Managing your Calving Season
Dr. Cliff Lamb
University of Minnesota Beef Team
The impending calving season is approaching for many cattle producers in the upper mid-west. With calving comes the anticipation of calves, which have resulted from many management decisions prior to calving.
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Tell Congress to Support the Boren-Fallin Transportation Bill
NCBA
Transportation issues remain paramount for cattle producers nationwide. Our operations survive by being able to haul cattle from farm to market in a timely and safe manner. This is why NCBA supports the transformation reform efforts of Representatives Michael Michaud (D-ME-2), Dan Boren (R-OK-2) and Mary Fallin (R-OK-5) as well as Senator James Inhofe (R-OK).
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In Case of a Wreck
KATRINA WATERS
The Cattleman
From the time calves are conceived to the time they are taken to an auction market or the feedyard, countless decisions have been made and preventative measures taken.
You’ve decided on a vaccination protocol and how and when you will wean them. You’ve decided how you will market the calf crop. But once you load the calves up and take off, problems can still arise. What if you have an accident?
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Preparing cattle to move into winter months ahead
TERRI ADAMS
Farm & Ranch Guide
With snow and cold rolling in on the West, cattle producers need to make sure their animals are prepared for the demands of winter.
According to John Paterson, Montana State University Extension beef specialist, there are some things producers can do now to help get their cattle through the next several cold months.
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Corn Silage Management
J.W. Schroeder, North Dakota State University
Efficient utilization of silage by livestock depends on the stage of maturity at which the crop is harvested. Growth stage has a major influence on forage digestibility and the amount of a particular forage consumed by livestock. Various studies have shown that the best time to harvest a crop for silage is a compromise between high forage yield and forage digestibility. In addition, each crop will have an optimum growth stage for harvest, depending upon its individual characteristics.
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Q&A: After a hard freeze how much Johnson grass will kill a cow? And is there any other grass that is toxic after a freeze?
Dr. Jerry Volesky, Associate Professor of Agronomy West Central Research & Extension Center, University of Nebraska
A: Johnsongrass can accumulate nitrates and develop prussic acid (cyanogenic glucosides). The nitrates are usually not a problem in the open pasture situation. The prussic acid problem can form right after a freeze breaks plant cell membranes.
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AMI Provides No Support for EPA Declaration
Hoosier AG Today
Monday EPA declared carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride threats to public health. The American Meat Institute says it does not support EPA’s endangerment finding as the rule was mostly based on future greenhouse gas concentrations, anticipated climate changes, and adverse public health and welfare effects that are expected to result from elevated temperatures, air quality changes, effects of extreme events on society, climate-sensitive diseases and aeroallergens.
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Vaccination, Environment, Colostrum Key to Managing Scours
Healthy Heifer
Neonatal diarrhea, or calf scours, continues to be a leading cause of calf mortality, killing thousands of calves every year. Calves that survive scours typically have reduced growth rates and gain, and are more likely to perform poorly throughout their lives. And heifer calves with a history of scours are more likely to suffer from poor reproduction. The combined effects of scours—death loss, treatment costs and poor performance—can add up to thousands of dollars in economic losses each year.
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The functional cow
Bonnie Warnyca
Alberta Beef Magazine
"Smaller animal = lower feed requirements = more fertility = more longevity = more $ per acre." – Terry Gompert, Extension Educator, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension.
Look at your herd. Look at the cow over the age of 7 or 10 that has had a calf every year of her breeding life. She is a superior female and she may be black, or red or white or colored; it really doesn’t matter. "There are three points to consider when searching for that cash cow or functional cow," says Terry Gompert. "First find the cow that has survived a significant amount of time without any special feed or conditions. Second, this cow must have had a live calf every year. Third, there are no other points to consider when looking for a superior female."
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Beef packer perspective on today’s industry
Amanda Nolz
Tri State Livestock News
The beef industry chain is a diverse mix that spans from the rugged cowboy at a cow/calf operation, to the stocker and feeder, to the processing plant, to the grocery store and, finally, to the consumer’s dinner plate.
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Distillers in Beef Rations Supportive of Quality Grade
Cheryl Anderson
DTN
If there are any beef producers still hesitant to feed distillers dried grain to their cattle, they may be surprised to know that much of the high-quality beef branded as Certified Angus Beef has probably been fed distillers.
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Beef Industry Feels Impact of Low Milk Prices
Jennifer Moore
KSMU
Dairy farmers are struggling due to the lower prices of milk, so they’re trying to find ways to decrease the milk supply. Some are joining forces to send more of their cows to slaughter. Others are calling upon the government to take some dairy products off the shelves. But while it might cause the dairy industry to rebound sooner, some say it’s having unintended consequences on the beef industry. KSMU’s Jennifer Moore reports.
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Grass-fed beef offers less fat, more heart- and brain-healthy vitamins
Cleveland Plain Dealer
You get no advantages if the cow eats genetically modified corn. The big difference with organic beef is that the animals raised this way don’t get the antibiotics and other chemicals given to those raised conventionally.
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Welsh farmers giving garlic to cows to cut global warming
Hywel Trewyn
Daily Post
Welsh farmers will be asked to try out new diets on their livestock to cut the amount of methane their burping releases into the atmosphere. It comes after scientists found mixing some unusual foods into cattle and sheep feed could cut the stinky emissions from animals by 25%.
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Cow Nutrition Can Have Long-Term Impacts on Calf’s Productivity
Amy E. Radunz
BEEF Magazine
Good nutrition is more than just increased cow performance
Many producers recognize the importance of cow nutrition, especially during late gestation, because of the influence on the cow’s postpartum reproductive performance. However, researchers are discovering cow nutrition during gestation affects fetal growth and development of her calf, which can have long-term impacts on the calf’s productivity.
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