Cattle Chat

This episode focuses on the decision to pursue graduate school and explores how advanced education can shape careers in animal agriculture and beyond. Guest Maddie Manke shares her journey from taking a gap year after high school to earning a PhD, explaining how a desire to understand the science behind cattle nutrition sparked her interest in research and advanced study. The discussion emphasizes...

This episode covers three timely topics affecting livestock producers during the summer months. The discussion begins with strategies for preventing heat stress at livestock shows, where cattle face added challenges from transportation, unfamiliar environments, limited airflow, and changes in water sources. Producers are encouraged to closely monitor water intake, provide adequate air movement, an...

This episode of Cattle Chat focuses on practical management strategies for improving profitability in cow-calf operations, driven largely by listener questions. A major topic centers on how to add value to cull cows, emphasizing that even though calf sales make up most revenue, cull cow income is still significant. Experts discuss options like breeding open cows before sale, combining them into a...

Joined by guest, Logan Thompson, this episode covers a wide range of topics, beginning with updates on current cattle research projects underway during the summer. Researchers discuss ongoing work in areas such as semen evaluation technology, stocker cattle supplementation, grazing system optimization, and respiratory disease investigation. A key theme is how research helps refine management pract...

This discussion focuses on how to recognize, evaluate, and manage neurologic (brain-related) cases in cattle. Common clinical signs include stumbling, circling, weakness, apparent blindness, head pressing, and paddling when animals are down, all of which indicate issues affecting the nervous system. Diagnosing these cases begins with key questions about the animal’s age, environment, recent manage...

This case study from a bovine science discussion examines a sudden and alarming incident in which 12 cows and 2 calves died within 12 hours of routine pre-weaning processing. Initially, the deaths raised concerns about vaccine reactions, toxic exposure, or handling stress, but the pattern of mortality did not align with typical causes. Adult cows, which only received topical parasite treatment, we...

Joined by special guest Dr. Lee Jones from Boehringer Ingelheim, this episode focuses on effective heifer development as a foundation for long-term herd success, emphasizing the importance of selecting the right genetics and defining clear production goals. This conversation explores how early-life management—including colostrum intake, vaccination programs, and nutrition—plays a critical role in...

In this episode of BCI Cattle Chat, the hosts discuss recent research on liver abscesses in feedlot cattle, including how diet, grain processing, and days on feed may influence their prevalence and economic impact. They explore new findings suggesting liver abscesses may not be caused solely by rumen acidosis, highlighting the need for more research into other contributing factors and prevention s...

In this episode of Diving Into Diets on Bovine Science with BCI, Dr. Brad White and Dr. Todd Gunderson discuss a 2026 study on the high prevalence of bovine leukemia virus in cow-calf operations, implications for cow reproduction, culling, and calf weight. The conversation concludes there is not a great association between culling risk and pregnancy status associated with the ELISA test. Read the...

On this episode of Cattle Chat, the team discusses how Theileria, a tick-borne parasite that destroys red blood cells, requires laboratory testing for confirmation and cannot be diagnosed reliably from visual signs alone. They emphasized that positive test results must be interpreted alongside clinical signs and herd history, since infection does not always mean it was the direct cause of illness...