Practical Uses for Ultrasound in Managing Beef Cow Reproduction

Practical Uses for Ultrasound in Managing Beef Cow Reproduction

G. Cliff Lamb and John Arthington

University of Florida

Ultrasound has been utilized as a tool in beef and dairy research systems for many years, and in more recent years has become available to commercial livestock agriculture. An ultrasound is an electronic instrument that sends out ultrasonic sound waves from an attached device called a transducer. The waves pass freely through fluid and are reflected back to the probe once they contact a soft tissue like muscle or a dense structure like bone, resulting in an image which can be identified as the placenta, fetus, or other organs. Although ultrasound technology may be used for various functions, this article will focus only on the reproductive aspect of ultrasound.

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Calf Scour Management

Calf Scour Management

Ropin’ the Web

Calf scours can cause a large financial loss to cow-calf producers. With scours, the intestine fails to absorb fluids and/or secretion, and the material is passed into the small and large intestines. These higher fluid levels in the manure result in a watery discharge. Death loss can be upwards of 50% or more in severe episodes. Scours is actually just the symptom of a disease that can be caused by many different bacteria and viruses. Many of the losses caused by scours can be prevented through good management practices.

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Grass Tetany in Cattle

Grass Tetany in Cattle

Y.C. Newman, M.J. Hersom, C. G. Chambliss and W. E. Kunkle

University of Florida

Grass tetany, sometimes called grass staggers or hypomagnesemia, can be a serious problem in Florida with cattle grazing small grain or ryegrass pastures. The problem is usually confined to lactating cows. It is always associated with an imbalance in the mineral components of blood serum, especially reduced magnesium levels. In Florida, grass tetany is more severe when cattle are grazing young forage, particularly the first flush of growth during December and January. Once the forage becomes more mature, the likelihood of problems is reduced. Grass tetany is apt to appear under conditions of nutritional stress. Placing cattle on winter pasture directly after being on frosted or other low quality pasture may cause such a nutritional stress.

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New Tools For Assessing Pain

New Tools For Assessing Pain

Geni Wren

Bovine Veterinarian

Pain can be a difficult thing to quantify. In humans, it’s common to use the Universal Pain Assessment Tool which is a 1–10 scale patients can use to verbalize their pain level. In non-communicative patients, the Wong-Baker facial grimace scale also helps caregivers assess pain on the same 1–10 scale

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Care for Bulls During Off Season to Improve Breeding

Care for Bulls During Off Season to Improve Breeding

Heather Smith Thomas

Cattle Today

Your calf crop depends on the bulls you put with your cows. Bulls are half the equation, regarding genetic quality and how early in the calving season your calves are born. If bulls are not optimally fertile you may end up with a higher percent of later calves. The care and management of bulls during their off season—when they are not out with the cows—can make a big difference in whether or not they can do their job.

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Joint symposium for beef, dairy and forage industries

Joint symposium for beef, dairy and forage industries

Elizabeth Fritz

Rushville Republican

The beef, dairy and forage industries will unite at the Indiana Cattle and Forage Symposium Feb. 27 and 28 at the Hilton North in Indianapolis.

“The multi-sponsorship permits acquiring speakers of joint interest and is more cost effective for vendors to participate at one event rather than several smaller events,” Keith Johnson, Purdue Extension forage specialist said.

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Cattle rendering firms gear up for new FDA rule

Cattle rendering firms gear up for new FDA rule

 KSAX

Cattle rendering businesses in southwestern Minnesota are getting ready for a new Food and Drug Administration rule aimed at preventing mad cow disease from reaching the food supply.

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Brownfield Network

Brownfield Network

The JBS pull-out of the National Beef acquisition has no impact on its existing beef operations in Greeley, Colorado, or anywhere else in the U.S. for that matter, according to Wesley Batista, the company’s North America CEO.

“We have been hiring more people here in Greeley; we have expanded our business in Greeley,” said Batista in an interview with a farm broadcaster. “We are building our new trucking business here [in Greeley], we are hiring more people, and at the Greeley plant we are running two shifts and we’ll continue running these two shifts.”

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Cattle Fencing Ruling Comes Tomorrow

Cattle Fencing Ruling Comes Tomorrow

Lindsay Watts

Yakima County may close off thousands of acres of open cattle range land. The decision will affect about 80,000 acres of land near Mabton. Some residents say roaming cattle are destroying property, eating crops and blocking roadways. Tomorrow the county commissioners will decide whether the land should be “stock-restricted,” meaning cattle producers would have to build fences to keep cows on their own property. Cattlemen and herders say it’s an unnecessary regulation that would be a hindrance to the beef industry.

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Hope for Struggling Cattle Farmers

Hope for Struggling Cattle Farmers

Holly Deasy

WBBJ

Almost all sectors of the financial markets are suffering during the current economic downturn.  One Industry ion particular as been especially hard hit.  For West Tennessee cattle farmers, their livelihood depends on getting the best price for their herds when it comes time to sell.  Mike Murphy, a risk management specialist with Cattle Fax was the guest speaker at the Madison County 16th annual Beef School.

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Ranchers hoping for more enforcement of COOL

Ranchers hoping for more enforcement of COOL

Matt Hunter

KOTA

The law went into effect in October to protect the interest of American ranchers and to give consumers more clarity, but so far ranchers say country-of-origin labeling isn’t being enforced.

“All I really want to see with this issue is when we go to a grocery store and look at the meat counter, that you know where that meat came from,” said Jim Baker, a cattle rancher from Hermosa.

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From butcher shop, Brazil JBS becomes beef giant

From butcher shop, Brazil JBS becomes beef giant

Inae Riveras

Reuters

At the tender age of 18, when other teenagers dream about getting a car, Wesley Batista was handed a meat-packing plant to manage.

Some 20 years later, the 38-year-old Brazilian runs the U.S. operations of the world’s largest beef producer, Brazil’s JBS (JBSS3.SA) beef group.

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Early Weaning During A Drought Situation

Early Weaning During A Drought Situation

cattlenetwork.com

Weaning weights are almost always negatively affected during a drought situation. Producers can either sell calves at younger ages, wean and feed calves separately from cows, or supplement the cow herd with stored or purchased feeds. Dry cows in early to mid pregnancy are at their lowest in terms of nutritional requirements. These cows can be maintained on poor quality forages with little or no supplemental feed.

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Cattlemen Worried About Obama Administration

Cattlemen Worried About Obama Administration

Bruce Ferrell  

NNCC

The head of the national cattlemen’s group says he’s worried about the direction Washington may be taking when it comes to his industry. Gary Voogt, who raises Angus beef cattle in Michigan , is president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

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USDA cattle numbers show no sector in the black

USDA cattle numbers show no sector in the black

Julie Harker

Brownfield Network

Almost no one in the cattle industry is making money right now. The USDA reports marketings out of feedlots are down six percent from a year ago, the lowest in at least 13 years. That would normally push cattle prices up. USDA livestock analyst Shayle Shagum says, “Except we are looking at this weakening demand situation. Currently, we have cattle that are selling in the mid-70, mid to upper 70 dollar range.” Last year at this time it was 88 to 89 dollars a hundred weight. The number of cattle and calves in feedlots starting this month were very low at 11.3 million head – the lowest in five years.

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