Storey's Guide to Raising Beef Cattle, 3rd Edition [Paperback]

Heather Smith Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 2009

Storey’s Guide to Raising Beef Cattle is the go-to reference for new and experienced cattle ranchers, providing expert advice on everything from breed selection, calving, feeding, and housing, to humane handling and slaughter practices.
The 3rd edition, now with 125,000 copies in print contains new and expanded features:
• Up-to-the-minute coverage of diseases and vaccination options
• Complete information on raising grass-fed animals
• How to identify and deal with toxic pasture plants

Storey's Guide to Raising Series is the essential animal husbandry information from the trusted source. With a combined total of 1.7 million copies in print.

Praise for the book:
"I found your book to be the Bible for raising beef cattle, and will continue to refer to it while running our 160-head organic beef operation." - Jonathan, Plainfield, IN

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Heather Smith Thomas raises cattle and horses on her family ranch in Salmon, Idaho. She is the author of 10 books and thousands of articles on animal health care. Her books include Essential Guide to Calving, Getting Started with Beef & Dairy Cattle, and Storey's Guide to Raising Beef Cattle.

Product Details

• Paperback: 340 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC; 3rd edition (October 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1603424547
• ISBN-13: 978-1603424547
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Animal Husbandry

More About the Author

Heather Smith Thomas grew up on a ranch near Salmon, Idaho.
She is the author of 20 books and thousands of articles on animal health care. Her books include Essential Guide to Calving, Getting Started with Beef & Dairy Cattle, Storey's Guide to Raising Horses, Storey's Guide to Training Horses, The Horse Conformation Handbook, Care and Management of Horses, Stable Smarts, Understanding Equine Hoof Care, Beyond the Flames--A Family Touched by Fire, The Cattle Health Handbook and Storey's Guide to Raising Beef Cattle.
She began writing stories for children's magazines while still in high school and wrote articles for horse and farm publications to help pay her way through college (University of Puget Sound). She wrote her first book, A Horse in Your Life: A Guide for the New Owner, during the summer between her sophomore and junior year of college. She and her husband Lynn Thomas have been raising beef cattle and a few horses on their ranch in central Idaho since 1967. Most of her books and articles deal with horse or cattle health care, breeding, or handling. Her goal has been to learn all she can about the care of horses and cattle, and to share this with her readers. One of her books, however, discusses an entirely different subject. Beyond the Flames tells about her daughter's severe burn injury and how this changed their lives. For more information about that book, and updates on the Thomas family and their ranch life, see Heather's blogs at http://www.heathersmiththomas.blogspot.com and for short anecdotes about her experiences with some of the horses and cattle she has raised, see her author's blog at http://insidestorey.blogspot.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A well written, entertaining introduction to raising cattle, May 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Storey's Guide to Raising Beef Cattle (Storey Animal Handbook) (Paperback)

While a bit redundant @ times, I found this to be an excellent treatment of cattle-raising. I am a novice to "cattle ranching" and have found it very useful and easily read; also, well indexed. A few "oldtimers" have found it very useful and have asked where they can get one. The practicality is enhanced by good illustrations.

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book saved my bacon..., November 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Storey's Guide to Raising Beef Cattle (Storey Animal Handbook) (Paperback)

I am a novice rancher who bought 37 calves at an auction. At one point I had 15 sick calves on my hands, primitive corrals, and the whole town laughing at me. Tonight, I can honestly say the worst is past. My brother and I doctored ten bad eyes, saved a bloat case, doctored a footrot immediately and effectively, and saved at least five extremely ill pneumonic calves, while vaccinating, branding, and eartaging the whole bunch. Without this book and the thorough, intelligent, and courageous instructions it gives to the cattleman, I would have lost a good part of my herd, all my joy for ranching along with them. As it is, the town isn't laughing anymore and starting to wonder where we came up with all those good ideas they're seeing popping up on our place.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very complete, concise, and informative., February 18, 1999

By 

Chris Hedemark ([e-mail]) (Timberlake, North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Storey's Guide to Raising Beef Cattle (Storey Animal Handbook) (Paperback)

This book really packs a wallop. So much valuable information packed into one book that could only be written by someone who has "seen it all". Not only is purely technical information given, but Thomas gives great insight into cattle psychology which is a great boon in helping a cattleman to work safely around these large animals. Thomas has left no stone unturned and this book should be well read and dog-eared by every beef cattle farmer.