Positive breakevens on retaining ownership offers opportunities for cow-calf operators
Tri State Livestock News
An opportunity to lock in an extra $20-40 a head on calves being weaned this fall offers cow-calf producers an opportunity not seen in the last two or three years, according to Dr. Darrell Mark, an extension livestock marketing specialist with the University of Nebraska.
Mark said it may make sense for producers to retain ownership of those calves and finish them in Nebraska.
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The Sandhills Way
Micky Wilson
Angus Journal
For many cattlemen, calving season is the most labor-intensive, sleep-deprived time of the year. Night checks, inclement weather and sick calves only add to the strain of daily life during calving. But what if there were a way to avoid some of the hands-on work, sickness, scours and stress of calving?
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Nutrition, facility preparation vital to successful calving season
AG Answers
Calves born with any sort of difficulty at birth are four times more likely to die than those without, which is why conditioning cows for calving is extremely important, said Ron Lemenager, Purdue University beef nutrition specialist.
As the spring calving season approaches, producers should look at three key factors to prepare cows to calve.
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More On The Question Of Profit vs. Production
Troy Marshall
BEEF Magazine
Thankfully the seedstock industry has realized that more is not always better. But, given our desire to be anywhere but the middle of the bell curve, we’re now seeing those who argue that less is always better.
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Nebraska Cattlemen Sets New Policies and Elects Leadership
KMEG
Despite a monstrous snow storm last week, cattle producers were able to tend to business both on their operations and for their industry. Nebraska cattle producers cared for their animals during the storm and then hoofed it to Kearney for the annual Nebraska Cattlemen Convention.
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Making informed genetic decisions
John Maday
Drovers.com
University of Nebraska animal scientist Matt Spangler, PhD, outlined how to use various types of genetic information to make informed selection decisions. Speaking at the 2009 Range Beef Cow Symposium, Spangler said bull buyers often face considerable confusion these days, when confronted with Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs), ultrasound measurements, DNA marker panel results and ratios that combine multiple traits.
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Cattle Healthline: Don’t Forget to Winterize Your Cowherd
Dan Goehl
Beef Today
Winterizing the truck, tractors and other farm equipment you have is second nature, but do not forget about livestock. This can be a difficult time for animals and there are several areas that you should pay careful attention to.
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Ranchers say pampered livestock yield more organic product
BOB KOSLOW
News-Journal
A frequent television commercial proclaims that happy cows come from California, but Trish Strawn will match the mood of her cattle at Deep Creek Ranch with anybody’s.
"I don’t treat them as pets, but sometimes we treat them better than we treat our own children," said the mother of two teens and sales/marketing manager for the family ranch run by her dad, David Strawn. "I think it’s important that they know they are taken care of. It’s part of what we do."
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A Market for Beef Ambles Across a Border
ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO
New York Times
For decades, the cattle-raising family of Gabriel Pintos looked across the Río de la Plata with respect and envy at Argentina’s legendary tradition for producing beef.
But scanning the vast expanse of his 193-acre ranch here recently, where ducks quacked in a nearby pond while 120 cows nibbled on green grass, Mr. Pintos exuded a new competitive vigor.
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Feedlot Forum 2010
KMEG
The beef industry faces key issues – high feed costs, animal welfare and lower fed cattle prices. These are the focus of a co-sponsored feedlot meeting on January 19. The meeting, beginning at 8:45 a.m. at the Corporate Center in Sioux Center, also features the District One Iowa Cattlemen’s Association (ICA) meeting, a trade show displaying the latest cattle products and services, and a steak dinner!
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Producers find market for grass-fed and grain-fed beef
High Plains Journal
Cattle producers today have many options when it comes to raising their animals, according to John Lawrence, director of the Iowa Beef Center.
Lawrence and several producers discussed these options during the Iowa Forage and Grasslands Conference held in Des Moines recently.
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Coming soon – 50K HD DNA testing
Drovers.com
Bovine genomics technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Since the first genetic marker in beef cattle—a marker for marbling—was available in 2000, rapid advancements in the breadth and application of genomics have transformed the landscape of beef cattle genetics.
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Which Way to Traceability?
Burt Rutherford
BEEF Magazine
It’s late at night and a visitor stops at a flashing yellow light of a rural intersection. With some uncertainty, the visitor peers over the steering wheel, foot on the brake, hand on the turn signal. Which way to go?
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Public comment sought on proposed Trichomoniasis rule
The Prairie Star
The Montana Department of Livestock (MDOL) is accepting public comment on proposed rule changes for Trichomoniasis through December 24. Trichomoniasis is a disease of the reproductive tract that causes 25-50 percent pregnancy loss in positive herds.
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ND to revisit restrictions on Minn. cattle imports
BLAKE NICHOLSON
Miami Herald
North Dakota is revisiting restrictions it placed on cattle imports from Minnesota nearly two years ago after bovine tuberculosis was detected in deer and cattle herds there, a state official said.
North Dakota’s Board of Animal Health asked state Veterinarian Dr. Susan Keller to meet with wildlife officials from both states to discuss the restrictions and gather information.
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