Pressure on prices a typical occurrence in October

Pressure on prices a typical occurrence in October

By Brian Hoops, Columnist

Prairie Star

Corn

The month of October is our harvest month when most of the pressure on prices is seen and normally we find our harvest lows when 50 percent to 70 percent of the harvest is complete. As of Oct. 9, harvest progress should have reached only 30 percent-35 percent completed. If the October USDA supply/demand report comes in under pre-report trade estimates we could see a big rally as the worst of supply side news would be behind us, taking December corn higher in an attempt to ration tight stocks.

However, any number on the high end of expectations will have the market anticipating another increase in the November report and the weight of the USDA production forecast should push prices lower into our harvest lows.

Once harvest reaches 50 percent to 70 percent completed, the harvest lows should be forming. We should then look to buy futures or options to re-own cash sales as we look for higher prices long term based on record large forecasted usage. As long as China remains out of the export market, Asian countries have no choice but to buy U.S. corn to meet their needs.

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Cattle grazing aims to improve wildlife lands

Cattle grazing aims to improve wildlife lands

By Scott Sandsberry

Yakima Herald-Republic / ESPN

YAKIMA, Wash. — The whole concept sounds like an oxymoron: bringing cattle in to graze on state wildlife lands … for the sake of the wildlife.

Try to get your head around that one.

That’s precisely what state wildlife managers have been doing since entering into a cooperative pilot program with the Washington Cattlemen’s Association to see if selective grazing can indeed improve habitat and growth of wildlife forage.

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To some, the concept may seem incongruous. “It just defies logic,” groused one critic. But some Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials involved in the project are defending it as potentially a very good thing — and not, apparently, simply because the program was foisted upon them by the state governor.

“When I first heard about it, I thought this may not be such a bad thing,” said Bob Dice, manager of four wildlife areas in southeast Washington, three of which already are or will soon become part of the pilot grazing program.

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Beef experts explain animal i.d., NAIS program

Beef experts explain animal i.d., NAIS program

By SHANNON BURKDOLL, The Prairie Star editor

LEWISTOWN, Mont. – Montanans have the opportunity to differentiate their cattle from others through one of the many animal identification programs offered to livestock producers.

There are several types of animal identification programs offered to American livestock producers – the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), and source, age and process verified programs.

NAIS is separate from the source, age and process verified programs, which are driven by the beef market, as it is a federal program designed to trace animal movement in the case of a communicable disease outbreak, according to Andy Kellom of the Montana Beef Network, headquartered in Bozeman, Mont. The Montana Beef Network works in conjunction with the Montana State University and Montana Stockgrowers Association to add value to Montana’s cattle and beef industries.

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Wildfire leaves lasting effects as U.S. warns against grazing

Wildfire leaves lasting effects as U.S. warns against grazing

By SUSAN GALLAGHER

Associated Press Writer / Great Falls Tribune (MT)

HELENA — The thousands of cattle that ordinarily graze on federal and private land south of Big Timber should not be there next year, because they’d be too hard on the land as it rebounds from the big Derby Mountain wildfire, a federal report says.

Its recommendation to suspend grazing until 2008 has consequences for rancher Terry Terland, but on Wednesday, the grazing outlook was secondary to concerns more immediate. Terland was at a corral, tending cattle burned by the fire that began with lightning Aug. 22 and spread across 207,000 acres of forest and range, 60 percent of it owned privately. The fire, which destroyed 26 homes, continues to smolder.

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Why farm belt sees rising crime wave

Why farm belt sees rising crime wave

By Patrik Jonsson

The Christian Science Monitor

ATLANTA – At the end of a dirt road in rural South Carolina, a lonely truck careered up through the red-clay ruts and into the woods.

The man, wearing chaps and wielding a chain saw, who emerged from the cab worked for himself, state foresters say. But the trees weren’t his. Nor were the small profits he made selling the hauled timber to sawyers in the valley. Despite the whine of his saw, for years no one heard these trees fall.

The man, arrested earlier this year, was ax-cut-deep in a growing problem for America’s farm belt: rural commodity theft, or “plaid-collar crime.” From lush Hawaii to the Carolina plains, artichoke absconders, nut nappers, tree thieves, and even cattle rustlers are plucking, picking, hauling, and siphoning commodities from diesel to mangosteens at impressive rates. Loss is a familiar concept to a farmer. But such audacious heists have prompted many to go on the offensive to police America’s wide-open spaces.

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Silage piles grow after drought of 2006

Silage piles grow after drought of 2006

By Donna Farris

The Minnesota Farm and Ranch Guide

With a number of farmers trying to decide what to do with drought-stressed corn, more rows are being cut for silage than in a typical year.

The combination of drought and heat stress curtailed pollination in many cornfields, said South Dakota State University Extension crops specialist Bob Hall.

“In some cases there may not be an ear on the plant and in other cases, only a partial ear,” Hall said. “If a farmer is not going to have a grain harvest, what other alternative does he have? Either leave it or take it as silage.”

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Rancher succeeds inside and outside the show ring

Rancher succeeds inside and outside the show ring

By Doug Rich

High Plains Journal

The latest in genetic improvement from nearly every livestock breed will be on display at the American Royal from Oct. 18 to 25. It is also an opportunity to bring buyer and seller together as many breed associations conduct sales during the American Royal.

Since 1971, Ken Holloway and his family have made a name for themselves inside and outside the show ring at the American Royal as well as other national livestock exhibitions around the country. Inside the ring Holloway exhibits cattle from his Coyote Hills Limousin Ranch, Chattanooga, Okla., and outside the ring he helps bring buyer and seller together through American Cattle Services, Inc.

Holloway gained valuable experience with purebred cattle and sales management when he worked as a field representative for the American Shorthorn Association. It was during this time that he saw his first Limousin cattle. He helped people locate Shorthorn cows that they bred to Limousin bulls.

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Cattle ID program needs useful solution

Cattle ID program needs useful solution

Tri-City Herald (WA)

A federal plan to implement a tracking system for livestock has the state’s cattle producers scratching their heads about how — or if — they can make it work.

For now, the program is voluntary. But in a few years, it most likely will be mandatory. And registration is not strictly limited to cattle, although that’s where many of the concerns are centered because of the transient nature of the industry.

The federal government believes animals, especially those for human consumption, should be tracked throughout their lives to help manage disease.

The plan came about after the discovery that a Mabton cow had been infected with mad cow disease. Within days — and without a federally mandated system — the bovine’s origins were traced to a Canadian dairy herd.

Now the USDA wants a program in place to make the process more efficient, with a goal of establishing within 48 hours of a disease outbreak the history of an animal’s travels over its life.

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Take Steps to Avoid Complications After Castration

Take Steps to Avoid Complications After Castration

by: J. Terry Engelken, DVM, Mississippi

Cattle Today

In a survey from several years ago, it was revealed that only about 30-40 percent of Mississippi cow/calf producers castrate their bull calves. This percentage is similar to surveys published from other southeastern states. With relatively few calves being castrated on the farm of origin, it is little wonder that we see such a high percentage of bull calves arriving at stocker and backgrounding operations in the state. This makes castration one of the most common management procedures performed on calves in order to increase their value.

While castration may be routine, it is certainly not without complications. If not done properly, you may see an increase in the number of infections, pulls, decreased feeding performance, and even death loss. Even without complications, calves castrated at arrival can be expected to gain nearly 0.5 lbs. per day less, suffer from a 20 percent increase in sickness, and may run as high as two percent more death loss compared to calves that are already steers. This performance difference means that bulls need to be discounted $5.00 to $8.00 per cwt., depending upon their size.

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USDA Releases 2005 U.S. Animal Health Report

USDA Releases 2005 U.S. Animal Health Report

USDA Release

FORT COLLINS, Colo, Oct. 10, 2006–The U.S Department of Agriculture today released the 2005 U.S. Animal Health Report, a national overview of domestic animal health in the United States.

The report addresses the many components of the U.S. animal health infrastructure, animal population demographics, approaches to foreign animal disease surveillance, and new initiatives. As an annual publication, the U.S. Animal Health Report is updated and refined each year. It provides a valuable method to communicate with stakeholders and the public about the status of animal health in the United States.

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