Animal Welfare Grows Weaning Success
Wes Ishmael
Beef Magazine
Though seldom viewed through the same prism, the breeding and management decisions that add up to weaning performance are the same ones that add to cattle welfare. Consider deciding which bulls to breed to which cows.
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Factors affecting calf value
Drovers
During the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009, Kansas State University researchers collected market data on 8,200 lots comprised of more than 84,000 feeder cattle marketed through cattle auctions in Dodge City, Kan. and Carthage, Mo. Data recorded for each transaction included lot size, sex, color, breed, condition, fill, muscle, frame size, weight uniformity, freshness, horn presence, time of sale, weight, and price.
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Farmers and Ranchers, the Ultimate Environmentalists
Farm Bureau Blog
Yesterday I had the unique opportunity to take part in a survey administered by two K-State geography students. This survey was gauging how those of us in agriculture viewed climate and the environment around us. As I answered I realized those of us in agriculture go to great lengths to protect our environment. Here is what I shared with them.
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Keeping young calves healthy can be easier than you think
American Angus
When weaning season is put on fast-forward, maintaining calf health is all about pushing “play” at the right time. Pulling calves from the cow at half the conventional age changes the timeline of health protocols, but that’s not a bad thing.
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40 years of industry experience offers opinion about antibiotic use in livestock
Meat Science and Muscle Foods, Penn State University
Not long ago some articles featuring FDA’s suggestions for phasing out antibiotic use in meat animal production (though the headlines just said meat, which is woeful). Of course, a flurry of E-mails ensued between myself and many colleagues — looking for information that could support or refute some of the more questionable points being made. Anyway, this response came from Dr. Bill Henning, Professor Emeritus of Animal Science and Food Science at Penn State.
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Steve Cornett: Beef’s Stake in Immigration
Beef Today
If you saw the New York Times piece last week on how the Obama administration is conducting “silent raids,” you might have noticed that Gebbers Farms replaced its illegal workforce with legals. But toward the end, we find this passage:
"Show me one American —just one — climbing a picker’s ladder," said María Cervantes, 33, a former Gebbers Farms worker from Mexico who gave her name because she was recently approved as a legal immigrant.
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Producers weigh in on anti-agriculture threats
Amanda Nolz
Tri State Livestock News
“How many of you would have came here today if this summer meeting was advertised as an animal welfare conference?” asked Jim Krantz, Miner County Extension educator at the Summer Feedlot & Marketing Considerations Meeting held at Wobig Farms in Canova, SD on July 7, 2010.
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Drought and Parasites
Dr. Ken McMillan
DTN
QUESTION: Can a drought really make cattle more prone to parasites? I need to know if I should add anything to my health-care program to avoid this in dry years.
Yes and no. Severe drought can reduce the number of worm eggs and larvae in the environment.
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Thompson Farms Cattle Show Their Worth
Trenton Republican Times
Proven high-accuracy bulls produce calves worth more in the feedlot. A study of Thompson Farm calves sent to a Kansas feedlot supports that conclusion.
David Patterson, University of Missouri Extension beef specialist, described his study at the summer meeting of the MU Thompson Farm advisory board on Thursday, July 8 at the Thompson Farm near Spickard.
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Red Poll Cattle: Heritage Livestock Breeds
Janet Vorwald Dohner
Mother Earth News
Norfolk and Suffolk Counties lie on the large East Anglian peninsula on the eastern coast of England. This area includes dark, rich farmland, the reclaimed marshland of the Broadland, and the sandy heath of the Breckland. After Roman control of Britain ended, Saxons from the Danish and northern German coast settled throughout eastern England.
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Keeping cattle calm increases productivity
Loretta Sorensen
The Fence Post
Calm down – that’s the first suggestion Dr. Temple Grandin offers cattle owners working to improve low-stress handling methods. Dr. Grandin recently offered insight on animal behavior and facility design at the Wisconsin Dairy & Beef Industry Animal Husbandry Conference in Appleton, Wisc.
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USDA predicts cooling of livestock price rally
Dan Piller
Des Moines Register
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is saying that the rally in cattle and hog prices that dominated the commodity markets the first half of this year is basically over, primarily because of weak Demand.
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Human Safety Of Ractopamine Reaffirmed By Codex Scientific Expert Body
Bovine Veterinarian
Elanco, the animal health division of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY), today expressed its understanding that the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) during its 33rd session in Geneva, Switzerland, decided to hold the MRLs (Maximum Residue Limits) for Elanco’s compound ractopamine hydrochloride, or ractopamine,1 at Step 8 with a work plan.
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Keep Flies from Bugging Your Herd
Dan Goehl, DVM
Beef Today
Fly control is one of the summer chores we all dread. Not only is it frustrating and time-consuming, but it also can easily dip into our profits. When dealing with flies on cattle, there are essentially two species involved: the horn fly that is often seen on the backs of cattle and the face fly that, as its name implies, is seen on the animal’s face.
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Leon Metz: Irishman built empire on rustling of cattle
The Westerner
Pat Coghlan, an Irish immigrant who reached American shores in 1845, enlisted in the U.S. Army and was discharged in 1852 at San Antonio, Texas. By 1873, he had migrated to New Mexico territory, settling in Tularosa.
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