Baxter Black, DVM: GREEN JOBS

Baxter Black, DVM:  GREEN JOBS

As part of the government’s stimulus program they are offering $500 million worth of grants to create and train “Green Jobs.” 

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FDA Ban On Antibiotic Leaves Use Flexibility

FDA Ban On Antibiotic Leaves Use Flexibility

Dr. Ken McMillan

DTN/The Progressive Farmer

A new FDA rule regarding antibiotic use won’t mean major changes for most producers.

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Scientists move closer to solving pasture bloat problem

Scientists move closer to solving pasture bloat problem

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation

Livestock love alfalfa. Alfalfa doesn’t always love them back. As a crop, alfalfa is worth about $8 billion each year to the United States economy because of its role in domestic beef cattle and dairy industries, as well as exports.

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Ranchers Sing The Praises Of Mob Grazing of Cattle

Ranchers Sing The Praises Of Mob Grazing of Cattle

Heather Smith Thomas

BEEF

Gary Wofford, Kevin Fulton, Chad Peterson, Greg Judy and Mark Brownlee are “mob” men – mob grazing, that is. The term refers to short-duration, high-intensity grazing of many cattle on a small area of pasture, moved several times a day to new forage.

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Reducing Feedlot Mud Problems

Reducing Feedlot Mud Problems

Steve Pohl

South Dakota State University

Muddy conditions decrease feed intake, slow average daily gain of cattle, increase problems with foot rot, and negatively affect feed efficiency. A feedlot with 4 to 8 inches of mud can decrease feed intake by 8 to 15%, slow daily gains by 14%, and reduce feed efficiency by 13%.

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Resist temptation to graze drought-weakened pastures too early

Resist temptation to graze drought-weakened pastures too early                                

Forage

As winter heads toward spring, some areas of the country have seen some moisture, making it appear as though some drought-weakened pasture resources are healthier than they might be.

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Thirty years of improving beef’s environmental impact

Thirty years of improving beef’s environmental impact

Brittany Wait

Cattle Trader Center

Is beef production today more efficient now than it was in the past?  Have the environmental impacts of producing beef improved over the years?  These questions were answered by Dr. J.L. Capper, Assistant Professor of Animal Science at Washington State University, who compared the environmental impact of modern beef production (2007) and beef production in 1977.

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Why all cattle feeders should understand grid marketing

Why all cattle feeders should understand grid marketing

Amy Radunz, UW Beef Cattle Extension Specialist

When cattle feeders at the 2011 and 2012 Cattle Feeders were asked where the majority of their finished cattle were marketed, over 50% of the producers answered at an auction facility.  This is in contrast to  the Great Plains which indicated that in 2001 over 45% of cattle were marketed on a grid (i.e. grade and yield). 

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Obama to appoint Ramaswamy as NIFA director

Obama to appoint Ramaswamy as NIFA director

Western Farm Press

President Obama announced recently his intent to appoint Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy as director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). NIFA works with minority serving colleges and universities and other public and private organizations, to advance research and higher education in the food and agricultural sciences. 

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Texas Tech taps Galyean as permanent dean of College of Agriculture

Texas Tech taps Galyean as permanent dean of College of Agriculture

Brittany Hoover

Lubbock Avalanche Journal

Texas Tech Provost Bob Smith announced Tuesday that Michael Galyean will become the permanent dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, effective April 1.

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