The heat wave persists and so do all the ranch activities. On August 7th we ultra sounded 618 replacement heifers. With the help of veterinarian Lance Hughes (Hobson, Montana) we were able to test approximately 92 head an hour. Pregnancy rates were down 2% from last year. Normally the ranch is able to attain 80% conception in the 30 day breeding season. This was the ranch’s first ultrasound experience and we were pleasantly surprised with how quickly Lance was able to test. By utilizing ultrasound we were able to select early and late calving dates which will help us manage the herd size during the 2013 calving season.