Genetic Factors: Neuropathic Hydrocephlus (NH) – "Water Head"
Red Angus Association of America
With increased reporting of abnormal calves, I often recognize other lower frequency conditions within the populations that require investigation. We experienced this most recently with tibial hemimelia (TH) in Shorthorns when pulmonary hypoplasia and anasarca (PHA) was discovered in the materials submitted for consideration as possible TH cases.
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Feed Tag Basics 101 – Final
Dr. Rick Rasby, Professor of Animal Science Animal Science, University of Nebraska
This will be our last discussion on understanding the information on a feed tag. The reason for the three-part series is that feed costs are the major costs in a cow/calf enterprise. Being an informed buyer will aid you in purchasing what is needed to balance out the nutrients in high forages diets. At times, it can be confusing how to determine the intake of a specific vitamins and minerals from a supplement.
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Ranchers blast private grassland proposal
Billings Gazette
A proposal to carve out a 60,000-acre grassland preserve for bison in northeastern Montana has won few backers among the region’s cattle ranching community.
The Bureau of Land Management gathered comment Tuesday during a meeting in Havre about the so-called American Prairie Reserve targeted for Phillips County. The preserve consists of private land and property leased from the BLM for grazing and would start with about 100 bison.
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It’s not weaning but people who make calves sick
Allan Nation
The Stockman GrassFarmer
Bud Williams believes that animals can sense our emotions and will mirror them. And so the first requirement for a low death loss on stocker calves was to love animals and your job.
"A healthy calf is a happy calf. Animal health problems are created by somebody," he said. "Animals don’t just get sick. They decide to get sick. If you don’t want to be there with that calf he knows it and it bothers him."
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Weaning Beef Calves
Ministry of Agriculture, Ontario
Weaning time is a stressful period for the mother cow and her calf. Traditionally, some Ontario cow-calf producers wean calves the day they leave the farm, thus avoiding the critical attention required to ensure calf health and continued performance. Others wean calves on the farm as part of a complete pre-conditioning program, before backgrounding or sale.
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Feeding and Management Options in Dry Conditions
Agri-News
There are several things producers can do to when faced with low moisture conditions. First, it’s important to establish critical rain dates after which time action will need to be taken. Such action might include reducing stocking rates, arranging for winter feeding, comparing costs of alternative feeds, moving cattle to the feed rather than the feed to the cattle, finding pasture in other parts of the province, and if necessary custom wintering cows elsewhere.
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Global Animal Management announces Auction Check
Drovers
As the information age hits the cattle industry in full force, Global Animal Management, Inc. (GAM®), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, is providing auction markets with the means to conveniently add value to their clients’ livestock through Auction CheckTM, an online age, source and process verification program for the auction market.
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Bloat
Bob Larson
Angus Journal
Bloat is a potentially life-threatening problem for cattle that can occur due to certain forages or feedstuffs and other factors that cause excess gas accumulation in the rumen.
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2009 farm & ranch tax provision changes
John Mitchell, CPA
The Cattle Business Weekly
As of summer of 2009 there are several tax code changes that will impact ranch and farm returns for the current year and beyond.
The 2008 depreciation write off limits under code section 179 have been extended one year for 2009. This allows a taxpayer who purchases not more than $800,000 of equipment, breeding livestock and single purpose Ag buildings to write off the first $250,000 the year of purchase.
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World Beef Expo to honor Pinzgauer producer
Jim Massey
The Country Today
Ten years ago Glenn Erickson bought his first Pinzgauer heifer at a national show and sale at World Beef Expo in West Allis, and he’s been hooked on the breed since.
Erickson, a beef producer from Neenah, will be honored as the Paul May Award winner Sept. 26 at World Beef Expo at Wisconsin State Fair Park.
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Big Island Beef
Kim Holt
Angus Journal
Transporting calves to the mainland from the island of Hawaii — better known as the Big Island, the largest of the eight major islands in the Hawaiian Island chain — certainly gives new meaning to “interstate” movement of cattle.
While the state of Hawaii is well-known as one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, perhaps it is little known that more than 700,000 acres of grazing lands are used for cattle production on the Big Island alone. Within the state, total land stewardship by beef cattle ranchers exceeds 1 million acres.
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JBS S.A. merges with Brazilian rival
Bill Jackson
Greeley Tribune
At the same time JBS S.A. moved to become the majority owner of Pilgrim’s Pride, the largest poultry producer in the United States, it also announced a merger with Bertin S.A., a Brazilian conglomerate and rival.
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Northern New York Beef Week
The Gouverneur Times
Better animals, better beef. A series of workshops in October will help Northern New York livestock producers select better breeding bulls and replacement cows for beef production. The workshops are part of a project funded by the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP).
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How do your genes fit?
Lisa Hare
The Cattle Business Weekly
New technologies in DNA testing help producers improve herds
Genetics experts all agree gene markers are the future for genetic improvement and more and more cattlemen are getting on board with the idea.
Catapult Genetics first began offering the GeneSTAR suite of tests for marbling, tenderness and feed efficiency in New Zealand and has expanded to Australia and now, the U.S.
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Young Rancher Lives, Breathes Agriculture
BEEF Magazine
Highlighting a promising next generation rancher
Like every other little boy growing up, Lee Wasland dreamed of being a firefighter and a cowboy. As time progressed, Wasland set his whimsical fantasies aside to realize that his dream was to work outside with his hands when he grew up. After graduating high school in 2005, Wasland headed to South Dakota State University (SDSU) to pursue a career in agriculture.
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