Baxter Black, DVM: PRINCIPLES

Baxter Black, DVM:  PRINCIPLES

Sometimes you have to choose between personal principles and sympathetic understanding.  For example, as a public personality, I have deliberately chosen to decline invitations to do political fund raisers.

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Some Commonsense Comments From USDA

Some Commonsense Comments From USDA

BEEF

Call it one of those blind-pig-finding-the-acorn moments, but comments made by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack a couple of weeks ago are downright positive. He was talking with cattle producers from across the nation on Sept. 15 as part of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Legislative Conference sponsored by Elanco.

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Sick Animals, Sick People, Sick Info

Sick Animals, Sick People, Sick Info

Urban C. Lehner, DTN

In the late 1950s the British scientist and novelist C.P. Snow described how people trained in the sciences and people trained in the humanities were increasingly unable to talk to each other.

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Demand for high-quality steak adds premium profits

Demand for high-quality steak adds premium profits

Drovers

Steak-eating consumers want more USDA Prime quality beef. Missouri cow-calf producers can supply that growing demand in the United States and the world.

Cow-calf producers heard those messages repeated by speakers at the second annual University of Missouri Thompson Farm field day in Grundy County, Sept. 21.

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Education Focus of Hereford Annual Meeting Weekend

Education Focus of Hereford Annual Meeting Weekend

Members of the American Hereford Association (AHA) will gather in Kansas City Oct. 30 – Nov. 1 for the 2010 Annual Meeting. Hereford enthusiasts from across the U.S. will enjoy a full schedule of events and activities including educational forums, the Annual Meeting and the National Hereford Show during the American Royal.

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Monitor cattle temperature for health

Monitor cattle temperature for health

Dave Barz, DVM

In spite of our careful preparations we all have a few calf problems after weaning or when moved to larger feedlots. Through the years we have been taught to read our bunks, use low-stress handling procedures, and protocols for visually riding pens and pulling sicks. The only constant sign of illness for the past fifty years has been the calf’s body temperature

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Japanese Journalists Tour US Beef Industry

Japanese Journalists Tour US Beef Industry

KTIC

A group of Japanese journalists is getting an extensive inside look at the U.S. beef industry as part of a U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) educational initiative to better inform key Japanese opinion leaders about the safety of U.S. beef.

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Teacup cattle: more beef for less space

Teacup cattle: more beef for less space

Earth Beat

Well if you can’t expand the land, why not shrink the cows? Professor Richard Gradwohld breeds ‘Teacup’ cattle which he claims provide more beef, on less space. The cows are old European breeds – which used to be much smaller – and eat grass, as opposed to corn. So not only are they healthier, says Prof Gradwohld, they taste better too.

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Cull Breeding Stock Carefully

Cull Breeding Stock Carefully

Dr. Ken McMillan

DTN

In your opinion, if a cow is in good health, at what age should you consider eliminating her as breeding stock?

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I Don’t Want To Talk About Either GIPSA Or Cows

I Don’t Want To Talk About Either GIPSA Or Cows

Troy Marshall

I’m guessing most of you are a lot like me, you don’t have any complaints about how you’ve chosen to make a living. In fact, there are only about three things I would change about my chosen career:

    * I’d like to make more money while doing it.

    * I’d like to have more time for the important things in life – God, family and friends.

    * I’d like to do what I do a whole lot better.

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Video Feature: Caring for your young bull

Considering purchasing a new herd sire? Dr. Terry Stewart, Purdue University, gives you tips on caring for your new young herd sire.

Seminal Vesiculitis

Seminal Vesiculitis

Bob Larson

Angus Journal

A common problem found when a veterinarian does a breeding soundness examination of bulls is seminal vesiculitis (or inflammation of the vesicular glands). These glands — along with other glands such as the prostate — secrete fluid that transports sperm during ejaculation. When healthy, the vesicular glands look like (and feel like) two clusters of small grapes that lay on the floor of the pelvis.

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Management of Imported Fire Ants in Cattle

Management of Imported Fire Ants in Cattle

American Cattlemen

Iowa State University

Imported fire ants are now a major pest problem throughout the southeastern United States, including in cattle production operations. No methods have been developed to successfully eradicate fire ants, but research may ultimately provide a method to eliminate this pest.

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100% Grass-Fed

100% Grass-Fed

Randy Kuhn

Beef Today

Cattle and beef production represent the largest single segment of American agriculture. In fact, the USDA says more farms are classified as beef cattle operations (35%) than any other type.   USDA’s 2007 Census of Agriculture classified 687,540 farms as beef cattle operations.

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Beef Checkoff Initiatives For 2011

Beef Checkoff Initiatives For 2011

Thebeefsite.com

The Beef Promotion Operating Committee this week approved investment of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) Fiscal Year 2011 budget of $42.8 million on a total of 42 national checkoff programs and associated costs.

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A Step Forward In The Cure For Antibiotic Resistance

A Step Forward In The Cure For Antibiotic Resistance

Iowa State University

A research team led by Edward Yu of Iowa State University and the Ames Laboratory has discovered the crystal structures of pumps that remove heavy metal toxins from bacteria, making them resistant to antibiotics.

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Farmers fear tighter limits on dust

Farmers fear tighter limits on dust

Rick Callahan

San Francisco Chronicle

As they begin the fall harvest, wary farmers are watching a federal debate over whether to clamp down on one of rural life’s constant companions – the dust clouds that farm machinery kicks up in fields and along unpaved roads.

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Switchgrass As A Forage Crop?

Switchgrass As A Forage Crop?

Hay and Forage Grower

Its high yields and value as a hay or pasture crop during hot summer months have researchers looking at switchgrass as more than a renewable fuel source.

“Research has shown switchgrass can be grown successfully as both a biofuel feedstock and forage crop. There is no need, however, to grow it as only one or the other.

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Protect Against Forage Toxicity

Protect Against Forage Toxicity

Beef Magazine

Producers should be aware of toxicity concerns caused by two forages, kochia and sweet clover, commonly grazed or hayed for use in winter feeding, says Larry Hollis, Kansas State University Extension beef veterinarian.

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Calf fries are “a tradition in beef cattle ranching”

Calf fries are "a tradition in beef cattle ranching"

CARY ASPINWALL

Calf fries are something between a tradition-rich delicacy and a dirty joke.

The simple fact is calf testicles are a byproduct of the ranching industry in Oklahoma, and historically, ranchers and cowboys couldn’t afford to waste any parts.

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