruled against the taxpayers who operated a horse and cattle ranch.

In the last article I started a series on foot problems and lameness in cattle. We covered regular foot rot and basic anatomy. Let’s move on to a common lameness in dairy cattle, and one seen once in a while in beef cattle, hairy heel warts. This is an infection caused by a Serpien species of bacteria. It is found in wet and nasty conditions, commonly in manure. This bacterium invades the heels of the rear feet, commonly causing strawberry-looking lesions with hair growing out of them. Hence, the name hairy heel warts. Others have also called it strawberry foot rot.