Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett wrote in their hit song, “The Front Porch Song,” “I’ve known a whole lot of old bulls in my life, and their work is never done.”

It’s an appropriate sentiment, especially when going to the sale barn to buy a new sire. Understanding the importance of bull sale protocols, assessing your needs as a producer and keeping your financial goals in mind can make or break your day-to-day operation.

For most spring-calving beef producers, your herd is either calving now or will start to calve soon. Hopefully this article catches you before calving starts so you actually have time to read it – I know how busy this time of year can be. But as your calves start to come, I want you to have a metric in the back of your mind: calving distribution.

It’s been a good 15 years now since the cow that killed Christmas nearly took the entire U.S. beef export system down with it. How the industry bounced back should prove useful in tackling the next danger peeking over the horizon.