Good animal health is an excellent complement to good cattle marketing, these stocker operators and backgrounders say. For Brian Grant and Gideon Fox, risk management starts the minute that calves arrive at their stocker and backgrounding programs; itcontinues until they're sold and shipped away. And testing for persistent infection (PI) cattle that spread bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) is vital in keeping animals healthy so that gain and performance aren't hindered. Grant massages all sides of risk management at Heritage Cattle Co., his Bowling Green, KY, operation that includes an order buyer service. He's thinking about hedging opportunities and a health program the day calves are bought from regional auction barns.
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