Pregnancy testing cows
Heather Smith Thomas
Tri State Livestock News
Most beef producers routinely pregnancy test cows after breeding season to determine which to keep and which ones to sell. Jeff Hoffman, a veterinarian near Salmon, ID, says the biggest reason to know which cows are open is that it’s a major cost to feed them through winter, and this is a waste of money if they’re not going to have a calf.
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15th Annual Hokie Harvest Sale
Dr. Dan E. Eversole, Animal Scientist, Beef Cattle Production & Management, VA Tech
There will be a student-run livestock sale of university beef cattle, horses, and swine at the Virginia Tech Beef Cattle Center and the Alphin-Stuart Livestock Teaching Arena on Friday, October 30, 2009.
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World will need 70 per cent more food in 2050: FAO
hindustantimes
World food production must increase by 70 per cent by 2050, to nourish a human population then likely to be 9.1 billion, the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation forecast on Wednesday.
"FAO is cautiously optimistic about the world’s potential to feed itself by 2050," said FAO Assistant Director-General Hafez Ghanem. However, he stressed that feeding everyone in the world by then "will not be automatic and several significant challenges have to be met."
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Meat: The Other Greenhouse Gas
Tracey Bianchi
Harvard Divinity School
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 had a phase in college when I thought that perhaps I would become a vegetarian. I had no real reason for doing so other than thinking that acting sort of hippie-ish seemed like an identity I wanted to try on for a while. That and a good friend at the time was a vegetarian. Vegan was a little too extreme for my little experiment, so I decided dairy would be okay; yogurt and ice cream were close companions and I dared not part from them.
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GIPSA administrator hopes to bring balance to cattle industry
Tri State Livestock News
South Dakota Stockgrowers Association recently had the honor of hosting J. Dudley Butler, the new administrator of the Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), in Washington, DC.
Butler was in town to speak at the South Dakota Stockgrowers Convention Recognition Banquet on Friday night, Sept. 11, in Rapid City.
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Genetic Factors: Hypotrichosis (Hairlessness)
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture
Hairlessness occurs in several breeds of beef cattle. It expresses itself as complete or partial loss of hair. Calves are often born with no hair but will grow a short curly coat of hair with age. Affected individuals are prone to environmental stress (cold and wet) and skin infections are more prevalent.
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Calf-Weaning Workshop To Show New Ways To Solve Old Problem
Farms.com
A "Weaning Calf Management Workshop" will take place 5-8 p.m., Oct. 15, at the Forage Systems Research Center in Linneus.
The workshop will present new research on calf weaning along with proven practices from years past, said David Davis, superintendent of the University of Missouri farm in Linn County. All the tips aim to make the old problem of separating calves from their mamas easier.
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Cow to bull ratios for commercial herds
Dr. Glenn Selk, Extension Cattle Specialist, Oklahoma State University
The three major goals of any breeding season should be to: get the cows settled as early in the breeding season as possible; get them bred to the bulls with the highest possible genetic worth; and achieve both as economically as possible, by getting the cows bred with the fewest possible bulls. Defining the optimum bull to female ratio is important to a successful breeding season.
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More Campus Ignorance About Agriculture
Advocates for Agriculture
MaineCampus.com
Michael W. Gibson
Although more people go vegetarian every day, the world will be better still if more people take the plunge into a meat-free lifestyle. Support comes from successful arguments from the standpoints of ethics, world hunger, the environment, personal health and animal rights. The reasons for vegetarianism greatly outweigh the reasons against, so why aren’t more people making the switch?
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Ask The Nutrionist: Distillers’ Grain, Cattle, E. coli O157:H7
cattlenetwork.com
I have heard that distillers’ grains increases the number of cattle testing positive for E. coli O157:H7. What E. coli O157:H7 interventions are available for beef cattle producers today?
First, it is important to note that the entire body of research is inconclusive on the impact of distillers’ grains on E. coli O157:H7 shedding in cattle, and there is some evidence that distillers’ grains levels commonly fed in finishing diets today may actually reduce E. coli O157:H7 shedding in some cases.
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Stock Pile Grass, Not Just For Cows
cattlenetwork.com
This is the time of year in which nitrogen fertilization that was applied a couple weeks combined with adequate moisture provides beef cattle producers an opportunity to reduce their cow feed costs. The fall has so far has been near idealistic for stockpiling tall fescue for late fall/early winter grazing. Though this is perhaps often considered with respect to the cow herd, don’t overlook it is a way of reducing expenses for preconditioning calves.
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Joint Louisiana Expo/Convention
Delta Farm Press
Ag Expo 2010 and the Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association Annual Convention will be held simultaneously in January in West Monroe, La., according to a joint announcement by the North Louisiana Agri-Business Council and the Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association.
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Leading Brangus breeders launch GeneTrust, an innovative genetic and marketing alliance
Southern Livestock Standard
Ten of the Brangus Breed’s leading genetic providers are pleased to announce the formation of a unique and highly progressive alliance. GENETRUST is a collaboration of breeders dedicated to the common goal of providing a superior genetic product to registered and commercial cattlemen alike.
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BeefTalk: Age and Source Verification
Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service
Age and source verification premiums of $25 to $35 per head on the rail. Age and source verification premiums of $25 to $35 per head on the rail.
Age and source verification for meat and source verification for many more food products are management processes that seem to please consumers.
In nature, fall brings a shift in focus. It is time to accumulate, evaluate and tabulate. For beef producers, gathering and marketing animals are front and center because the store is closing for the year, so come back next summer.
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Farmers Fined for Polluting Neighbors’ Wells with Corn Silage Runoff
Pennsylvania Ag Connection The Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board has assessed an $18,197 penalty against West Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County, dairy farmers George and Shirley Stambaugh for violations of the Clean Streams Law and for polluting their neighbors’ wells with runoff from corn silage.
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