Malta Bend man uses AI to improve cattle herd
By Marcia Gorrell/Staff writer
Marshall Democrat News (MO)
Although in the U.S. roughly only 10 percent of the beef cattle are artificially inseminated (AI), Brian Marshall of Malta Bend is one of several young farmers in Saline County who are finding many benefits using the technology to improve their cattle herds.
Comments Off
Posted in Uncategorized
Hurry! Beef 706 sign-up limited to 40
Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (TX)
By LARRY SPRADLIN | Hopkins County Extension Agent/Agriculture
August 13, 2006 – I have just received a message from the Texas Beef Council concerning another Beef 706 program that will be coming up in College Station on Sept. 18 through Sept. 20 this year. Beef 706 is an educational hands-on course for beef producers to learn about safety and quality issues affecting their beef products. The Beef-706 College Station will reach Texas cattle producers with information enabling them to perform sound management practices that will increase consumer confidence in beef as a safe and wholesome product.
Comments Off
Posted in Uncategorized
‘Cows are good therapy’:
Benton Evening News
Benton farmer enjoys looking after twin heifers
By Diana Winson – Editor
Bill McDowell has spent the last 50 years living on his farm east of Benton.
The past two summers have allowed him to witness a somewhat rare occurrence: the births of two sets of twin black baldy heifers to one of his cows.
“This makes two years in a row,” said McDowell, noting that the cow has had six sets of twins over the years. “I told my vet that she’d had twin heifers again, and he said, ‘You’re kidding me! You must have something in your soil.’
Comments Off
Posted in Uncategorized
Both Sides of the Fence
by Miranda Reiman
Angus Journal
John Anderson has an observation that guides him when it comes to raising quality cattle.
“I’ve never heard anybody walk away from a restaurant saying they paid too much for a good steak,” he says. “But I sure have heard a lot of people complain about a poor steak at any price.”
The cow-calf producer and manager of S&A Feedlot near Plainview, Neb., looks at the entire beef system — from seedstock producer to consumer — when making genetic and management decisions.
Comments Off
Posted in Uncategorized
FDA recalls feed on contamination concerns
Brownfield Network
by Peter Shinn
Dow Jones reports the Food and Drug Administration is recalling thousands of tons of livestock feed over fears a small amount of ruminant material may have gotten into the feed.
An Alabama feed plant owned by H.J. Baker & Brothers reportedly produced two types of feed supplements, one with bovine material and one without, using the same equipment early last year. The FDA says that means there may have been some cross-contamination of cattle feed with ruminant material.
FDA issued a recall of H.J. Baker feed products in June. On Friday, FDA issued a more wide ranging recall of feed products made by companies that use ingredients supplied by H.J. Baker.
Comments Off
Posted in Uncategorized
Beef Reproduction Among Topics At National Meeting in Missouri Aug. 30-31
KTIC Radio
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Beef producers interested in fixed-time artificial
insemination (AI) and other breeding technology will learn the latest
research – and producer success stories – at a national meeting in
St. Joseph, Mo., Aug. 30-31.
A meeting of beef specialists from land grant universities from the
north central states will be open to beef producers, veterinarians,
AI technicians and educators, said David Patterson, University of
Missouri Extension beef specialist.
Comments Off
Posted in Uncategorized
USDA Approves Allflex RFID Tags for National Animal Identification System
Cattlenetwork.com
Dallas, Texas (August 14, 2006) – Allflex USA, the global leader in livestock identification, announced the approval of ISO Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) livestock identification tags by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for use in the National Animal Identification System (NAIS).
“The market place is clearly making a statement that it wants this technology as the specific identifier for cattle and bison in the National ID System,” said Brian Bolton President & CEO Allflex USA Inc. “In our experience, validation of ISO RFID Tags as the only official identifier in the NAIS would be a key part of the process in bringing clarity to producers and encouraging infrastructure during this industry-led implementation of the national ID program in the U.S.”
Comments Off
Posted in Uncategorized
Black Ink — Who Wants To Be Perfect?
by: Miranda Reiman
Cattletoday.com
There’s nothing like a branding to bring a community of cattlemen together. From North Dakota to Nevada, generations of producers gather each year to tackle the big project and then celebrate its completion.
Each person has a specialty. There’s somebody with a knife, one with the iron, one giving the shots and the one who can run fast enough to catch even the squirmiest calf. There’s usually a crew in charge of lunch and a few young onlookers taking it all in. Although it’s a great deal of work, brandings are a tradition that many Western cattlemen have come to look forward to. Families get together every year to trade services and help each other out.
Most everyone in agriculture knows this sort of common cause. Many a farm kid remembers picking rocks, walking beans or baling hay alongside the neighbor kids. Or who hasn’t seen a rural community help a family in crisis? If a farmer has a heart attack during harvest, every tractor and combine in the area is in his field the next day.
Comments Off
Posted in Uncategorized
Livestock tax provisions allot for drought
by Amanda Davenport, student intern
Brownfield Network
Dry weather conditions are forcing a number of producers in the Midwest and Plains to sell extra livestock and pay additional income taxes, but it may be possible to avoid these taxes.
There are two tax provisions designed specifically to reduce the income tax liability in such situations, according to Wesley Tucker, an agriculture business specialist with the University of Missouri Extension.
Comments Off
Posted in Uncategorized
Bovine genome sequencing data available online
by Ann Bagel
Meatingplace.com
Researchers from the Bovine Genome Sequencing Project are almost finished sequencing the genome of the cow and have released bovine genetic information on free public databases.
The sequence data is available through the following databases:
Comments Off
Posted in Uncategorized
