BeefTalk: Pregnancy Check – Better to be Surprised Now Than at Calving

BeefTalk: Pregnancy Check – Better to be Surprised Now Than at Calving

Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service

Not a Great Day! Not a Great Day!

Keep an eye on what’s going on around you and never assume things were done or done right.

Fall means gathering the cattle and assessing the summer grazing season. If not already done, calf vaccinations should be completed in preparation for weaning and marketing.

Some areas already may have weaned because pastures are short. Others will be letting cows and calves stay a little longer to take advantage of the extra growth because of good rains. Nobody ever said life is fair.

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Carcass Ultrasound 101: Becoming A Carcass Ultrasound Technician

Carcass Ultrasound 101: Becoming A Carcass Ultrasound Technician

Patrick Wall, Director of Communications, The National CUP Lab

American Chianina Journal

The telephone at The National CUP Lab rings often in the spring of each year, but as the bull & female sale  season winds down, the clients’ questions begin to change from barnsheets, images and data processing to  “How do I become a field technician?” Despite the rapid growth of available scanning technicians in the last five  years, there are still parts of the country that thirst for someone to scan their cattle. Seeing an opportunity, a  number of creative cattlemen have filled the void in their area by becoming a certified technician. On the surface,  getting into the ultrasound scanning business seems quite simple: learn the science, buy equipment, find cattle  and scan ‘em. However, there is a lot more involved in building a successful business in the carcass ultrasound  industry. Passing the initial certification exam is just one step; mastering the craft of carcass ultrasound takes  diligence and literally thousands of head of practice.

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The Herd That Feedback Built

The Herd That Feedback Built

Larry Stalcup

Angus Journal

Seventeen years of feeding at Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) feedlots has helped a Texas producer build a solid foundation. He figures selection for a high-quality carcass leads to a high-quality herd.

Michael Klein operates Windy Bar Ranch, an Angus seedstock operation near Stonewall, west of Austin, Texas. Every year he castrates up to half of his bulls and sends them to the feedyard, along with a number of heifers. The feedlot performance and harvest data help guide his herd management.

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Q&A Can you explain the numbers that people use to indicate the kind of cattle they want when they place an order with an order buyer? For example….someone might order #1 black and whites or #1, 1/8 ear exotics. The ” #1″ part of that order is what I would like explained. Also, are there any websites you know of that I could go to to see examples?

Q&A   Can you explain the numbers that people use to indicate the kind of cattle they want when they place an order with an order buyer? For example….someone might order #1 black and whites or #1, 1/8 ear exotics. The ” #1″ part of that order is what I would like explained. Also, are there any websites you know of that I could go to to see examples?

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

Black and white denote hair color. The other numbers are part of a Feeder Grade system that describes the cattle in regard to skeletal size (frame size), muscling, and thirftiness.

Frame size is used because frame is an inherited characteristic that is not greatly affected by normal management practices. Frame size relates to height but also to the weight at which an animal will produce a carcass of a given grade. Larger framed cattle typically reach equal fat thickness at heavier weights than smaller framed cattle.

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Implant Strategies for Grid Marketed Cattle

Implant Strategies for Grid Marketed Cattle

Court Campbell, Ph.D., Fort Dodge Animal Health

University of Minnesota

INTRODUCTION

With the introduction of grids back a few years ago, the job description of the feed yard manager/owner changed. For sure, the duties and responsibilities didn’t decline. Along with the duties and responsibilities you had back in the 80’s and early 90’s, you were also given the task of maximizing cattle profitability based on what you thought a set of cattle looked like under the hide.

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Quality over quantity

Quality over quantity

Cattle Business Weekly

John David is not big on words, just results. Those can speak volumes. That low key, high achievement approach also resulted in the David Ranch feedlot winning a national honor from Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB).

The Lenora, Kan., operation was recognized at the CAB Annual Conference in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Sept. 15, with a 2008 Quality Focus Award, for less than 15,000-head feedlots.

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Camp Cooley Announces Final Dispersal

Camp Cooley Announces Final Dispersal

Cattle Today

Klaus Birkel announced today the final and complete dispersal of the Camp Cooley Ranch registered cow herd. This herd, unmatched in the industry, is the culmination of 15 years of unparalleled breeding and management practices with a continual quest to stay on the leading edge of the genetic curve.

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BEEF 20/20 at South Dakota State University

BEEF 20/20 at South Dakota State University

BEEF Magazine

BEEF 20/20, an intensive workshop for producers and people in the livestock industry, will be held Jan. 6-8, 2009, in Brookings, S.D.

Interactive demonstrations on live market cattle evaluation and beef carcass grading and pricing are a part of the BEEF 20/20 workshop, which starts at 2:30 p.m. Jan. 6 and ends at noon on Jan. 8 in Brookings, S.D. Attendants will learn about other topics including feeding and management strategies to improve carcass quality, genetic prediction of carcass merit and marketing the calf crop.

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Dublin man is Virginia Farmer of the Year

Dublin man is Virginia Farmer of the Year

The Southwest Times

Virginia Cooperative Extension has selected Tim Sutphin of Dublin as the Virginia Farmer of the Year, an award that applauds individual contributions to the commonwealth’s agricultural industry.

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Life is Simple

Life is Simple

Jerry Crownover

Ozark County Times

I’ve been judging cattle shows for a little more than 30 years now, and I always come away impressed with the quality of young people I get to meet at these events. The devotion of these kids to the care of their animals should touch anyone that watches, but some of the things they do and say to the judge are just downright comical.

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Beef Battalion supports troops, serves steaks

Beef Battalion supports troops, serves steaks

Cattle Business Weekly

Bill Broadie, Senior Vice Chairman of the All American Beef Battalion (AABB) still remembers the day he returned home from the Vietnam War.

“I will never forget the plane ride home with all of the other wounded soldiers,” recalled Vietnam veteran and cattlemen, Bill Broadie. “I served with the U.S. Marines from 1966 to 1968, and I remember coming home from the war to a country that was violently opposed to the war effort and the troops that dedicated their lives to their country.”

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Oklahoma Steer Feedout Evaluates Genetic Merit

Oklahoma Steer Feedout Evaluates Genetic Merit

cattlenetwork.com

Cattle producers looking for a feedback program that allows for the opportunity to evaluate the genetic merit of the calves they produce for feedlot performance and carcass merit should look into the 2008-2009 OK Steer Feedout.

“The OK Steer Feedout is a vehicle for cattle producers to evaluate the genetic merit of their calves,” said Kent Barnes, Northeast District area livestock specialist. “Producers are commended for their efforts to discover the feedlot performance and carcass merit of the cattle they produce. We celebrate the educational value of this information feedback program and look forward to serving cattlemen for many years to come.”

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Cow, Calf Production Costs On The Rise

Cow, Calf Production Costs On The Rise

Sullivan County News

With the rising costs of pasture, feed and fuel, production costs in the beef industry are well above previous years.

“Total cow/calf operating costs are expected to be more than $800 per cow this year, an increase greater than 25 percent since 2005,” said a University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist.

While costs have increased, calf prices have declined since a peak in 2005, said David Hoffman.

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Testing Forages for Quality Can Save Dollars and Makes Cents When Designing Feeding Programs for the Herd

Testing Forages for Quality Can Save Dollars and Makes Cents When Designing Feeding Programs for the Herd

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

Introduction

As producers strive to reduce feed costs by investigating avenues to increase grazing days, many still have to use harvested forages in their year-round feeding program. Sampling and testing forages for quality can make designing a feeding program easy and economical. Nutrient concentration can vary considerably in feeds, especially forages. Protein in alfalfa hay can range from 10 to 25 percent of the dry matter and grass hay will contain between four and 18 percent protein.

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Commitment to Supplying McDonalds

Commitment to Supplying McDonalds

Red Orbit

It’s quality that’s important, according to Devon beef farmer Jeffrey Dunn.

“A good animal that is well looked after will reach maturity more quickly and yield better returns in the long run. It’s crucial not to cut corners,” he insists.

You might expect a farmer with such a strong line on quality to be selling produce to local farm shops, or perhaps to the likes of M&S and Waitrose, but Mr Dunn is one of 16,500 British and Irish farmers supplying McDonald’s.

In fact, the fast food chain spent pounds460 million on UK produce last year – including pounds5.5 million on beef from the South West.

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