By Connie Sieh Groop Excitement always builds when getting ready for the annual bull sale at Stavick Simmental at Veblen, S.D. Last week, that was multiplied many times over with the birth of bull quadruplet calves. Since it’s such a rare occurrence, it’s hard to verify how rare that is but some online sources say it was a 1 in 179.2 million event.  Last Monday, owner Mike Stavick worried about something was wrong with one of his cows due to calve in a few weeks. She just didn’t look right and he worried she was going to have twins or...

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This past Saturday during Rodeo Rapid City, the 2025 Hubbard Feeds Black Hills Stock Show Supreme Champions were crowned with a full house crowd looking on.  The champion female honors went to the Angus heifer consigned by Payton and Harper Scott, Gordon, Neb. who sold to Jaden Linthicum and Jerry Whitley, Miami, Okla.  The Charolais bull consigned by the Thomas Ranch, Harrold, S,D, and purchased by Justin Topper, St. Onge, S.D. was selected as the Supreme Champion Bull. The People’s Choice Awards went to the Angus heifer and the Angus bull consigned by Brett Tostenson, Highmore, S.D. and purchased by...

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By Bart Pfankuch, South Dakota News Watch South Dakota U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson has a front-row seat in Congress to all the changes accompanying the new White House resident down the street on Pennsylvania Avenue. During a visit to the Black Hills Stock Show in Rapid City recently, the Republican weighed in on the top issue constituents want to talk about, why he sponsored a bill to buy back the Panama Canal, his thoughts on the presidential pardons of Capitol rioters and other issues. Here, in his own words, are Johnson's answers, which have been edited for length. Question: What...

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National Farmers Union, alongside ranch group R-CALF USA and four fed cattle producers, who filed a class-action antitrust lawsuit in April 2019 against JBS, Tyson, Cargill, and National Beef, filed a motion with the Federal District Court for the District of Minnesota for preliminary approval of a proposed .5 million class action settlement with the JBS defendants. Through their counsel Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP, Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP, and Robins Kaplan LLP, NFU and the other cattle plaintiffs agreed to the proposed settlement, which includes the .5 million cash payment and certain non-monetary consideration, including the provision...

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By Mark Z. Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist   The spring bull buying season is here and it’s time to revisit the age old question. This question has been asked forever, or at least as long as we have been breeding cattle with a notion of trying to make the next generation better. It is a classic and timeless question. It is an important question.  At this time of year, when many bulls are being marketed and we are planning ahead for spring breeding season, it is a question that is asked a lot!     ...

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The 2025 Black Hills Stock Show is off to a great start!  Temperatures were in the 50s and 60s the first couple of days of the Stock Show and the crowds were tremendous. The horse sale saw record attendance and record prices. A complete sale recap will be available in next week’s CBW. The youth calf show also saw record attendance beating last year’s numbers by nearly 180 head. It happens time and time again, great weather brings folks from near and far to Rapid City for the Black Hills Stock Show. At Friday night's Rodeo Rapid City PRCA Xtreme...

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By Matthew Diersen, Ph.D. Risk & Business Management Specialist Ness School of Management & Economics South Dakota State University The latest USDA-NASS Cattle report affirmed tighter U.S. cattle supplies. As of January 1, 2025, there were 86.7 million head of cattle in the U.S. Breakdowns by categories were generally lower by the same percentage as the overall total. Beef cows were lower, while milk cows were steady. All heifer types were lower as were all steer and bull categories. The only category that was outside of expectations was the calf crop, which was only lower by about 35,000 head from...

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Nationally renowned cattle marketing, research and forage experts will share tips to maximize production efficiencies and profits during The AgSpire Edge: Ranching Resilience event held in Huron February 18, 2025. The event is hosted at no cost by AgSpire from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Crossroads Hotel and Convention Center (100 4th St SW). Lunch is included. “I think this is the most exciting time in history to be in the cattle business. Producers are looking for opportunities to make the most of it and we want to support them,” said Jared Knock, a Clark County cattle producer...

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By Codi Vallery-Mills When 17-year-old Karlie Kammerer delivers her presentation at the upcoming Society for Range Management meeting in Spokane, Wash. there might be a few misty eyes in the audience. While her topic of holistic management is straightforward, her retelling of how it impacted her young life draws on emotion. Depicting scenes of missing her father, his long work hours, low crop productivity, poor soil health, and general unhappiness with their farming life, she relays what her first decade of life looked like. Then she tells of a switch in farming philosophy, a physical move back to her grandparent’s...

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The cattle get the glory, but what keeps stock show regulars returning year after year?  By Paige Nelson Stock show preparation takes months. Years, if one considers the mating decisions made well in advance in pursuit of that top show bull or female. Then there’s the feed, the time, the practice, the miles, it all piles up, and before they know it, it’s stock show time once again.  Janice Volek, her husband Keith, and their son Dustin attend the Black Hills Stock Show (BHSS) every year. Volek Ranch raises primarily Gelbvieh cattle and a small Angus herd, and they host...

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