Baxter Black: A COLD OUTHOUSE CLEANING DAY

Baxter Black:  A COLD OUTHOUSE CLEANING DAY

I grew up in Las Cruces, NM. In the winter the grass was yellow. In summer it turned brown. I had a used 1956 Ford. I never put antifreeze in it.

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Begin adding value to your 2009 calf crop today

Begin adding value to your 2009 calf crop today

Jason K. Ahola, University of Idaho

American Cowman

Up until last fall, most cow/calf producers had been profitable for the previous 11-year period. This unrivaled success was due in large part to increased income from calf sales as a result of increasing calf prices.

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Extend Your Forages

Extend Your Forages

Mick Kreidler

Beef Today

It takes good planning to have enough forage for your cattle year-round. When the weather doesn’t cooperate, may it be drought, flood or snowdrifts, it pays to have a good plan in place with forage alternatives for the tough times.

One of the best ways to provide forage during the grazing season and beyond is by using annuals for grazing, haying and stockpiling. A variety of plants are available to help you extend your forage base during shortages.

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Implanting Beef Cattle

Implanting Beef Cattle

Johnny Rossi, Extension Animal Scientist  University of Georgia

Implanting nursing calves is one of the most economically justifiable practices available in the beef industry. Implants have been shown to increase weaning weights of nursing calves in hundreds of research trials. Likewise, stocker and feedlot calves exhibit even greater responses than nursing calves. Implanting returns more revenue per dollar invested than any other management practice.

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Genetic Defects Manageable

Genetic Defects Manageable

cattlenetwork.com

Curly Calf syndrome or more correctly, Arthrogryposis Multiplex (AM) was identified as a lethal genetic defect present in the Angus breed in the past several months. The name comes from the bent and twisted spine of affected calves.

Whenever defects are found it takes some time to determine if the cause is genetic or environmental. After the report of a few calves with this condition in 2007, the Angus Association in cooperation with Dr. Jon Beever at the University of Illinois, requested association members to report any additional incidences of calves with similar problems. Late last summer information on 48 calves was made available to Dr. Beever and 47 of 48 calves shared a common ancestor in GAR Precision 1680. The defect was later traced to 1680’s maternal grandsire, Rito 9J9 of B156 7T26, and all 48 affected calves had 9J9 on both sides of their pedigree. Since that time a genetic test has been developed to identify carriers of this gene.

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Study Finds No Link Between E.coli and DG

Study Finds No Link Between E.coli and DG

Thebeefsite.com

A new study by the K-State University set out to evaluate the effect of feeding DG and dry-rolled corn (DRC), alone or in combination, on faecal prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella in finishing cattle.

Previous work has indicated a positive association between feeding cattle distiller’s grains (DG) and an increase in E. coli O157:H7 prevalence. Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella are foodborne pathogens that reside in the gut of cattle and are shed in the feces, says an abstract to the report.

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Improved Tech Makes Breeding Choices Easier

Improved Tech Makes Breeding Choices Easier

Clifford Mitchell

Cattle Today

Technology impacts the lives of many. Modern day perks such as cell phones, computers and GPS systems used to be only curses of the rich. Now days, everyone can take advantage of new technology. Computers can be carried in a simple briefcase, no need for a room to house its components separately. Cell phones come in all shapes and sizes with many different attachments for hands free or mental telepathy. GPS systems seem worth it, although some have a hard time with satellite directions and end up lost.

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