CRITICAL THINKING AS AN APPROACH TO PROBLEM-SOLVING FOR COW CALF PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT/

Food animal veterinarians across the country are voicing a desire to g et more involved with production management. The beef cattle industry is changing and likely will continue to do so. Herd sizes are increasi ng while the number of producers is decreasing. Producers are faced wi th smaller margins of profit. This environment requires greater attent ion to management via wise business decisions. This paper is intended to demonstrate a thought process that may be applied to a producer's p roblem. The question posed in this example is: Should a commercial bee f cow producer be using artificial insemination?