Baxter Black: Advice Column

Baxter Black: Advice Column

Baxter Black Play the role of “Dear Abby” for a dog owner. Here’s his advice column.

Steve Cornett: Break-evens, Justifications and GIPSA

Steve Cornett:  Break-evens, Justifications and GIPSA

Beef Today

Anybody who has ever done a break-even projection on cattle knows how much the assumptions affect the outcome. If you assume corn is cheap and fed cattle will bring $1.50 next spring, you can justify about any price you want to pay for feeder cattle.

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Stockpiling Tall Fescue

Stockpiling Tall Fescue

Darrell L. Rankins, Jr.

Auburn University

Tall fescue is an excellent forage for use in a stockpiling program. The reason for this is that it produces a fair amount of high-quality growth during the fall and maintains this quality into the winter.

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Good Management Strategies are Key During Drought

Good Management Strategies are Key During Drought

Stephen B. Blezinger, PhD, PAS

Cattle Today

In the last issue we began a discussion of a variety of issues that have to be considered when working through drought periods and low forage situations.

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More Cows, Better Grass

More Cows, Better Grass

Miranda Reiman

Angus Journal

There’s quite a legacy attached to farming the fertile land that your grandpa’s grandparents did. But when you let that tradition evolve to the point where you’re raising more cattle on fewer acres, more beef with fewer resources, that’s when you know you’ve done justice to the heritage.

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FFA, 4-H training helps teach Russians about cattle production

FFA, 4-H training helps teach Russians about cattle production

Ike Wilson

Frederick News-Post

"It’s one of the largest projects ever started in that part of the country, and it’s exciting to be a part of it," Baseley said. "Not many ranches in the U.S. are that big, and it’s a big adventure for me to be a part of such a large-scale project. And it’s great to get to experience life in another part of the world."

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As ranchers in drought areas sell cows, others buy

As ranchers in drought areas sell cows, others buy

David Mercer

Lubbockonline.com

The drought in the Southwest may help 29-year-old Chad Bicker get to his goal of being a full-time farmer and rancher by the time he’s 40.

As farmers in Texas and other bone-dry areas sell cattle because they can’t grow hay or afford to buy feed, Bicker has been buying animals for his farm in Illinois. He has 25 cows and hopes to have 35 by next year.

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Placement & Carcass Weights Continue Lighter

Placement & Carcass Weights Continue Lighter

Wes Ishmael

BEEF

"Although dressed weights are increasing seasonally, they are not increasing as fast as in other years because of the large placements of lightweight calves, and atypical patterns in placement weights and fed-cattle weights are occurring.

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Stretch Your Cow’s Life As Long as Possible

Stretch Your Cow’s Life As Long as Possible

Zeb Prawl

Beef Today

At a time when the nation’s cow numbers are still falling, increasing the productive life of a cow is worth more than ever. A decrease in calf numbers has raised calf prices, which will continue.

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2011 Across-Breed EPD Adjustments

2011 Across-Breed EPD Adjustments

Dr. Scott P. Greiner, Extension Animal Scientist, VA Tech.

For several years, geneticists at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) have provided the table of adjustment factors to be used to estimate across-breed expected progeny differences (AB-EPDs). These adjustments are based on comparative breed research conducted at the USMARC.

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