Webcast Tonight: Getting through the Winter on a tight Forage Supply

Webcast Tonight: Getting through the Winter on a tight Forage Supply

The April freeze in addition to the dry summer left some Indiana pastures in less than ideal condition. However, this creates an opportunity for growers to make improvements, according to Keith Johnson, Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service forage expert.

To help livestock owners get through the winter on a short forage supply, Purdue Extension will host an IP-videoconference & Webcast Nov. 20 from 7-9 p.m. EST that may either be viewed online or at locations around Indiana.

To view on the IP Video connection:

Contact your local Indiana Extension office.

To View via the internet:

Participants with a high speed Internet connection, web browser and Microsoft Windows Media Player, can log on and watch the videoconference live from their own computer at mms://video.dis.purdue.edu/agcomm or CLICK HERE. This link will be made active on the day of the event. Bookmark this page to return to it on Nov. 20.

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Baxter Black: Goats, Old Hens and Thanksgiving

Baxter Black:  Goats, Old Hens and Thanksgiving

Cattle Today

There is a farmer in Indiana who offers goats and sheep for sale. His marketing slogan is “You buy – you kill – you dress – you take home.”

When I heard about this retro sales pitch I was reminded of my friend Sam. He was raising laying hens as part of his kids’ 4-H project. One of his management problems involved the disposal of old hens. Campbell’s Soup was a buyer but they were not accessible to a producer of his small size. But, to his surprise the local Hmongs, Vietnamese and Laotians discovered him and offered to buy his culls. Sam explained he didn’t have a government approved slaughter facility.

“Oh, no!” they said, “Want to buy live chicken!”

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Hay Is A Valuable Commodity – Save Money By Limiting Feeding Waste

Hay Is A Valuable Commodity – Save Money By Limiting Feeding Waste

Cattlenetwork.com

Storage and feeding losses can accrue for any hay bale type, but large, round hay bale management systems often lead to the greatest and most consistent losses. By the time that hay is fed, much of it will have lost more than 25 percent of its feeding value. Research on hay storage often supports what many producers say, “I get about three bales’ worth of feed out of every four bales that I put up.”

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Cattle Diseases: Blackleg

Cattle Diseases: Blackleg

Cattle Today

Blackleg is a highly fatal disease of young cattle caused by the spore forming, rod shaped, gas producing bacteria Clostridium chauvoei.  The spores of the organism can live in the soil for many years.  The bacteria enters the calf by ingestion and then gains entrance to the body through small punctures in the mucous membrane of the digestive tract.  Cattle that are on a high plane of nutrition, rapidly gaining weight and between 6 months and 2 years of age are most susceptible to the disease.  The disease is not transmitted directly from sick animals to healthy animals by mere contact.

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Good hay storage, feeding management help stretch winter feed supply

Good hay storage, feeding management help stretch winter feed supply

University of Minnesota

How you store and feed hay can make a big difference in how long your hay supply lasts this winter. Overall short supplies have been driving up hay prices in many areas, says Dave Kjome, southeast Minnesota dairy educator with the University of Minnesota’s Extension Service.

Storage can have a lot of impact on quality and quantity, especially with big round bales, says Kjome. He cites information from Iowa State University extension crop specialists Jim Jensen and Al Seim. “They concluded from a study that even when the big bales are covered or stored inside, curing loss of hay dry matter amounts to five percent,” he says. “They also found that hay stored outdoors is subject to additional weather losses. Dry matter weight losses of 10-25 percent were common. The more fibrous, weathered hay can be as much as 25 percent lower in feeding value.”

Kjome cites another Iowa State study showing the value of binding bales with plastic net and storing on crushed rock. This practice reduced weathering and digestible dry matter losses. Hay in the outer 12 inches of the round bale mass, which represents 66 percent of the volume, had a higher nutritive value.

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Stocker Cattle: Avoiding Grain Loss When Grazing Wheat

Stocker Cattle: Avoiding Grain Loss When Grazing Wheat

Cattlenetwork.com

Wheat growers can get dual benefits from their wheat — grazing cattle this fall and a harvest next summer — if they manage the process well.

One of the most important factors is to avoid grazing when soil is wet or soft to limit trampling. This might be accomplished best by having an adjacent pasture or corn stalk field to turn animals into whenever the ground gets wet.

If you can adjust your animals so they only graze wheat when it’s dry, the next step is to avoid grazing too severely. Make sure animals don’t graze the wheat any shorter than three inches when grazing either in the fall or spring. This will enable your wheat plants to always have enough leaf area and tillers to use sunlight to support plant growth and health.

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Philippines opens borders to all U.S. beef imports

Philippines opens borders to all U.S. beef imports     

American Shipper

            The Philippines has announced it will open its market to all U.S. beef imports that are in compliance with international trade standards.

   The Asian country, like many, closed its borders to U.S. beef in late December 2003 after the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or “mad cow” disease, in a Canadian-born cow in Washington state.

   In May 2007, the World Organization for Animal Health formally classified the United States as a controlled risk country for BSE. Recently, the Philippines restricted U.S. beef imports to boneless beef and offals from cattle less than 30 months of age.

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Brace for Higher Feed Costs as Fall and Winter Approach

Brace for Higher Feed Costs as Fall and Winter Approach

by: Stephen B. Blezinger, Ph.D, PAS

Cattle Today

For all practical purposes, it appears that cattlemen need to brace for higher feeding costs as this fall and winter approaches. That’s not a very pleasant way to start off an article but unfortunately, while we need the truth it’s not what we necessarily want to hear. While grain prices appear to be on an upward trend, the producer can take steps to insure that this additional cost is not excessively injurious to production and profitability. Let’s take a moment and examine what many market analysts are saying about feed and grain prices in the coming months and what can be done to offset this situation.

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4-State Range Beef Cow Symposium Is Scheduled For Mid-December

4-State Range Beef Cow Symposium Is Scheduled For Mid-December

KNEB

The 4-State Range Beef Cow Symposium is scheduled for Tuesday Dec 11th thru Thursday Dec 13th. The Symposium will be held at The Ranch at the Larimer County Fairgrounds and Events Complex just south of Fort Collins Colo.

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Tyson Told It Can’t Use ‘Raised Without Antibiotics’ Label

Tyson Told It Can’t Use ‘Raised Without Antibiotics’ Label

Cattlenetwork.com

The U.S. Agriculture Department recently told Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) that it could no longer label its products as “raised without antibiotics” under current conditions, a major blow to the nation’s second-largest chicken producer. The company, which has spent tens of millions of dollars since June on an advertising and labeling campaign to distinguish its product from competitors, is now scrambling to salvage the label.

The decision, conveyed in a previously nonpublic letter dated Nov. 6, comes after the company received approval by the USDA in May to label its products as “raised without antibiotics,” a coveted term in the industry that companies are increasingly seeking as a way to appeal to consumers concerned about the use of antibiotics in raising animals.

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Physician finds mix between city and ranch

Physician finds mix between city and ranch

KARI KRAMER,

Country World

Kevin Bryant likely owes a great deal of his ranching success to his great-grandfather who took him to an East Texas cattle sale in 1982.

Bryant, who was 14 at the time, remembers that sale because he became acquainted with his future: The Red Brahman. The large, red cattle with a distinct hump would eventually become part of Bryant’s career. First, he had to convince his father.

“I talked my dad, Barry Bryant, into going to the next sale,” recalled Bryant, now 39. “He leaned over to me during the sale and said, ‘Do you still want a Red Brahman?’ and I said ‘Yes.’”

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Frequently asked questions about unwanted horses and the AVMA’s policy on horse slaughter

Frequently asked questions about unwanted horses and the AVMA’s policy on horse slaughter

Horsetalk

Q: What is an “unwanted horse?”

A: Just as the name implies, an unwanted horse is a horse that has, for one or more reasons, become unwanted by its owner. It may be a healthy horse that an owner can no longer afford to keep or feed. It may be a horse that is dangerous to handle and has injured (or is likely to injure) people.

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Exports of older cattle resume

Exports of older cattle resume

Cautious farmers await challenge in U.S. courts

Gina Teel

Calgary Herald

After waiting 4 1/2 years to export older cattle into the United States, it appears some Alberta producers are willing to wait a little longer to avoid any nasty last-minute surprises.

Alberta ranchers are concerned legal efforts launched by R-CALF, the Montana-based protectionist ranchers’ group, to derail Rule 2 — which came into effect Monday — could lead to a disruption in trade, and are therefore in a wait-and-see mode.

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Hoosier Beef Congress sale catalogs available

Hoosier Beef Congress sale catalogs available

by Dave Russell

Brownfield Network

IBCASale catalogs for the 2007 Hoosier Beef Congress All-Star Sale and Purebred Sale are now available online.

“The sales are a highlight of the weekend, when breeders from across the state bring their “cream of the crop” steers and heifers to the fairgrounds for exhibition and sale,” said Julia Wickard, IBCA’s Executive Vice President. “This year’s lineup of sale cattle looks exceptionally good, and we are excited to offer this tremendous set of cattle at the 21st annual Hoosier Beef Congress.”

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S. Korea is world’s third largest consumer of U.S. beef

S. Korea is world’s third largest consumer of U.S. beef

The Hankyoreh

Relaxed rules may soon pave path for more beef imports, if Seoul and Washington reach a deal

South Korea has already become the world’s third-largest buyer of U.S. beef, even though current rules require Seoul to import boneless meat from cattle less than 30 months old. However, it is very likely that South Korea may soon ease quarantine rules to clear the way for more imports of U.S. beef. If negotiations between the two countries allow Seoul to import “bone-in” beef, South Korea’s imports of U.S. beef are likely to grow at a faster pace.

According to statistics by the U.S. Meat Export Federation on November 19, South Korea imported US$33.45 million worth of U.S. beef, or 6,076 tons, in September.

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