BeefTalk: Three Pedals, But Only Two Feet

BeefTalk: Three Pedals, But Only Two Feet

Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service

The challenge is allocating time to learn how to utilize the magnificent technology at our fingertips.

Mistakes happen, but life goes on!

That is the stark reality when one has no way of immediately changing the previous action. It could be simple, such as locking the car door with the keys inside or accidentally giving someone the wrong phone number.

Full Story

Rules of Thumb for Winter Cow Rations

Rules of Thumb for Winter Cow Rations

Jason K. Ahola, Ph.D.

American Cowman

Considerations for feeding cows a least-cost ration in a new era of high forage prices

Without question, feed costs across the entire beef industry have increased substantially over the past 18 months. However, the rise in forage prices during 2007 has contributed to a dramatic increase in winter cow feeding costs.

Full Story

Obama Wins Election; How Will He Lead?

Obama Wins Election; How Will He Lead?

Joe Roybal

Beef Magazine

Like the final scene from a Rocky movie where the two slogging combatants stand battered and exhausted as one teeters toward the canvas, the 2008 presidential election has finally and mercifully drawn to a close. Congratulations are in order to Democrat Barack Obama for his historic achievement.

Full Story

What New Faces in Washington Will Mean for US Ag Policy

What New Faces in Washington Will Mean for US Ag Policy

Gary Truitt

Hoosier AG Today

There is a lot of speculation on who will be the next Secretary of Agriculture and of the Environmental Protection Agency. But Mary Kay Thatcher with the American Farm Bureau Federation in Washington says other appointments are more important to future ag policy then who heads the USDA.

Full Story

Graze to Keep Grass Healthy

Graze to Keep Grass Healthy

Dr. Bruce Anderson, Professor of Agronomy, Agronomy & Horticulture, University of Nebraska

One way to reduce weeds in a pasture is to graze hard enough so cattle will eat them since there is nothing else to eat. While many weeds can provide satisfactory protein and energy for cattle when eaten, controlling weeds with heavy grazing pressure might not be healthy for the pasture.

Full Story

Mobile meat processing units for beef

Mobile meat processing units for beef

Cattle Business Weekly

Consolidation in the meat processing industry has resulted in fewer locations where animals can be processed under USDA inspection. This comes at an inopportune time as more and more consumers are demanding their beef be locally grown – making a need for slaughter houses by small farmers.

Full Story

Q&A How much distillers grains can be put in 32% cattle cake? I have heard too much is not good.

Q&A   How much distillers grains can be put in 32% cattle cake? I have heard too much is not good.

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

Distillers is tough to cube by itself because of the fat content. We have designed a cube that is 25% Crude Protein that contains about 2/3 distillers grains.

Full Story

Minnesota Cattle Feeder Days

Minnesota Cattle Feeder Days

cattlenetwork.com

The University of Minnesota Beef Team is proud to announce this year’s Minnesota Cattle Feeder Days to be held December 9-11.  This year’s program will focus on strategies to assist feedlot producers in discovering and developing new profit sources for their operations.

Full Story

2008 Wyoming AgXp, Nov. 20-23

2008 Wyoming AgXp, Nov. 20-23

Cattle Business Weekly

The 2008 Wyoming AgXpo, formerly held in Douglas, moves this year to the Central Wyoming Fairgrounds Arena in Casper.

Full Story

AGAINST THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

AGAINST THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

Ezra Klein

The American Prospect

Editor’s note: Stories of this ilk are included in the blog to inform those in our industry how agriculture is being presented to, and perceived by the public.

I e-mailed Michael Pollan to get his reaction to the trial balloon floating Iowa’s Tom Vilsack for agricultural secretary. He responded:

    Vilsack would be pretty much business as usual, and a disappointment to all the people seeking reform of the food system. From what I’ve been able to find out, he has not shown much inclination to challenge agribusiness. It could be worse, though– Collin Peterson has also been on the short list. But as important as USDA is, we also need someone in the White House, a food policy advisor, to help coordinate policy across the Cabinet departments, so that health impacts are considered when write USDA rules, or food safety when writing trade rules, or climate change impacts when drawing the farm bill, etc etc. You need someone who can connect the dots between agriculture and health and energy and climate– as Obama himself clearly is inclined to do. That won’t happen at any one department.

Full Story

Cattleman honored for recruiting new NCBA members

Cattleman honored for recruiting new NCBA members

Tom Wray

National Provisioner

Tracy Brunner of Ramona, Kan., has been given the 2008 Top Hand Award from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) for recruiting the most new members during 2008, the group said.

Full Story

Cattle Producers and OCM file suit against JBS merger

Cattle Producers and OCM file suit against JBS merger

North Texas E-News

R-CALF USA, along with the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM), today jointly filed litigation in the U.S. District Court – Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, against the proposed acquisition of National Beef Packing Co. (National Beef) by Brazilian-owned meatpacker JBS, already the world’s largest meatpacker. The U.S. Department of Justice – along with a total of 17 state attorneys general – also filed litigation against JBS in this matter.

Full Story

Local beef producers worry about Brazilian buyout plan

Local beef producers worry about Brazilian buyout plan

Cornelia de Bruin

The Farmington Daily Times

San Juan County beef producer Paul Bandy applauds New Mexico Attorney General Gary King’s decision to join an antitrust lawsuit against the world’s largest beef packer.

“To have free trade, you have to have competition,” Bandy said. “The result would be that they would make more money and we would make less.”

Full Story

International Livestock Congress 2009 speakers, agenda

International Livestock Congress 2009 speakers, agenda

Cattle Business Weekly

The 2009 International Livestock Congress-USA (ILC-USA) will be held January 13 in Denver, Colo. The program, “Global Beef – Meating the Demand” will provide beef producers, packers, retailers, students and other industry leaders perspective on how the world’s largest retailers are meeting the protein demands of their consumers and, in turn, what those retailers are demanding of the suppliers of protein.

Full Story

Virginia beef symposium planned

Virginia beef symposium planned

Betty Coleman

Staunton News Leader

The symposium, designed for beef producers and beef industry leaders, will allow participants to gain perspective on current and future issues facing the industry. Guest speakers who are nationally recognized leaders in the beef industry will talk about the status of the industry’s markets, legislation, genetics and family farm sustainability.

Full Story