Thousands of miles. Thousands of cattle. Thousands of handshakes and smiles. As Anita Pepin of rural Belle Fourche, South Dakota, looks back on her career as an ABS rep and AI technician, she can’t quite put a guess on the number of miles she’s traveled, cows she’s bred, or customers’ hands she’s shaken. “It’s A LOT,” she says. Pepin is slowing down from her full-time practice, having sold the business, Black Hills AI Service, to Jessica Kammerer earlier this year. She still has a few small, select clients she will breed for, but says Kammerer is the one to get...

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Dan and Sharon Anderson’s Darling Creek Ranch has been selected as the 2026 South Dakota Leopold Conservation Award® recipient.  The ,000 award honors ranchers, farmers, and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their management of soil health, water quality, and wildlife habitat on working land.  Sand County Foundation and national sponsor American Farmland Trust present Leopold Conservation Awards to private landowners in 28 states. In South Dakota, the award is presented with the South Dakota Grassland Coalition and South Dakota Soil Health Coalition.  The Dan and Sharon Anderson family owns and operates Darling Creek Ranch, located near Meadow...

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    The Common Ground Coalition kicked off the first of four regional summits in Reno mid-April, gathering Western livestock perspectives to bolster the industry’s future. This event launches a nationwide effort to strengthen rural communities and secure the U.S. food supply. Fueled by shared conviction, enthusiasm and commitment to the industry, attendees arrived ready to engage in the hard work of identifying positive solutions for the industry. J.M. Peck, a cattle rancher from Melrose, Montana was part of the gathering. “It was interesting to learn how people in other states are facing these issues,” Peck added. “All of us...

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Schuler Red Angus of Bridgeport is the recipient of the 2026 Nebraska Leopold Conservation Award®. The award honors farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their management of soil health, water quality and wildlife habitat on working land.  The Butch and Susan Schuler family raise beef cattle and manage 20,000 acres at Schuler Red Angus in Morrill and Banner counties. The Schulers will be formally presented with the ,000 award later this year.  Sand County Foundation and national sponsor American Farmland Trust present Leopold Conservation Awards to private landowners in 28 states. In Nebraska, the award...

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Eagle Rock Ranch of Park County has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Colorado Leopold Conservation Award®.  The award honors ranchers, farmers and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their management of soil health, water quality and wildlife habitat on working land.  Dave and Jeannie Gottenborg are cattle ranchers and owners of Eagle Rock Ranch near Jefferson. They will be presented with the award in June at the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association’s Annual Convention. They receive ,000 for being selected.  Sand County Foundation and national sponsor American Farmland Trust will present Leopold Conservation Awards to landowners in...

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Follow these key strategies to ensure optimal performance  “Significant investments are being made in bulls, and the prospects for income from current and upcoming calf crops appear favorable,” says Patrick Davis, University of Missouri (MU) Extension livestock field specialist. Nevertheless, Davis advises cattle producers to implement effective management practices for bulls as they transition out of the breeding pasture and prepare for future breeding seasons to safeguard their investment. Davis outlines key management strategies to ensure optimal performance and success in subsequent breeding cycles. Condition “Bulls’ energy status, best measured by body condition score (BCS), is important for breeding success,”...

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Kaylee Wheeler SDSU Extension Range Field Specialist As the grazing season is inching closer, dry soil conditions across the region have become very apparent. Lack of dormant precipitation (Figure 2) and dry spring soil (Figure 4) are strong indicators that forage growth will be delayed for the 2026 grazing season. This means it will take more time to be ‘ready to graze.’ It is important that we avoid turning livestock out in the same pasture at the same time year after year, but especially in years like this. Before grazing a pasture, it is important to ensure that there has...

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As early spring moisture remains uneven Much of the region received moisture over the Easter holiday weekend.  That is good, because the latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor  released on April 2 paints a familiar early-spring story across the Northern Plains and Midwest: improvement in pockets, stubborn dryness in others, and a growing dependence on timely April moisture. Released weekly through a partnership led by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the map shows drought intensity ranging from abnormally dry (D0) to exceptional drought (D4), with conditions shifting as snowpack, soil moisture, and precipitation trends evolve. Northern Plains: Holding pattern with...

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  Prior to the border closing in November 2024, U.S. imports of Mexican cattle had averaged 1.18 million head annually in the previous decade (Figure 1) and 1.12 million head per year in the previous 35 years.  Mexican cattle imports equaled 3.4 percent of the total U.S. calf crop from 2015-2024 and 3.1 percent since 1990.  The brief border opening in 2025 allowed about 230,000 head to cross, 0.7 percent of the 2025 calf crop.   The typical pattern is bimodal with peaks in March and again in November/December.  Calves carried over from the previous year are typically exported in...

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  Driven by love for their family, a creative wife and an analytical husband have turned a simple solution into a business that changed their lives.   Meet Tyson and Kendra Langland of Brookings, South Dakota who are third-generation cattle producers.   In 2016, when Tyson took over the family beef business, he had a goal to become a 100% grass fed beef cattle operation. With the cattle being a short drive away just outside of Bruce, South Dakota, the Langland family spends quite a bit of time on the farm.   When taking over, Tyson did some research and...

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