The purpose of this page is to provide first year veterinary students with with on-line notes and links to supplemental information on the beef cattle industry and on opportunities in beef cattle veterinary medicine.

Note: For a basic bovine glossary, please see the Bovine Vocabulary List

If you have any comments or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

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Beef Cow Production Cycle and Associated Problem Points:

Following is a typical annual cow production cycle for spring-calving northern intermountain beef herds.

• Calving: The solid black line next to the "calving period" box is when the mature cows begin to calve. The first dashed black line is when the first-calf heifers, two years of age, begin to calve. The heifers are often managed to calve earlier approximately a month earlier than the mature cow herd to allow them more time to obtain a positive energy balance (gaining body weight) before the breeding period begins.

• Breeding: The solid black line next to "breeding period" is when the rebreeding of all cows that have had a calf begins. The dashed black line before it is when the breeding of the replacement heifers begins, which is timed to give the earlier calving noted above. The breeding period is limited to shorten the calving period, which produces a more uniform calf crop and reduces the length of time that cattle must be intensively observed for calving difficulty (dystocia).

• Weaning: The solid black line in the fall is when weaning (separation of calf from it dam) occurs. Moves of the herd between winter feeding areas, spring grazing and summer grazing often occur with the onset of calving, onset of breeding and weaning. Calves are often processed (e.g., ownership branded, vaccinated for the first time, dehorned, implanted) at the time of the move to summer grazing and again around weaning.

• Major disease periods: The red labels are the selected major disease problems that occur during that phase of the production cycle.

Percent of Annual Deaths	Calves	Cows
Dystocia	33%	26%
Calf Scours	17%
Calf Pneumonia	10%

Modified from USDA NAHMS Beef Cow-calf Health and Health Management Practices

Potential Infections Disease Challenges to the Beef Herd:

• Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR)
• Bovine Virus Diarrhea (BVD)
• Parainfluenza Virus - 3 (PI-3)
• Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV)
• Haemophilus somnus
• Mannheimia haemolytica (Pasteurella haemolytica)
• Muscle Clostridial Diseases
• Leptospirosis
• Anaplasmosis
• Campylobacteriosis (Vibriosis)
• Trichomoniasis
• Brucellosis
• E. coli K-99 Scours
• Cryptosporidia
• Rotavirus
• Coronavirus
• Coccidia
• Intestinal Worms (Ostertagia)
• Lung Worms
• Grubs (Hypoderma bovis)
• Liver Flukes
• Redwater (Clostridium haemolyticum)
• Lice

Modified From: Keep Herd Health Simple and Make it Fit the Beef Cattle Operation (E. J. Richey, U Florida)

Brief notes on the major health problems of the beef production cycle:

Dystocia (difficult birth)

• Most common in heifers because they have not reached full frame size.
• Prevented by proper bull selection (low birth weight EPD) and heifer nutrition and management.

Infectious Calf Scours

• Occurs most often in the first weeks of life
• Most often due to holoendemic infectious agents (E. coli K-99, Cryptosporidia, Rotavirus, Coronavirus, Coccidia)

Holoendemic - "everywhere" "continuing presence"

These are examples of infectious agents that are present on most operations and to which most cattle must become immune but cause clinical disease on relatively few herds.

The key question: Why are some herds affected while others not? Management!

Sexually-transmitted diseases

Campylobacteriosis (Vibriosis)

Good vaccine available but used by only about 20% of producers.

Trichomoniasis

Counter example to the holoendemic agents - if it is present in the herd it causes clinical disease (abortion) in a significant number of cows.

Example of a serious infectious agent for which we do not have a good vaccine or treatment.

• Eradication and prevention are our only tools.
• Prevention - biosecurity, careful cow and bull breeding management and monitoring.

Pneumonia (Bovine Respiratory Disease - BRD)

Typically occurs in calves after weaning or after entry into the feedlot

BRD  is 75% of feedlot health problems

Viral (IBR, BVD, PI3, BRSV) to bacterial (Mannheimia haemolytica) cascade

Initial vaccination against the above at branding and booster shots around weaning, a program used by about 25% of cow-calf producers, may reduce the problem.

QuietWean - Example of technology being developed to reduce weaning stress.

Example of a disease process where most of the end-stage pathology is caused by a member of the normal commensal bacterial flora and is associated with many management-related factors. Understanding these management factors is very important in solving and preventing these problems.

For further information on the prevalence of typical management practices and of cumulative annual incidence of many diseases, see Beef Cow-Calf Surveys of the Center for Animal Health Monitoring (CEAH) – USDA NAHMS National Animal Health Monitoring Reports, particularly Beef Cow-calf Production Management & Disease Control.

For further perspective on controlling these disease problems, see Basic Concepts for Cow-Calf Herd Health Programs.

To identify the current literature on a specific problem, see Cornell Consultant.

[Return to Contents List]

The purpose of the following section is for you to become aware of the major components of the beef industry, the trends affecting it and to consider their impact upon the profession.

Beef Industry Structure:

The following diagram is the structure of the beef industry with the approximate number of entities at each level and their broad objectives. Keep in mind the following: 

• The most important component in this structure is the consumer!
• Everyone in the beef industry and allied industries (e.g., veterinarians, feed mills, pharmaceutical and biological companies) must remember that they are producing a product for the consumer, most often a human foodstuff, and that this consumer has other choices to satisfy their needs.

Key Facts:

• 19% of consumer expenditure for food is the farm value
• The 10 largest retailers have 58.1% of food sales and 80.5% of supermarket sales
  1. 25.2% - Walmart
  2. 20.9% - Kroger
  3.  7.7% - Safeway
  4.  6.2% - Costco
• In 2004 42% of retail beef had a brand label
• The proportion of beef sold through food service is approaching the proportion retailed
• Each store sells the product from 250-400 head/year at 400lb/carcass
• The 5 largest packers process 85% of the fed cattle
• The 25 largest feeding organizations produce 40% of the fed cattle
• 8% of cow-calf operations own 51% of the beef cows
• 1 of every 12 head is Holstein, 1 of every 8 head is a dairy breed, 50% of dairy beef is sold as whole muscle cuts

Key Facts and Figures, Food Marketing Institute and others

Top 10 Calved Beef Cow States (2003) Cattle - USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service

State Rank	Beef Cow Inventory	% U.S.
1) Texas	5,480,000	17%
2) Missouri	2,116,000	6%
3) Oklahoma	2,047,000	6%
4) Nebraska	1,934,000	6%
5) South Dakota	1,696,000	5%
6) Kansas	1,518,000	5%
7) Montana	1,432,000	4%
8) Kentucky	1,110,000	3%
9) Tennessee	1,106,000	3%
10) Iowa	992,000	3%
Top Ten States	19,431,000	59%
U.S.	32,983,300	(15%)
World	224,000,000

Economic Importance of Montana's Cattle Industry (J Lawrence, D Otto, Iowa State)                    Pareto 80/20 Principle

Herd Size Demographics (from 1997 Census of Agriculture, 2002 version at  State Level Data)

Different sized herds have different needs for veterinary services, the smaller herds typically requiring more basic animal husbandry services and the larger herds more specialized services.

2002 Agriculture Census - Montana - Table 16 Number of Calving Cows
Beef Herd Size	No. Beef Herds	% of All Herds	No. Beef Cows	% of All Cows
1 - 9	1,961	17%	9,162	1%
10 - 19	1,231	10%	17,452	1%
20 - 49	2,403	20%	77,108	5%
50 - 99	1,912	16%	136,055	9%
100 - 199	1,977	17%	274,782	18%
200 - 499	1,830	15%	543,227	36%
500 - 999	383	3%	247,811	16%
1,000 - 2,499	117	1%	171,701	11%
2,500+	7	0%	27,893	2%
				Avg. Herd Size
	11,821		1,505,191	127
2002 Agriculture Census - US - Table 16 Number of Calving Cows
Beef Herd Size	No. Beef Herds	% of All Herds	No. Beef Cows	% of All Cows
1 - 9	239,452	30%	1,422,791	4%
10 - 19	178,038	22%	2,523,571	7%
20 - 49	215,320	27%	6,752,786	20%
50 - 99	89,874	11%	6,147,186	18%
100 - 199	45,354	6%	6,055,388	18%
200 - 499	23,126	3%	6,639,700	19%
500 - 999	4,002	1%	2,607,079	8%
1,000 - 2,499	1,110	0%	1,556,351	5%
2,500+	160	0%	726,208	2%
				Avg. Herd Size
796,436			34,431,060	43

Types of Cow-calf Operations:

Primary Income (14% of producers) -  The cow-calf enterprise is the main means of family support. Input costs are of considerable concern and the major goal for long-term survival  is to remain in the bottom 1/2 of producers with regard to cost of production. The major problem is that because most are selling a commodity, they are a "price taker".

Supplemental Income (69% of producers)- These producers cause the cattle price cycle because they elect to expand their herds when the prices look good but sell off when the prices are low. Examples are farmers who have ground that can't be used for cropping.

Non-economic (17% of producers) - Producers have cattle for non-economic reasons, such as keeping the suburban property grazed, experience for the children and so on. Input costs are not as much of a concern. Producers can use more expensive technology (AI, ET) to improve satisfaction without regard to return. Veterinary-administered basic husbandry, such as vaccinations, breeding and processing (castrating, dehorning), is an opportunity that has not been fully developed by the profession.

Producer Source of Income				Used vet in 1996
Herd Size   (Calved Cows)	Primary Income	Supplemental Income	Non-economic
< 50	5%	72%	22%	47%
50 - 99	26%	69%	4%	72%
100 - 300	50%	47%	3%	79%
> 300	79%	17%	4%	83%

 

Evidence of Difference between Primary and Secondary Enterprise Management:

Managers of cow-calf operations that are primary enterprises adopt better management practices at a higher frequency than do managers of cow-calf operations that are secondary enterprises. This also likely includes the selection and use of veterinary services.

Income and Management data from page 3 of USDA CEAH NCHAS NAHMS Beef '97 Part I: Reference of Beef Cow-Calf Management Practices.

Beef Industry Economics:

A 1978 Montana study found that for an average of $6,000 (1978 dollars) of spendable family income (money that could be spent on the family - new car, college tuition, groceries) per year over a 25 year period, a commercial cow-calf ranch had to have at least 300 calving cows. The $6,000 1978 dollars are equivalent to $18,911 2007 dollars. The cow herd size required  to provide this amount of family income now is likely larger, given the divergence between beef prices and both producer costs and consumer prices.

A 2006 study by the University of Minnesota Center for Farm Financial Management (publications) found that for a farm family size of 3.4 persons the average annual family expense was $64,046 and, based on five year average returns, a beef herd size of from 815 to 1,357 cows, depending on the area of the state, was required to generate that amount of family income. (pdf, pdf)

Conclusion: Because many ranches are low return businesses with tight margins, the veterinary services you deliver must be as cost effective as possible for those producers whose cattle provide a major portion of their family income.

For general information on the economics of farms, see: USDA ERS  EIB 12 -  Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms: 2005 Family Farm Report, 2006

Example Enterprise Budgets - showing costs and returns:

• Idaho Livestock Costs and Returns Estimates as Enterprise Budget Bulletins

Idaho 500 cow Ranch - 2006 (pdf file)

Idaho 5000 head Feedlot - 2006 (pdf file)

Montana Extension Spreadsheets - Livestock and Forage Production, Finance and Economics

For additional information on U.S. cow-calf operations and production costs see:

• Characteristics and Production Costs of U.S. Cow-Calf Operations (pdf -USDA ERS bulletin 974-3, 2001)
• Critical control points for profitability in the cow-calf enterprise (Professional Animal Scientist, Dec 2001, html)
• Economics of Size in Cow-Calf Production (BCH-8100, 1994 pdf)

For government regulation of marketing chain and processes, see:

• GIPSA - USDA Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration
  • Marketing study, 2007

For on-line data and tools for evaluating the above and that were the source of the data for the charts below, see:

• AIER Cost-of-Living Calculator
• BeefBasis.com: Decision Support for America's Beef Producers
• U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Indexes
• USDA - National Agricultural Statistics Service Charts and Maps
• USDA NRCS Price Indexes and Discout Rates
• Cattle-Fax USDA DATA PAGE

Consumer Demand and Price Indexes:

What does the future hold for the beef industry and what impact will that have on the segment of the veterinary profession serving the industry?

Per capita beef consumption is declining while total per capita meat consumption is rising, particularly for poultry. More than anything else, this trend appears to be related to the relative increasing price of beef compared to the declining price of poultry. Much of the price decline in poultry is due to markedly increased genetic and production efficiency over the recent decades. Compared to the consumer price index, the price of feeders has remained low and the disparity is increasing (see below). Thus, the costs to support a ranch family are increasing relative to the value of their conventional product, the feeder calf. The costs of the ranch inputs are also increasing as evidenced by the rise in the agriculture equipment index. New technology that lowers costs is constantly evolving and being adopted, both in the domestic and foreign beef industry and the competing industries providing human protein foodstuffs. These factors result in continual pressure for conventional operations to become lower cost producers and to increase in size to capture economies of scale. 

Veterinarians can become involved in IRM (integrated resource management) and SPA (standardized performance analysis) programs that have developed to guide producers in making these changes. Dr. Jack Walker, Weiser, ID, was one of the primary innovators in this area. Ranchers are also developing alliances to increase profits through product differentiation and from underlying consistency and quality improvements. These changes will involve veterinarians in quality assurance programs and in preparation of cattle for the transition from ranch to feedlot. Ranchers are also using their resources to develop other enterprises, such as wild game for sportsmen, that may involve veterinarians.

• FINBIN: Farm Financial Database

• NCBA Standard Performance Analysis (SPA)

• TAMU IRM-SPA (Integrated Resource Management - Standardized Performance Analysis) - Library

Standardized Performance Analysis of Beef Cattle Operations (Vet Clinics of NA: Food Anim Pract 11(2), July 1995)

Note that for the purpose of generating this plot, the CPI index and the agriculture equipment price index were made equivalent to the average price of feeder calves in 1956.

The Result: Farm consolidation occurs as long-run profit margins tighten. Cow numbers are slowly declining but ranch numbers are declining more rapidly, meaning that the size of remaining herds is increasing. This has consequences on the demand for beef cow-calf veterinarians, on the types of services they deliver as operation size increases, on the skills they need to deliver them and on how they deliver these services.

Beef Cattle Price Cycles:

Beef output prices, whether calves from ranches or fed cattle from feedlots, repeatedly cycle over a period of approximately seven years or so. This cycling is due to the economic relationships between supply, demand and the length of time required for heifer calves to produce their own calves. During times of high feeder calf prices, ranches tend to keep more heifer calves as replacements so herds tend to expand. People with the resources for some cattle but as a secondary enterprise tend to get back into the industry when feeder calf prices are high but liquidate when they are low. The result is an oversupply of calves and feeder calf price declines dramatically until the number of calving cows is reduced sufficiently that feeder calf supply drops and prices rise. Cattle prices are also perturbed by other factors. Adverse weather, such droughts in grazing areas leading to herd reductions, and anything affecting the production of crops used as feeds in feedlots affects cattle prices regionally and nationally. Energy cost changes also impact cattle prices throughout the system because of the generally energy intense nature of US crop agriculture producing animal feedstuffs. The move toward biofuel production will increase competition for land and water for crop production as well as for crops such as corn that can be used in biofuel production.

The following graphs are modified from NCBA Beef Cattle Statistics.

Sources of current market information:

Beef Feedlot Closeouts - Midwest Breakevens

• 2001
• 2002- LOSS
• 2003
• 2004
• 2005
• 2006

• Cattle FAX
• Livestock Marketing Information Center

As a consequence of the wide range of these price shifts, during the lowest prices only the most efficient producers with the lowest breakevens will be making money and most producers will be loosing money. Only during price peaks will the most inefficient producers or those with high breakevens due to other factors, such as high debt load, be making money. As a consequence, for long term survival producers of a commodity product must have a breakeven cost that is at or below the average for the industry. 

Harlan Hughes, retired North Dakota State Ag Economics Professor:

• Beef Market Advisor (blog)
• Beef Special Cow-Calf Issues 2004 2006
• An Informed Veterinarian Can Help Clients Profit from the Cattle Cycle (presentation to 2000 AABP Mtg)
  • Part I: Cattle Cycles (pdf)
  • Part II: Helping Your Clients Make the Cattle Cycle Work for Them (pdf)

Impact of 10% change in key factors on Cow-calf breakeven prices and returns (Field and Taylor, 2003, from Cattle-Fax)

Factor	Change (%)	Decrease in Breakeven ($/cwt)	Increase in Return ($/cow)
% Weaned Calf Crop	+10%	$7.87	$39.82
Weaning Weight	+10%	$6.62	$33.47
Total Feed Cost	-10%	$4.27	$21.58
Cull Cow Weight	+10%	$1.00	$ 5.08
Interest Cost	-10%	$0.18	$0.93
All Combined		$19.94	$100.88

Efficiency can be gained by expansion but undertaking the debt associated with expansion is not without risk. Cash flow problems brought on by short term effects such as dramatic price drops for outputs, dramatic prices increases for inputs or large interest rate increases may lead to bankruptcy. On the other hand, producers using conventional practices selling into a commodity market that elect not to expand while the general trend in the industry is for expansion will eventually have to leave that market because expansion is no longer feasible. Assets of such farms and ranches are often sold to neighbors upon the operator's retirement.

Priorities First: Identifying management priorities in the commercial cow-calf business (Tom Field, 2006, pdf)

According to agricultural economist Dr. Michael Boehlje, all sectors of animal agriculture are facing five challenges:

1. Increasing international competition
2. Increasing industrialization,
3. More product differentiation and branding
4. More consistent and precise production
5. Further integration of supply chains.

The poultry and swine industries are the farthest down this road.

For further discussion on these trends see:

• "Industrialization of Agriculture" (M. Boehlje, 1996)
• "Agricultural Industrialization: David vs. Goliath" (K Mundy, W Purcell, 1999)
• "How to Achieve Profitability in a Dynamic Beef Industry" (pdf  2001, L. Corah, VP Certified Angus - requires login and search of ISEF)
• "Beef Cow Management: Keeping Up with the Change" (J Paterson, Montana State Beef Extension, 2002)
• Making a Living on the Farm (Kent Thiesse, The Corn & Soybean Digest, 3/21/06)
• The Farm Crisis & Corporate Profits (Canadian National Farmers Union, 11/30/05 html)
• The Future of Animal Agriculture in North American - TOC  (A Farm Foundation Project, 2006)
• "Future Vision: Do farm statistics lie?" (pdf, Top Producer, 12/05)
• Agriculture's Drive and Dine Menu (Weekly Outlook, 5/22/06)

Product Differentiation and Improvement:

Ways to distinguish a product in what is otherwise a commodity market are to establish a name brand or to establish a market niche based on some characteristic important to the consumer, such as high quality or being "organic". Then, rather than taking the commodity price for the undifferentiated product (being a "price taker"), the producer is able to command a higher than commodity price. This process is gaining momentum as different forms of vertical integration, such as alliances, expand within the industry. Veterinarians often have roles these efforts, such as developing production health programs that don't involve antibiotics or certifying that the animals meet certain standards, such as having had a particular sequence of vaccinations. At least one veterinarian's entire practice is performing ultrasounds for beef product improvement, sire selection and optimal marketing.

Applications of ultrasound technology to product improvement:

• Ultrasound Applications in Beef Cattle Carcass Research and Management (AR Williams, Mississippi State - PDF)
• Estimating Beef Cattle Composition and Market Quality by Use of Ultrasonography: An International Technology to Improve Livestock Quality (Pie Medical)

Examples of product differentiation:

• Alderspring Ranch (grass-finished beef, May, ID)
• Camp Cooley Ranch
• Harris Ranch Beef Company (Coalinga, CA, available locally in Safeway)
• Laura's Lean Beef
  • Laura's Lean Beef Supplier Pre-Approval Web Application
• Leachman Cattle Company (the genetic input end)
  • "No Better Bull"
    • Tom Field (pdf)
    • Harlan Huges (pdf)
• Nebraska Corn-fed Beef
• Niman Ranch
  • article - Better beef, naturally (Marin Independent J.)
• Oregon Country Natural Beef ("Doc" Hatfield and others)
• Texas-Value Added Calf (TEX-VAC)
  • TEX-VAC Beef Calf Vaccination Program
• USDA National Organic Program
  • National List (permitted and banned substances)
  • Program Standards

Not all attempts at niche marketing are successful:

• Niche Marketing Considerations: Beef as a Case Example (Wyoming Lean Beef failure)

Food differentiation:

• eatwild: The #1 Site for Grass-fed Food & Facts
• Is Better Nutrition a Justification for Choosing Pasture Raised Animals? (G Auld, Animals in the Food System Conference, 11/04 pdf)

General Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Program:

BQA

Product quality and consistency is affected by genetics, feeding, husbandry practices such as vaccinations and veterinary treatments. Most antibiotics result in tissue residues for varying periods of time depending factors such as dose, frequency and route (e.g., oral, IM, IV, SQ). Injectable vaccines and antibiotics cause permanent scarring and fibrosis around the injection site. The adjuvants (immunologic stimulants) in vaccines that are required to stimulate protective immunity often cause strong tissue reactions. The carriers required to keep antibiotics stable and in solution often have pH's that are very irritating. The process of injection sometimes introduces infectious agents that result in abscess formation.  

To compete with the high product quality and consistency of the pork and poultry industries, efforts are underway in the beef industry to improve product quality and consistency. Beef quality assurance is becoming a bigger issue and the veterinarian's role in it will expand with the coming of permanent, unique nation-wide individual animal identification.  This system will enable food service companies and packers to trace animals back to the farm of origin for the purpose of obtaining compensation from previous owners of the animal for those quality defects that are hidden until after slaughter. Note the involvement of the Nebraska Vet Medical Association in the Nebraska quality assurance program. 

Examples:

• NC-BQA -Beef Quality Assurance Program  
• Beef Quality Assurance (Montana Stockgrowers & MSU)
• North Dakota's Beef Quality Assurance Program - Producer Manual
  • Injections
• Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance (GPVEC - extensive files)
  (by the Nebraska Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), the University of Nebraska (UNL), and the Nebraska Cattlemen (NC))

QSA

Because of BSE ("Mad Cow Disease"), most countries are requiring that imported beef products must be from cattle less than 30 months of age. The USDA Audit, Review and Compliance Branch of the Agricultural Marketing Service is responsible for certifying that US beef exports meet the standards established by each importing country.

QSA - USDA Quality System Assessment Program

Animal ID

To shorten the time required to trace animals exposed to foreign animal diseases, either accidentally or deliberately introduced, federal and state governmental agencies and livestock producer groups are developing plans for premise and individual identification of all livestock.

• NAIS - National Animal Identification System
• USAIP - United States Animal Identification Plan - documents

Cattle Care, Welfare and Well-being Standards:

In response to pressure by animal welfare and animal rights activists, large retail chains such as Burger King, McDonalds and grocery stores have begun requiring that the livestock from which the food products originated be housed, managed and processed under their prescribed care, welfare and well-being standards. As these standards are new, they are currently evolving and will likely be required by an increasing proportion of food companies. As these standards require a participating premises to be audited on a regular basis, veterinarians will have a role in certifying that producers meet a given standards as well as in assisting producers in implementing them initially.

• American Humane Free Farmed^tm
  • Certification Process

Examples:

• American Meat Institute Animal Welfare Kit
• Animal Welfare (McDonald's)
• Burger King Animal Handling Policy
• Food Alliance (certifying group)
• Food Marketing Institute Animal Welfare
  • National Council of Chain Restaurants and Food Marketing Institute 2002 Food Industry Animal Welfare Report
• HSUS Factory Farming Campaign - cattle
• National Institute of Animal Agriculture Animal Care and Handling Technical Papers
• Temple Grandin (major contributor to this area)
  • Audit Form - Welfare of Cattle in Feedlots (Temple Grandin)
  • Outline of cattle welfare critical control points on feedlots, ranches, and stocker operations
• Victory at McDonald's (W. Greider, August 18, 2003, The Nation)

Resource Utilization Alternatives:

Besides a continuing trend toward fewer but larger operations, another effect of the decreasing margins in commercial cow-calf production is the development of alternative uses for the major resource of most ranches, the land. Many of these are directed toward tourism and recreation and most of these alternative present new opportunities for veterinarians. For example, some have developed game ranching enterprises, where sportsmen are allowed access for a fee. These include fishing and hunting opportunities, sometimes for exotic game. Some are raising other species as livestock, such as buffalo for meat or elk for velvet. Some are catering to those interested in western traditions by developing guest ranching or re-enactments of historic events through trail rides or wagon trains. 

Farm and Ranch Recreation Handbook (for producers considering this option)

Examples:

• Fishing Ranches.Com
• Powder River Experience: Catch the Adventure! (guest ranch)
• Powder River Outfitters
• The Great Plains Buffalo Association

Loss of farmland to urbanization and "ranchettes"

• Farming on the Edge Report: What's happening to our farmland?
• Coalitions between environmentalists and ranchers for wild land preservation

Alternative production systems:

• American GrassFed Beef
• American Pasturage, Inc. (Rick Hopkins, Marionville, Missouri)
  • news story
• Muck and Mystery blog
  • All Wet (8/6/06 - see second comment)

Dietary Trends, Food Safety Issues and Changing perceptions of Food

• Functional foods and nutraceuticals

The CLA Network (research on naturally CLA-enriched beef and dairy products)

• Food Safety Issues
  • Food Safety – A Quality Management Systems Approach