Ohio Beef Newsletter Available

The September 12, issue # 554, of the Ohio BEEF Cattle letter is now posted to the web at: http://fairfield.osu.edu/ag/beef/beefSept12.html

After a successful “kick-off” in 2007, nominations for the second edition of the Ohio Beef Heifer Development Program are now being accepted. We now have three cooperator sites who have feed inventories sufficient to each successfully develop and breed 100 heifers. And, an optional bred HEIFER SALE has been added for 2008. Find details in this week’s BEEF letter.

Articles this week include:
* Pounds Trump Quality Every Time
* Forage Focus: Using Drought-stressed Forages
* 2007-2008 Ohio Beef Heifer Development Program Accepting Consignments
* Weekly Roberts Agricultural Commodity Market Report

Stan
———-
Stan Smith
Program Assistant, Agriculture
OSU Extension, Fairfield County
831 College Ave., Suite D
Lancaster, OH 43130

Reduce Silage Storage and Feeding Losses

Reduce Silage Storage and Feeding Losses

Ropin’ the Web

Silage is a great way to get more dry matter per acre! Silage has huge harvest advantages. Unfortunately storage and feedout losses rob this bank account.

Not covering and/or sealing the cover can cost you up to 1/3 of the dry matter in the top three feet. Fed to livestock, this degraded feed can drastically reduce their performance. For example, newly weaned calves do not like the taste of moldy material mixed in their feed and only consume half of what they would if it was only good silage. This reduced intake makes them more susceptible to disease and stress. A comparable group fed only uncontaminated feed cost half as much to acclimatize and had much lower death losses.

Keeping a pile open for a few days to a month while you fill it reduces your profit margin. The material on top spoils overnight, contaminating material above and below it, and reducing silage quality and quantity. This reduced quality has a major effect on animal performance. With limited feed supplies, all feed should be the best quality possible.

If you have various crops ensiled in your pile you could have a feeding nightmare! Each component ensiles differently and is of a different quality. You are dollars ahead to make several small piles with smaller feed out faces so you can manage this variability in your ration formulation.

FULL STORY

10 winter-feeding tips

10 winter-feeding tips

Clint Peck Contributing Editor, Beef Magazine

Want some “hot” advice on ways to cheapen cow-herd rations as fall and winter approach? After visiting with John Paterson, Montana State University Extension beef specialist, and ranchers from diverse locations, here’s a top-10 list of cost-saving tips adaptable to about any winter grazing situation and geographic location.

FULL STORY

Effects of Foot Rot on Performance of Feedlot Steers

Effects of Foot Rot on Performance of Feedlot Steers

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

Feedlot performance records from the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center for 1993 through 2000 were analyzed to determine the impact of foot rot on avg. daily gain (ADG) and days on feed. The data set included a total of 7,100 steers. Only those steers that had a single foot rot incident and no other maladies were included in the data set.

A total of 459 (6.5%) steers had been treated for a single foot rot incident over the 8-year period. The ADG for cattle not affected by foot rot was 2.87 lb, whereas those that had experienced foot rot had an ADG of 2.80 lb.

FULL STORY

“Next Wave” of Beef Value Cuts to Roll Out in 2008

“Next Wave” of Beef Value Cuts to Roll Out in 2008

Cattle Today

A new line of Beef Value Cuts – this time fabricated from the beef chuck roll – is slated for a 2008 rollout, according to the checkoff-funded Beef Innovations Group (BIG), which is coordinating research and marketing efforts to expand the value cuts program.

BIG expects at least four new cuts from the chuck roll to debut in foodservice and retail channels in 2008. The new cuts include tender steaks for grilling, an affordable elegant roast for dry roasting, boneless country-style ribs and a fully cooked sumptuous roast. The new cuts represent the “next frontier” in the value cuts program that began in the late 1990s with the checkoff’s groundbreaking muscle profiling research. Expanding the value cuts line is among the checkoff-funded tools aimed at reaching the industry’s Long Range Plan goal to increase beef demand another 10 percent by 2010.

FULL STORY

Two-day training for Master Stockmen

Two-day training for Master Stockmen

Delta Farm Press

Cattle producers and horse owners can take part in certified training through the upcoming Master Stockman programs at Mississippi State University in Starkville.

The Mississippi Master Horseman and Mississippi Master Cattle Producer programs will take place Sept. 14-15 at the Mississippi Horse Park, located adjacent to MSU’s South Farm near Starkville. Each program will offer different tracks to accommodate specific interests and experience levels — basic and advanced. The cattle tracks will address cow-calf production and stocker cattle management.

Registration for the program is $150. The fee includes all the educational materials, lunch and a steak supper on Friday. At the conclusion of the program, participants can take tests to become certified as a Master Cattle Producer or Master Horseman. The certification includes a certificate, plaque (for horse participants), metal farm entry sign (for beef participants) and a cap.

FULL STORY

Beef industry needs to do better selling job: Expert

Beef industry needs to do better selling job: Expert

By Jeff DeYoung

Iowa Farmer Today

AMES — When it comes to marketing beef, David Hughes believes it all comes down to dollars and sense.

Hughes, emeritus professor of food marketing at Imperial College in London, said that dynamic creates a dilemma for the beef industry.

 “The most popular meat in the world is pork,” he said at the ProBeef ’07 conference here Sept. 5.

 “Beef is No. 4, so it has a long way to go. You have to ask what do people love, and what are they willing to pay for it?”

Hughes says beef consumption has grown worldwide over the past several years, with China accounting for about 90 percent of that increase.

 “However, pork and poultry continue to out-perform beef when it comes to growth,” he said.

FULL STORY

Digging Up Bones

Digging Up Bones

MFA Health Track Blog

The whole saga that is now continuing between the packers and beef shipments to South Korea, kind of remind me of the digging up bones song from Randy Travis. The current agreement with South Korean allows imports of boneless beef from cattle less than 30 months of age. Meetingplace.com reported today that South Korean officials reported receiving a shipment of beef that contained rib bones. Why can’t the packers or inspectors get it right. I understand the speed with which animals are slaughtered and the carcasses fabricated within the packing houses, but there seems to be a mis-connect somewhere. If you have a defined spec from the customer and you agree to meet that spec, DO IT.

FULL STORY

 

How Do Parasites Damage Cattle?

How Do Parasites Damage Cattle?

Cattlenetwork.com

There are many different types of parasites and they all inflict damage in their own unique way. There are intestinal parasites that “steal” nutrients from their host’s intestinal tract.

There are lungworms that damage the respiratory tract of cattle. Liver flukes damage the liver tissue and gut of cattle and make them susceptible to the fatal bacterial disease known  as Redwater. Another problem liver flukes are associated with is decreased fertility. Studies have shown decreased pregnancy rates in replacement heifers and increased age to puberty in heifers infected with liver flukes.

FULL STORY

Til the Cows Come Home

Til the Cows Come Home

By Dennis Shaughnessey

Lowell Sun (MA)

DRACUT — By her own admission, there’s a lot that Helen Dunlap has to learn about raising cattle.

But that hasn’t stopped her from starting a new venture at Dunlap Farm on Marsh Hill Road. In July, Dunlap purchased two full-grown Lowline Angus cows and two calves from the Dayspring Farm in Rockingham, Vt.

“These are breeding cows,” said Dunlap, a land preservationist and member of the town’s Open Space Committee. “We haven’t worked out a solid marketing plan yet but there are a lot of possibilities. One thing we do know is that we will plan to build up the herd and raise them for beef.”

FULL STORY

Plan not for typical feedlot

Plan not for typical feedlot

By LORI POTTER

 Kearney Hub

KEARNEY — A first step toward construction of a second-of-its-kind-in-Nebraska beef cattle, dairy and energy production business in northeast Buffalo County will be taken next week.

That’s when Ken Woitaszewski of Wood River and his farming brothers-partners, Dennis, Ron and Jerry, will explain their goals for a closed-loop feedlot and dairy to the Buffalo County Planning and Zoning Commission.

The agenda for the commission’s 7 p.m. meeting Sept. 20 at the Buffalo County Extension Building in Kearney includes public hearings for three special-use permits sought by the Woitaszewski brothers for the project three miles east of the Abengoa Bioenergy ethanol plant near Ravenna.

FULL STORY

Local farm shows grazing program

Local farm shows grazing program

Landis gets most out of each acre

BY LAURA SKILLMAN

The Glasgow Daily Times (KY)

With the state in the throes of a severe drought and many of his neighbors already feeding hay, Barren County farmer Jim Landis pauses in nearly foot-tall grass to reflect on a grazing plan he initiated last year.

Landis said he only has 120 acres and getting additional land around him is difficult so he decided to do the best with what he had — get the most out of each acre and utilize it and not waste it.

 “The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture came along with the Master Grazing Program, and my wife (Baker) and I got involved with it, and it’s worked out perfectly for us,” he said.

FULL STORY

Cattle Editorial: Quality & Pounds Not “Either-Or”

Cattle Editorial: Quality & Pounds Not “Either-Or”

Cattlenetwork.com

After visiting with my friend and regular CattleNetwork columnist Nevil Speer, I must agree that the net effect of our cattle marketing system still reflects the average, commodity frame of mind. He agrees that leaves a lot of opportunity for those who can differentiate their product. Let’s look at the details.

Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) would be the first to admit, we wish the economic signals getting through to the cow-calf producer were stronger. With our multiple-owner, segmented industry, too many of the market signals get diluted, misguided, misinterpreted, or just flat out lost. It is horribly frustrating that we know the consumer buys our product and differentiates value on taste (i.e. marbling) yet carcass merit is the last thing a producer gets paid for.

For the cow-calf producer who retains no interest through the feedlot or does not align his marketing to establish a more accurate value for his feeder calves, carcass merit is a far-removed signal at best. Maybe ‘hide color’ is the only signal they hear, and we all know how misleading that signal can be. We also know that our system is driven by weight, and it takes a price increase to offset any decrease in pounds produced.

FULL STORY

Beef industry rejects environmental criticism

Beef industry rejects environmental criticism

CBC News

A new report calling for cuts to meat production and consumption as a way to reduce greenhouse gases does not sit well with Alberta’s beef industry.

The report, published in the British journal the Lancet, suggests the agricultural sector — especially livestock production — is responsible for about 20 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gases.

The report is a concern to Alberta’s beef producers like Cochrane-area rancher Erik Butters, who does not think ranch practices are bad for the environment.

FULL STORY

Mike Johanns: The Senate Frontrunner If He Runs?

Mike Johanns: The Senate Frontrunner If He Runs?

Jordan on Politics-Action 3 news blog

According to Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning if the Republican Primary were held today he’d win.  In a one on one match up with United States Senator Chuck Hagel Bruning’s poll says Bruning’s ahead by at least nine points, 48% to 39%. Bruning says he beats former four term congressman and two term Omaha mayor Hal Daub 55% to 16%.

But Bruning’s poll doesn’t say a thing about MIke Johanns. Images There’s no numbers pitting Bruning against the former two term Governor who left Lincoln to become President Bush’s Secretary of Agriculture.

Johanns isn’t saying a word about coming back and running for the Senate, but if he does he’d be backed by Republican Governor Dave Heineman (who was Johanns’ Lt. Governor) and Hagel. At first glance a Johanns Senate win looks easy. When Johanns left Nebraska he said the top farm job was his “dream job.”  But that dream job is up in less than two years. Secretary of Agriculture should go a long way in Nebraska.

FULL STORY

USDA to issue rule on older Canada beef Friday

USDA to issue rule on older Canada beef Friday

Reuters

The U.S. Agriculture Department will issue a final rule on Friday that would allow imports of older Canadian cattle and meat from them that had been restricted due to concerns of mad cow disease.

“This rule is in accordance with international standards for countries that present a minimal risk of introducing bovine spongiform encephalopathy,” USDA said.

Currently, Canadian ranchers and feeders can send cattle under 30 months of age to the United States for slaughter, and imports of beef from younger cattle are allowed.

USDA unveiled a proposal in January to allow imports of Canadian cattle born on or after March 1, 1999, and meat from older animals.

FULL STORY

Brazil beef industry growing

Brazil beef industry growing

By Jeff DeYoung

Iowa Farmer Today

AMES — Brazil’s beef industry should continue to grow over the coming years, says a Brazilian consultant.

Miguel da Rocha Cavalcanti, a consultant with Agripoint Consulting in Sao Paulo, says the Brazilian herd has grown more than 21 percent in the last six years. He made his comments at the ProBeef ’07 conference held here Sept. 5.

 “Our cattle industry is pasture-based, and over the past 10 to 15 years, we have made enough improvements in genetics, nutrition and pasture irrigation to build our herd,” Cavalcanti says. “Over the same time, beef production is up 55 percent as we have increased our productivity.”

He added beef exports out of Brazil have increased 176 percent over the past six years. Cavalcanti believes the Brazilian beef industry has many opportunities for continued growth.

 “We are seeing world economic growth, with an increase in per capita income,” he says.

FULL STORY

Stocker Cattle: Use The 80-20 Rule

Stocker Cattle: Use The 80-20 Rule

Cattlenetwork.com

Finally, while it seems obvious, spend your resources gathering information that has the most value to buyers. More specifically, producers who are in the market only sporadically can easily make wrong assumptions about what buyers are willing to pay for.

As an example, the University of Arkansas (UA) conducted a study released in 2002 aimed at determining what value components buyers were paying for at auction. The UA study included 17 weekly auction sales in the state across the entire year of 2000—some 533,283 feeder cattle and calves sold. Of these, researchers randomly chose about 15% of the population or 81,703 head to evaluate. The mean selling price of calves was $90.93/cwt, and the mean selling price of feeder cattle (yearlings) was $85.58/cwt. As might be suspected, health led the way of buyer interest. Visually appraised cattle health was worth as much as approximately $25/cwt. more.

FULL STORY

Boot Camp Planned for Pennsylvania and Kentucky

Boot Camp Planned for Pennsylvania and Kentucky

Cattle Today

The American Angus Association^SM and Angus Foundation will conduct two Cattlemen’s Boot Camps this fall. More are planned for winter and spring. The Boot Camps will be hosted by the University of Kentucky in Lexington, and Pennsylvania State University, State College.

Boot Camps are two-day educational programs open to all cattle producers and cover all aspects of the beef industry from basic production practices to the end product. All participants must pre-register by the set deadline, and a minimal fee of $75 is charged to offset meals and materials.

 “The American Angus Association and Angus Foundation appreciate the opportunity to partner with the universities to educate beef producers across the country,” says Jim Shirley, vice president of industry relations for the Association. “The Boot Camps offer an intense overview of beef production in a short amount of time.”

FULL STORY