Low Cost Heifer Development Strategies

Low Cost Heifer Development Strategies

Rick Funston, Beef Specialist, University of Nebraska West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte, NE

Substantial research has been conducted contributing to the traditional guidelines of developing heifers to 60 to 65% of mature body weight at time of breeding. In general, studies evaluating different postweaning rates of gain or target weights have used either different amounts of feed, or different types of feeds varying in energy and/or protein content to obtain differences in rates of growth.

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A Decisive Moment In The Election?

A Decisive Moment In The Election?

Troy Marshall

Beef Magazine

Things certainly look bleak for the McCain/Palin ticket right now. The latest polls have Obama gaining significant momentum. In fact, the latest CBS News poll has Barack Obama with a nine-point advantage. Just two weeks ago, these very same polls showed McCain with all the momentum and leading in the key toss-up states, but things have changed dramatically.

According to the polls, if the election were held today, Obama would enjoy a significant victory in the Electoral College. Certainly, there’s nearly five weeks to go until the upcoming election and there is ample time for voter sentiment to change yet again.

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US Hay Supplies Are Up, but More is Needed

US Hay Supplies Are Up, but More is Needed

Thebeefsite.com

Even though the majority of the state is in the midst of a drought, hay supplies are up from last year. However, some livestock producers will still need to find an additional hay source to get through the winter, said Tom Keene, hay marketing specialist with the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.

“Overall, we are in decent to fair shape on cattle hay going into the winter,” he said. “Producers who use high quality hay to feed dairy cattle and horses will likely need to import additional quantities this year to have a sufficient supply.”

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Have you adapted to these megatrends?

Have you adapted to these megatrends?

Kindra Gordon

The Cattle Business Weekly

Colorado beef producer and industry commentator Troy Marshall calls the current state of the industry “interesting times,” and says, “Our industry truly has changed dramatically.”

He cites statistics like the fact that JBS Swift, which didn’t exist a year ago, is now our largest beef packer. As well, in the last 15 years, 240,000 cattle producers have exited the business

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Little-known E. coli strain starts gaining notoriety

Little-known E. coli strain starts gaining notoriety

JULIE SCHMIT

Daily record.com/USA TODAY

Braylee Beaver, 20 months old, is back to her playful self after a 12-day hospital stay in which she received dialysis treatment and was stuck with so many needles she thought she was being punished, says her father.

Beaver was allegedly sickened by an E. coli bacteria but not E. coli O157:H7, the type that most consumers are aware of. That bacteria drove the recall of almost 30 million pounds of meat last year and was blamed for an outbreak involving fresh spinach in 2006 in which five died.

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Minnesota beef researchers make pasture season longer

Minnesota beef researchers make pasture season longer

Ryon Walker

University of Minnesota Extension

Tri State Neighbor

The livestock industry has been faced with many challenges over the last several years.

Production costs increased 25 percent for the cow/calf producer and 56 percent for the cow/calf through the feedlot phase since 2005. These higher production costs are directly due to high feed, fuel and fertilizer prices.

With this rise in production cost, forages have become a more valuable commodity. Researchers at the University of Minnesota North Central Research and Outreach Center in Grand Rapids, Minn., have been looking at ways to extend the grazing season so that cattle spend fewer months on feed in the winter.

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Canadian COOL response

Canadian COOL response

KRVN

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) and the Canadian Pork Council (CPC) officially submitted joint comments, to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), claiming Country-of-Origin Labelling (COOL) legislation discriminates against Canada’s 100,000 livestock producers.

COOL will squeeze more dollars out of Canada’s 90,000 beef cattle producers and 9,000 hog producers say the two groups, whose comments were echoed by the National Cattle Feeders’ Association (NCFA), representing Canada’s provincial cattle feeder organizations.

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Ethanol mandate divides Mo. corn, livestock producers

Ethanol mandate divides Mo. corn, livestock producers

CHRIS BLANK

Southeast Missourian

A newly implemented ethanol mandate coupled with rising livestock feed prices is dividing Missouri’s farmers.

It pits corn farmers, who are getting record prices for their grain, against livestock producers, who are struggling to feed their herds.

At the center has been a law that, starting this year, requires most Missouri gasoline to be blended with 10 percent ethanol if the biofuel is cheaper than regular gas.

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BEEF 2020 workshop is Jan. 6-8, 2009 in Brookings

BEEF 2020 workshop is Jan. 6-8, 2009 in Brookings

Tri state neighbor

BEEF 2020, an intensive educational workshop for producers and people in the beef industry, will be held Jan. 6-8, 2009, in Brookings, S.D.

The workshop starts at 2:30 p.m. Jan. 6 and ends at noon on Jan. 8. The deadline to register is Dec. 1, and the cost is $50.

The first 15 participants to register will receive a $50 Beef Bucks, Inc., scholarship. The workshop is limited to 30 participants.

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Nebraska Youth Symposium scheduled

Nebraska Youth Symposium scheduled

KRVN

The sixth annual Nebraska Youth Beef Leadership Symposium Nov. 15-17 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will introduce Nebraska high school students to beef industry careers, current issues and an opportunity to use their leadership skills in product development activity.

In addition, six $500 scholarships for UNL’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources will be presented.

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Global Beef Trade: Effects of Animal Health, Sanitary, Food Safety, and Other Measures on U.S. Beef Exports

Global Beef Trade: Effects of Animal Health, Sanitary, Food Safety, and Other Measures on U.S. Beef Exports

Source: U.S. International Trade Commission

Docuticker

    U.S. beef processors and beef cattle ranchers lose billions of dollars in export opportunities each year because of animal health and food safety measures in other countries that are inconsistent with international standards and vary by country, reports the U.S. International Trade Commission in its report Global Beef Trade: Effects of Animal Health, Sanitary, Food Safety, and Other Measures on U.S. Beef Exports.

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The business of beef

The business of beef

Sharon Letts

The Times-Standard

What makes a happy cow?

Grass and grazing to the end of their days, says Sarah Mora, a fifth-generation cattle rancher and the sales and marketing representative for her family’s beef business, Humboldt Grassfed Beef.

”The main difference between grain-fed and grass-finished beef comes during the last stage of production,” she said. “Grass-finished beef cattle remain on a pasture-and-forage diet for their entire lives and are finished to their market weight on grass. While our cattle have always been raised on a pasture diet, we began finishing cattle on grass in 1998 when we began selling meat to the North Coast Co-op.”

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Farm Receives Seal for High-Welfare Animal Husbandry

Farm Receives Seal for High-Welfare Animal Husbandry

Voices

The Stuart Family Farm was recently awarded the Animal Welfare Approved seal for high-welfare animal husbandry.

Animal Welfare Approved is a free accreditation program granted to family farmers who adhere to the high animal welfare husbandry standards outlined by the non-profit program.

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Hereford Champions Showcased At Keystone

Hereford Champions Showcased At Keystone

cattlenetwork.com

The Hereford breed showcased the most entries of any breed at the 2008 Keystone International Livestock Exposition (KILE) in Harrisburg, Pa. Marty Lueck, Mountain, Grove, Mo., judged the 164-head show and commended exhibitors for bringing out a quality set of bulls and females to compete at the first national show of the 2008 fall show season.

The winners in the spring yearling division dominated the female show and went on to earn grand and reserve overall honors. Purple Hennessey 44T ET, by BR DM Channing ET, exhibited by Karey Howes, Taneytown, Md., was selected grand champion and won the bronze trophy. Cory Krietz, Frederick, Md., with Showtime Ramseys Destiny 720 by LaGrand Reload 80P ET claimed reserve accolades.

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Bull Test Open House Set in Spring Hill

Bull Test Open House Set in Spring Hill

Gilesnews.us

The University of Tennessee Central Bull Test Station is hosting its annual Bull Test Open House Tuesday, Oct. 28, at the Middle Tennessee Research and Education Center in Spring Hill. The event offers cattlemen and others in the cattle industry an opportunity to learn about a number of hot topics in beef cattle production.

A panel of experts will present the latest research findings in topics such as genetics, herd management, and adding value to beef cattle. In addition to the educational sessions, attendees will also have the chance to observe almost 200 performance-tested bulls.

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