Ask the Vet: Bull Soundness

Ask the Vet: Bull Soundness

Dr. Ken McMillan.

Progressive Farmer

The risk of not doing a Breeding Soundness Evaluation (BSE) is too big a gamble. A BSE does not measure libido, so you must be sure the bull is interested in breeding cows. Certain problems with a bull’s penis do not show up during a BSE so you must be sure he can breed cows.

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Considerations For 2008 Taxes

Considerations For 2008 Taxes

Southernlivestock.com

This year farmers have more alternatives to consider with respect to cost recovery or depreciation on assets that they placed in service during 2008, said a Purdue University tax law specialist.

“Congress wanted to stimulate the economy, so they made two changes that apply to 2008,” said George Patrick. “Both of these essentially give you more of your purchase price back in the year that it was placed in service.”

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Q&A: I recently bought seven older bred cows, 8-10 yrs old, that are a bit on the thin side. What is the best way to get them back in good condition before the March calving season?

Q&A:   I recently bought seven older bred cows, 8-10 yrs old, that are a bit on the thin side. What is the best way to get them back in good condition before the March calving season?

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

A:   If you have corn stalk residue available that has some down ear corn, this would one of the cheapest opportunities to get condition back on thin cows before calving in March. If there is not some ear drop in the stalk field, consider supplementing the thin cows with some distillers grains, gluten feed, or alfalfa.

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Who is Tom Vilsack?

Who is Tom Vilsack?

Next Secretary of Ag a corn pusher

Cattle Business Weekly

President-elect Barack Obama’s selection of former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack as the new Secretary of Agriculture is being widely accepted by agricultural, conservation and environmental communities alike.

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Santa Finds it hard to be jolly in a Modern World

Santa Finds it hard to be jolly in a Modern World

Gary Truitt

Hoosier AG Today

“Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” Clement Clark Moore would have found it impossible to write his classic “A Visit from St. Nicholas” poem today. Government regulations, social activists, and political correctness would have kept that “jolly old elf” from making his annual trip. I originally wrote this column for Christmas 2002, but in the last few years there have been many new developments that I felt the need to update my list of Christmas gifts that are not acceptable for the politically, environmentally, and humanely correct person.

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Nebraska Cattlemen Approves Policies, Select Leaders

Nebraska Cattlemen Approves Policies, Select Leaders

KNEB

Despite the Economy, the discussions, crowd and weather were all good for the NC Convention and Trade Show in Kearney. NC membership conducted the association’s business with over 500 attendees participating.

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Amen Departs Whole Foods to Join NCBA’s Western Channel Marketing Team

Amen Departs Whole Foods to Join NCBA’s Western Channel Marketing Team

THR.com

Trevor Amen, former market analyst in the national meat purchasing office of Whole Foods Market, joined the Beef Checkoff-funded National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) channel marketing team.

Before Whole Foods, Amen began his career with Safeway Inc., as a marketing trainee, and quickly moved into the position of national commodity specialist, spending two years as a buyer at the supermarket chain.

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At Issue: CAFOs: Misinformation hurt small farmer

At Issue: CAFOs: Misinformation hurt small farmer

Charles E. Kruse

News-Leader

(Recently) a circuit court judge issued an amended ruling that prohibits a farm family from expanding its hog operation at a new site within two miles of the Village of Arrow Rock. The ruling cites allegations made by plaintiffs as findings of fact showing that “factory farms” pose a threat to the state park and historic sites at Arrow Rock, the effects of the proposed hog operation on “air and water quality will be detrimental” to the town, and “airborne pollutants” generated by the farm “will destroy and decimate” Arrow Rock and surrounding historic sites.

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The All American Beef Battalion provides steaks for troops

The All American Beef Battalion provides steaks for troops

Blue Star Chronicles

Bill Broadie loves the cattle industry and the American Armed Services. Back in 2006 he got upset at the constant negative media coverage of our military. It was then that he decided to combine the two things he loved. That’s when he started the All American Beef Battalion.

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How Does Feeding The Cow Affect The Immune System Of The Calf?

How Does Feeding The Cow Affect The Immune System Of The Calf?

cattlenetwork.com

The immune system of the calf is developing during the time the cow is pregnant. Rapid development of the immune system begins about day 120 of gestation and continues until the calf is born. One of the most important nutrients for the development of the immune system is protein—all the various amino acids that are the building blocks of the enzymes, antibodies, and other functional proteins that make it possible for the immune system to work. So if the cow is short on protein in her diet, the immune system of the calf will not develop normally.

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Two years to recovery?

Two years to recovery?

The Cattle Business Weekly

“The eye of a massive storm” is how Jeffrey Garten characterizes the current global financial crisis. Garten is a Professor of International Trade, Finance and Business in the Yale School of Management and chairman of Garten Rothkopf, an international advisory firm.

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Nature’s Bounty: Back-to-Basic Beef

Nature’s Bounty: Back-to-Basic Beef

Daniel A. Marano

Psychology Today

Ask not what there is to eat for dinner—but what your dinner ate for dinner.

Beef, it’s what’s for dinner, has long been the motto of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. But if you eat meat, what matters more is, what did your beef have for dinner?

At local farmers’ markets all over the country and on their own Web sites, a growing number of small-scale, independent ranchers are offering pasture-raised beef directly to increasingly nutrition- and taste-conscious consumers. Propagating a literal grass-roots movement around healthier meat and more sustainable environmental practices, some beef ranchers even refer to themselves as “grass farmers,” since the quality and upkeep of pasture plays a critical role in the health of the herd and the flavor and nutrition of the meat they sell.

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KLA: EPA Rule Forces CAFOS To Report Emissions

KLA: EPA Rule Forces CAFOS To Report Emissions

cattlenetwork.com

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a final rule last week requiring large confined animal feeding operations (CAFO) to report air emissions of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide to state and local emergency responders. NCBA expressed disappointment with the agency’s decision to bow to pressure from environmental activists on this issue.

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Charolais Viewpoint: Let’s Prove What We Think We Know

Charolais Viewpoint: Let’s Prove What We Think We Know

cattlenetwork.com

Ask just about any commercial beef producer or feedlot owner to name the unsung hero in any feedlot in America and the likely answer will be a “dark-nosed smokey” or a Charolais-influenced calf. We’ve known for years, albeit anecdotally, Charolais and Charolais-influenced cattle have been some of the most profitable in the feedyard and at the packer level. Yet, we have very little data to prove what we think we know. Well, that’s about to change.

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Davidson completes cattle series in Nebraska

Davidson completes cattle series in Nebraska

Wilson County News

Dr. John Davidson of Texas A&M University is one of a distinguished group of veterinarians who have participated in the Beef Cattle Production Management Series, held at the University of Nebraska Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center near Clay Center, Neb.

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