Effects of Shipping and Heat Stress on Embryonic Mortality in Cattle

Effects of Shipping and Heat Stress on Embryonic Mortality in Cattle

Sarah Fields, Graduate Research Assistant in Beef Reproduction, and Dr. George Perry, Beef Reproduction and Management Specialist, SDSU Animal and Range Sciences Department

Embryonic loss is the greatest economic loss in the cow/calf industry, affecting number of cows carrying to term and percent calf crop weaned.

Fertilization rates are usually between 90% and 100% when semen is present at ovulation. Fertilization usually takes place, but conception rates (number of animals that conceive divided by number of animals inseminated) are usually around 70% for natural service or artificial insemination.

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Silage Fermentation and Preservation

Silage Fermentation and Preservation

J.W. Schroeder, North Dakota State University

Quality silage is achieved when lactic acid is the predominant acid produced, as it is the most efficient fermentation acid and will drop the pH of the silage the fastest. The faster the fermentation is completed, the more nutrients will be retained in the silage.

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Pickle Jar Ethics

Pickle Jar Ethics

Tracy Rehberg

Calf News

Because the media has adopted photographs of cute pink pigs to serve as the icon for essentially any hard news report on the spread of human H1N1 influenza, I ought to write about swine flu and its like-it-or-not correlation to social opinion and animal welfare; but, I won’t. At least, not this time. You see, I’ve just returned from a sun-filled day at Wrightsville Beach. I’m full of sea air, suntan lotion and the promise of summer.

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Nutritional Guidelines for Backgrounding Calves

Nutritional Guidelines for Backgrounding Calves

Dr. Greg Lardy Beef Cattle Specialist – North Dakota State University, Dr. Chip Poland, Area Livestock Specialist

4-State Backgrounding

Backgrounding is a common practice in many beef cattle operations in North Dakota. In some operations it serves as a way to add value to feedstuffs or to increase revenue from the beef cattle enterprise. This circular details nutrient requirements for backgrounding calves and gives information related to the nutrient content of feeds available in North Dakota.

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Working with your lender in turbulent times

Working with your lender in turbulent times

Tom Lippert, Central Lakes College

Iowa Farmer Today

How can I as a producer help my lender see my credit request as an acceptable risk?

I need to provide my lender with a 3- to 5-year history of financial statements which would include balance sheets and income statements. When putting my balance sheet together it is important that I accurately value the assets.

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The Meat of the Problem

The Meat of the Problem

Ezra Klein

Advocated for Agriculture

The debate over climate change has reached a rarefied level of policy abstraction in recent months. Carbon tax or cap-and-trade? Upstream or downstream? Should we auction permits? Head-scratching is, at this point, permitted. But at base, these policies aim to do a simple thing, in a simple way: persuade us to undertake fewer activities that are bad for the atmosphere by making those activities more expensive.

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Senators Express Concern Over Livestock Disaster Assistance Rules

Senators Express Concern Over Livestock Disaster Assistance Rules

Beef Today

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, joined with a bipartisan coalition of Senators led by Chuck Grassley (R-IA), in questioning if several new rules of the Livestock Indemnity Program will actually help farmers and ranchers if their herds incur losses from harsh weather.

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