Can Angus Cattle Be Big And Efficient?
Oklahoma Farm Report
Can Angus Cattle Be Big And Efficient? Over time, the average size of beef cows has increased by 200 pounds or more. To keep up with feed costs-even today’s feed costs-that just means she needs to wean 50 more pounds of calf, according to South Dakota State University animal scientist Ken Olson.
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BeefTalk: Meat, Fat, Size and Quality
Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service
Meat, fat, carcass size and carcass quality are four factors in the beef industry that never go away. One could even say this is why the beef industry exists.
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NE man pleads guilty to cattle scheme in MO
Julie Harker
Brownfield Network
A south-central Nebraska man has pleaded guilty to a cattle scheme in central Missouri. Allen Foos of Smithfield, Nebraska entered his plea in federal court Tuesday in the Western District of Missouri to transporting stolen livestock across state lines.
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Improved breeding helps meet demand for high quality beef
FarmTalk
With better genetics, Missouri beef producers can help supply the growing demand for high-quality beef, said a University of Missouri Extension beef specialist.
“Until just a few years ago, we didn’t have the tools to change our marketing,” said David Patterson, leader of the Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program
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U.S. Beef Producers Aren’t Using Proven Genetic Tools
Wes Ishmael
BEEF
Benefits of reproductive technologies like estrus synchronization (ES) for natural or artificial breeding are old news.
“Improving traits of major economic importance in beef cattle can be accomplished most rapidly through the selection of genetically superior sires and widespread use of artificial insemination (AI),” says David Patterson, University of Missouri (MU) animal science professor.
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Future of Midwest cattle-feeding seminar scheduled
Travis Meteer,
University of Illinois
Feeder cattle producers are encouraged to optimize their opportunities and attend workshops focused on the future of Midwest cattle feeding. The meeting will be held March 2 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Sauk Valley Community College in Dixon, Ill.
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Take Steps to Prevent Scours in Calves
Heather Smith Thomas
Cattle Today
Many ranchers experience a few cases of diarrhea in young calves, and some years are worse than others. Scours can be caused by certain kinds of bacteria, viruses or protozoa. Whether or not calves get sick is often related to multiple factors including exposure (whether calves come into contact with those pathogens), and stress.
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From the Ground Up – Falling Beef Cattle Numbers
KBTX
During 2011, the drought experienced in Texas was responsible for continuing a liquidation of cattle that had began a couple of years before during another dry spell.
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Collaboration set to revolutionize feed efficiency in cattle
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
For generations, agricultural producers have continued to produce more food with fewer resources. Unfortunately, their greatest test is yet to come.
In October 2011, the world’s population topped 7 billion for the first time in recorded history, and estimates have total population numbers breaching the 9.5 billion mark by 2050.
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Conference to Focus on Options for Grass-Fed Beef Cattle
Wisconsin Ag Connection
Successful options for profiting from grass-fed beef production is the focus of Land Stewardship Project workshop being held next month in La Crosse. The event is scheduled for February 11 at the People’s Food Co-op from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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Fewer Cows’ Hides May Bear the Mark of Home
Erica Goode
New York Times
In the half-light of a winter evening here, a tawny calf skitters across the pasture after its mother, a Lazy T brand visible on its right hip. The brand, used by the Tilton Ranch since Janet Burback’s parents settled on this land in 1917, appears on the ranchers’ shirts, their trucks and their business cards.
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Water is the Most Important Nutrient for Cattle
Stephen B. Blezinger, Ph.D., PAS
Cattle Today
Many producers take water for granted. They have ponds in many pastures or they make sure the float valve in the metal stock tank is working properly, keeping the tank full. But what happens if the pond is low or dry or if the flow to the stock tank is interrupted?
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The New Cattle Drive
Stayton Bonner
Men’s Journal
After 150 years, some of the last surviving Texas cattle ranches are pulling up stakes. Fighting the worst single-year drought in state history and wildfires that have claimed close to 4 million acres, Texas ranchers have begun selling off their herds or shipping them north to greener pastures, in numbers not seen since the Dust Bowl days.
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Does grass-fed beef have any heart-health benefits that other types of beef don’t?
Martha Grogan, M.D.
Mayo Clinic
Grass-fed beef typically comes from cattle that eat only grass and other foraged foods throughout their lives. Often, conventional beef and dairy cattle eat a diet that includes grains, such as corn, at some point.
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Cattle Still King
Wet Mountain Tribune
Colorado’s economy is certainly showing signs of recovery, and not surprisingly, agriculture is strongly in the lead with robust gains in dairy, grain, wood product and beef exports.
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Have Cattle Producers Been Romney-ed?
Mike Callicrate
Huffington Post
Did National Beef ‘s cattlemen owners just get "Romney-ed"?
John Miller, National Beef’s former CEO, now consultant and member of the Board of Managers, was a top fundraiser for Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign. He owns property next door to Romney in La Jolla, CA.
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NCBA Responds to Legislation to Mandate On-Farm Production Practices
Randall
Southeast AG NET
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Bill Donald criticized legislation introduced by Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) that would codify an agreement between the Humane Society of the United States and the United Egg Producers establishing federally mandated egg production practices.
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The Importance of the Castration Knife
Ruminations from the Road
At the January board meeting at NWSS, NALF’s genetic consultant Dr. Bob Weaber made the profound statement that the US beef industry is driven by seedstock producers’ selection of bulls at weaning.
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ABS Global Names New Research Scientist
AgriMarketing
Dr. Katie Olson recently joined the ABS Global team as research scientist.
"Katie’s exceptional experience with genetic and genomic evaluations and her background in the dairy and beef industries will make her an asset to the ABS research team," stated Dr. Marj Faust, senior research director. "We look forward to having Katie work with ABS customers, independent representatives, and employees around the world."
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Recipe for a federal takeover of farming
Doug Wolf
Chicago Tribune
In today’s world, you respond by sneaking a camera on my property and filming my animals. You send the results to the media along with a call to ban the practice or practices you find offensive. If you can tie in the name of a well-known processor where I might send my pigs, so much the better. That’ll guarantee some dynamite media coverage.
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