BeefTalk: With Every Ear Tag, There Should Be a Cow Attached

BeefTalk: With Every Ear Tag, There Should Be a Cow Attached

Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service

The utilization and incorporation of animal identification within a herd is best left as an individual decision.

At a recent meeting, the only item on the agenda was to determine what to print on next year’s ear tags. What made the meeting exciting were the new tags the printing was going on.

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Beef Cattle Nutritional Disorders

Beef Cattle Nutritional Disorders

Mississippi State University

Nutritional disorders in beef cattle can result in poor animal health, lowered production, and even animal losses. The National Animal Health Monitoring System reports that 7 percent of beef cattle death losses in the southeast U.S. in 2005 were caused by digestive problems such as bloat and acidosis. Death losses from digestive problems increased as herd size decreased.

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Does Preconditioning Pay?

Does Preconditioning Pay?

Ellen H. Brisendine

The Cattleman

While there are no guarantees of more dollars in your pocket, preconditioning weaned calves before selling them gives you more marketing choices and gives your calves a better chance at a better price.

Is it worth it to keep your calves on pasture for 45 days after weaning and before selling them, and vaccinate them twice in those 45 days? Will you get the money back that you put into those calves? Doug McKinney says there’s no guarantee the answer will be yes every year, but a preconditioning program is a proven technique to make more money and it is a market-leveler for producers of 150 head or fewer.

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Double Cropping With A Twist, Timber, Cattle Work Together

Double Cropping With A Twist, Timber, Cattle Work Together

Becky Mills

DTN/Progressive Farmer

Andy Andreasen already had planned to graze cattle under his pine trees after the trees were thinned in 2004. When a tornado from Hurricane Ivan thinned them again six months later, the plan became a necessity.

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Drop That Burger

Drop That Burger

Matthew Herper

Forbes

Editor’s note: Stories of this ilk are included in the blog to inform those in our industry how agriculture is being presented to and perceived by the public.

Biotech whiz Pat Brown makes the global-warming case against animal farming.

Brown, 55, will take a break from his normal scientific work (finding out how a small number of genes are translated into a much larger number of proteins) in order to change the way the world farms and eats. He wants to put an end to animal farming, or at least put a significant dent in our global hunger for cows, pigs and chickens.

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SDSU meat judging team takes first in national competition

SDSU meat judging team takes first in national competition

The Cattle Business Weekly

The South Dakota State University Meat Judging Team took first place overall at the Cargill Meat Solutions High Plains Contest in Plainview, Texas Nov. 1. 

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Cow Calf: Planning The Breeding Season

Cow Calf: Planning The Breeding Season

cattlenetwork.com

Three key management concepts can help commercial cow/calf operations improve the productivity of their cow herds. However, planning and preparation must take place well in advance of the spring breeding season. The key areas to consider include: 1) assess the bull power; 2) immunize the replacement heifers properly; and 3) have a short breeding season for the replacement heifers.

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Timed-A.I. Options: Another Tool from the Tool Box

Timed-A.I. Options: Another Tool from the Tool Box

Dr. Ray Nebel, senior reproductive specialist, Select Sires

By grouping cows that calve within a one- or two-week window, cows can be precisely synchronized to allow for acceptable pregnancy rates and minimal labor inputs. It is easy to get confused by the variety of protocols available; however, this variety provides flexibility in developing a tailor-made program that works for you.

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Cattle feeders told to persevere

Cattle feeders told to persevere

Kindra Gordon

The Cattle Business Weekly

Five hundred cattle feeders gathered in Amarillo, TX, in late October for the 2009 Texas Cattle Feeders Assocaition (TCFA) Convention. In his convention address, 2009 TCFA Chairman Monte Cluck described being "inspired by the attitudes of the members."

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40 Groups Disagree with USDA’s Latest BSE Court Submission

40 Groups Disagree with USDA’s Latest BSE Court Submission

KTIC

Yes, the ball is still in play – although a distant memory for some – with regard to the litigation filed in 2007 by R-CALF USA and 10 other plaintiffs against the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) decision to allow into the U.S. older Canadian cattle born after March 1, 1999, and beef from Canadian cattle of all ages. Canada continually has had a significant problem with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, and the agency’s latest legal notice suggests that ‘the people’s agency’ is about to kowtow to global interests instead of honoring its congressional mandate to protect U.S. citizens.

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Cattle Raisers Museum offers interactive fun in Fort Worth

Cattle Raisers Museum offers interactive fun in Fort Worth

WFAA

It’s a new era for Fort Worth’s cultural scene. On Friday, a completely redesigned Museum of Science and History will open.

A special part of the new museum complex is the Cattle Raisers Museum, which is designed to be fun for all ages.

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High Country Beef Cattle Workshop set for Dec. 4 in Alpine

High Country Beef Cattle Workshop set for Dec. 4 in Alpine

Steve Byrns

Texas AgriLife

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service offices in Brewster, Jeff Davis and Presidio counties will conduct the High Country Beef Cattle Workshop from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. Dec. 4 in Room 130 of Sul Ross State University’s Range Animal Science Building on east Hwy 90 in Alpine.

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Ohio wins, Humane Society gears up for its own ballot initiative

Ohio wins, Humane Society gears up for its own ballot initiative

The Cattle Business Weekly

In the Nov. 3 election, Ohio voters gave their approval to Issue 2, the ballot measure to amend the state constitution and create a livestock care standards board.

Ohio voters convincingly supported Issue 2, as 63.66% (or 1,959,669 people) voted to pass the measure, while 36.34% or 1,118,805 individuals, voted "no."

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Fiber in Beef Cattle Diets

Fiber in Beef Cattle Diets

Mississippi State University

While energy and protein are often the major focus of many beef cattle nutritional programs, fiber is another essential diet component beef cattle producers need to consider.

Fiber type, quality, and length impact cattle health and productivity. Fiber is typically coarse and less dense than other feedstuff components, and the positive effects of feedstuffs on rumen health are related to their fiber content.

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Group cattle by age for efficient winter feeding

Group cattle by age for efficient winter feeding

Oklahoma State University

STILLWATER, Okla. – Grouping cattle by age is a relatively easy way to improve the efficiency of cattle feeding programs throughout the winter.

“Every herd is a bit unique, of course, so producers are going to have to take an inventory and decide how to best divide up the animals,” said Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension livestock specialist.

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Video Feature: ID downer cows

Dr. Clyde Lane University of Tennessee, Beef Extension Specialist, discusses this important topic.

Relationship of Cow Size to Nutrient Requirements and Production Management Issues

Relationship of Cow Size to Nutrient Requirements and Production Management Issues

Matt Hersom, University of Florida

Proper nutritional status is critical for optimal production efficiency in the beef cow herd. Meeting the nutrient requirements of the productive cow is a prime factor in reproductive success and overall herd profitability. However, beef producers often take a “one size fits all” approach when feeding the cow herd.

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Re-evaluating Replacements

Re-evaluating Replacements

Kindra Gordon

Angus Journal

Savvy managers know that re-evaluating

strategies can often add efficiency — and enhance profitability. One case in point that deserves for beef producers to do some number crunching in today’s altered economy is replacement heifers.

Livestock specialist Sandy Johnson with Kansas State (K-State) Research and Extension at Colby, Kan., says, “It probably goes without saying that anytime you are not making money, and you intend to, is probably a good time to evaluate strategies.

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Testing Forages for Quality Makes Cents

Testing Forages for Quality Makes Cents

Dr. Rick Rasby, Professor of Animal Science, Animal Science, University of Nebraska

Forages are the primary energy source for beef cows. From a forage standpoint, as plants mature, fiber increases. Fiber is less digestible than other plant parts and fiber digestibility declines as plants mature. These factors cause the concentration of energy in plants to decline as maturity advances.

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Tips Offered to Prevent Manure Pit Explosions

Tips Offered to Prevent Manure Pit Explosions

Thebeefsite.com

So far, the explosions have resulted in building damage with few animal losses and no personal injuries or fatalities, said Rick Stowell, extension engineer in the university’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

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