Columnists → Southern Livestock Standard - The definitive news and information source for the beef cattle segment of the livestock industry

Not a member? Membership has its privileges— Register today!

Make SLS your homepage!

Note: login or register to personalize

Forecast

Maps

Radar

Reuters Top News:

The month of April is, no doubt, one of the busiest months of the year for most of us. Spring is in full bloom and we ready to enjoy the great outdoors that only Texas can produce. But if you are a native Texan then you should know that this month is very special because of the rich history that our unique state has....

Texas Tales

published: April 19th 2019 by: Mike Cox

If you ever find a letter sent from Goliad during the early days of the Civil War, hold onto it. Pasted on the envelope might be one of the rarer philatelic items known to collectors–a Goliad stamp....

D.C. News

published: April 19th 2019

2017 Census of Agriculture data now available Data show increases in small and large farms; older farmers; and new military service and demographic information, women farmers WASHINGTON, D.C.--The U....

Weighing The Market

published: April 19th 2019 by: Wes and Sharla Ishmael

Calf-Feeder prices gain traction Even though the long, wet, cold winter continued to snarl marketing and forage growth in some parts of the country, calf and feeder cattle demand finally found some spark beginning the latter half of March....

Just Your Standard Bull

published: April 5th 2019 by: Michael Sturgess

This past week’s release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report showing no evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign has brought another round of mud slinging between Trump, the Democrats and the liberal media....

Texas Tales

published: April 5th 2019 by: Mike Cox

Naming the capital city in tribute to Texas colonizer Stephen F. Austin was certainly fitting, but Austin could just as well been named Lamar in honor of a Georgia-born newspaperman with a penchant for poetry and grandiose thinking....

D.C. News

published: April 5th 2019 by: Weldon Freeman and Jay Fletcher

USDA announces investments in rural community facilities that will benefit nearly 300,000 Americans WASHINGTON, March 18, 2019 – Acting Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Joel Baxley announced that the U....

Executive Director’s Report

published: April 5th 2019 by: Bill Hyman source: ICA of Texas

If you were to compare the current Texas Legisla-ture to a tree, you would say it was budding out and starting to form leaves. There have been over 7,000 bills filed, but only a handful of bills have had committee hearings....

Thoughts from a ranch visit

published: April 5th 2019 by: Joe C. Paschal source: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

The other day a county extension agent called me up and said one of their cattle producers requested that I come up for a ranch visit. It seems that over the years the pregnancy rate of their herds was beginning to decline and they figured it was time to do something about it....

President’s Address

published: April 5th 2019 by: Chloe Wilson

Are you currently under the age of 50, working, and raising cattle? Are you under the age of 50 and solely raising cattle? You are a rarity. The average age of people in agriculture is rising and according to the United States Census Bureau that age is 58, based upon 2012 data....

Chapter Happenings... Around The Lone Star State

published: April 5th 2019

Colorado Valley ICA By Les Mallory The CVICA Cattle-men’s Map is published annually and is based on current 911 updates. The maps identify all roads currently in use. The counties included are Colorado, Fayette and Lee....

The Texas Side Of Things

published: March 22nd 2019 by: Jim Banner

And like a blink of the eye stock show season is over…well at least for me it is! I’ve mentioned numerous times before the importance of stock shows to the agricultural industry because it educates and allows the citizens of our large metropolitan communities to witness first hand the pride and care that we, in agriculture, have in producing the food they enjoy....

Texas Tales

published: March 22nd 2019 by: Mike Cox

Water quality is not a new issue in Texas. Long before pollution became a common term, the Pecos River was notorious for the odious quality of its water. Cowboys who’d herded stock across it, or worked along its banks, liked to josh newcomers to their outfit by “recalling” a time they’d seen a coyote venture cautiously out from the brush, take a long drink from the river, and then whirl around as if he’d been shot only to begin frantically licking its rear end....

D.C. News

published: March 22nd 2019 by: By Amanda Blair, Professor and South Dak

Cell-based meat products: background and current status There is ongoing development of cell-based or lab-grown meat products by numerous companies around the world. It is understandable that the introduction of these products has generated many questions, concerns and confusion among livestock producers and meat consumers....

Weighing The Market

published: March 22nd 2019 by: Wes and Sharla Ishmael

Weather holds market sway “Receipts were curtailed again this week due to reduced or cancelled sales in Nebraska and the Dakotas as an intense storm ripped through the Rockies and into the Central and Northern Plains....

Texas Crop, Weather

published: March 22nd 2019

COLLEGE STATION – Despite soggy conditions delaying crop plantings in large swaths of the state, many areas are still contending with dry to drought conditions, according to the Texas state climatologist....

Just Your Standard Bull

published: August 10th 2018 by: Michael Sturgess

August is here, and as usual it’s hot & dry! And there is no better way to start out the month than to attend the annual Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course. At the time of this writing, I am sitting here in our Southern Livestock Standard booth, in the air-conditioned comfort of Rudder Tower on the University campus, visiting with both current and potential subscribers, current and potential advertisers as people are streaming in and out of different sessions of all different topics....

Texas Tales

published: August 10th 2018 by: Mike Cox

Terrible, bitter news for all true Texans—the storied jackalope is not indigenous to the Lone Star state. Surely just about anyone with even a casual awareness of Texas popular culture will remember having seen gag post cards of a creature with all outward appearances of being a jackrabbit except for the antlers growing out of its head....

D.C. News

published: August 10th 2018

WASHINGTON – The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and other leading organizations in the animal agriculture industry (referred to often as “the Barnyard”) sent a letter (see letter below) on July 26th to President Do-nald J....

Executive Director’s Report

published: August 10th 2018 by: Bill Hyman source: ICA of Texas

In recent telephone conversations with Texas Animal Health Executive Director Andy Schwartz and Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, the ICA asked that the two agencies along with USDA work rapidly to regain the use of the fever tick program spray boxes....