Ultrasound as a Feedlot Marketing Tool

Ultrasound as a Feedlot Marketing Tool

Cuplab.com

Using ultrasound to measure carcass quality and establish EPDs in the purebred beef industry has long been accepted practice. Every cattleman knows that quality beef starts with quality genetics. And centralized processing labs like the CUP Lab™ have made ultrasound data accurate and reliable.

But using ultrasound technology in the feedlot side of the business is just beginning to catch on. The reason is simple: Show me the money.

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Horses and ATV’s Face Off on the Ranch

Horses and ATV’s Face Off on the Ranch

Rachel Duff

BEEF Today

The image of cattle ranches from the early days involved a cowboy and his trusty horse riding off into the sunset. Today, however, some ranches are moving their saddles from the four-legged to the four-wheeler—or a combination of the two. Horses are making room in the barn for another mode of transportation.

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Grazing conference offers latest grassland management information

Grazing conference offers latest grassland management information

AG Answers

Grassland farmers across the Midwest looking for the latest production information for their livestock have the opportunity to attend the annual Heart of America Grazing Conference in January.

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Taiwan moves to reinstate partial U.S. beef ban

Taiwan moves to reinstate partial U.S. beef ban

Kalamazoo Country

Taiwan’s parliament agreed to amend a food safety law to ban certain U.S. beef imports on Tuesday amid widespread fears over mad cow disease on the island, potentially straining ties with the United States.

Legislators will vote on the issue early next year, Wang Jin-pyng, president of the island’s legislature said, after the ruling Kuomintang and opposition Democratic Progressive Party came to an in-principle agreement to reinstate the ban.

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Cow temperament does matter

Cow temperament does matter

David L. Morris, DVM, Ph.D.

The Fence Post

Cow temperament has always been a topic of concern when handling the breeding herd whether dairy or beef. Most certainly, the topic of discussion is more focused on those that one needs to look out for rather than those animals that largely remain indifferent to human handlers.

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Trucker’s Tale: Reduces stress through humane cattle handle

Trucker’s Tale: Reduces stress through humane cattle handle

Meggie I. Foster

American Cattlemen

From the ranch to the processing yard, beef calves endure high levels of stress dealing with new, foreign environments that can ultimately affect beef quality and the producers’ bottom line. And while for most cattlemen, it’s always a satisfying feeling to get the calves loaded onto the trailer and watch the truck fade into the horizon, many producers harbor some degree of anxiety until they know the cattle have reached their destination safely.

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Animal welfare victories prompt farmers to change

Animal welfare victories prompt farmers to change

TRACIE CONE

AG Weekly

Recent successes by the Humane Society of the United States in securing protections in some states for chickens, pigs and veal calves have prompted the dairy industry to launch a PR offensive.

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Texas State Livestock Veterinarian to Retire

Texas State Livestock Veterinarian to Retire

American Cattlemen

Dr. Bob Hillman, Texas’ state veterinarian and executive director of the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), has announced that he will retire December 31, ending his nearly seven-year tenure with the state’s livestock and poultry health regulatory agency.

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The five management plans

The five management plans

Dave Barz, DVM

Tri State Livestock News

So far November has been a great month. Most farmers are done with beans and the corn harvest rolls on. It is wet and the fields are soggy, but most are patient and getting the job done. Recently I was working the local auction market and was amazed at the amount of preparedness producers had placed in their calves.

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Veterinary buildings exempt from Iowa State partial closure

Veterinary buildings exempt from Iowa State partial closure

DVM NEWSMAGAZINE

A partial shutdown of Iowa State University due to budget cuts is not spreading to the College of Veterinary Medicine.

The partial shutdown, in effect from Dec. 24 to Jan. 3, has been attributed to state budget cuts and aims at saving the university between $100,000 and $200,000 in utility costs, according to the school. One of the largest utility savings will come from the university’s large Parks Library, which houses the Veterinary Medicine Library.

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Baxter Black, DVM: THE TEXAS THANK YOU TOUR

Baxter Black, DVM:  THE TEXAS THANK YOU TOUR

I made the trip to Texas this fall and was able to revisit a couple of monumental memories, just to see if they were real.

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Steve Cornett: Don’t Forget to Write

Steve Cornett:  Don’t Forget to Write

Beef Today

As the New Year approaches, this is the last week for what?

You’re thinking about moving bills into the old year, aren’t you? Or, if it’s been one of THOSE years for you, maybe trying to shift some income forward?

Not me. I don’t like managing taxes. I like bloviating about agricultural politics. So for me, this is the last week to submit comments to the Department of Justice on what you think is wrong with the way the cattle business is structured.

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Implications for Cow-Calf Producers

Implications for Cow-Calf Producers

Southern Livestock Standard

As the Japanese and other foreign markets reopened to U.S. beef, there became increasing demand for source- and age-verified cattle. These export markets require that age and source claims be documented and verified through a recognized USDA program. These programs include the USDA Process Verified Program (PVP) or a USDA Quality System Assessment (QSA), two separate programs that will meet the export requirements of all our trading partners.

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Quality Grade:What is driving the recent upswing?

Quality Grade:What is driving the recent upswing?

CAB Partners

Speaking at the 2009 ReciprocalMeat Conference, scientists (Johnson, 2009; Hocquette, 2009) illustrated the important contribution marbling makes to the three key components of consumer satisfaction – tenderness, flavor and juiciness. When tenderness is acceptable, the ultimate demand driver is beef ’s unique flavor, and perhaps the most significant contributor to that flavor profile is marbling.

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Investors see farms as way to grow Detroit

Investors see farms as way to grow Detroit

P.J. Huffstutter

Los Angles Times

On the city’s east side, where auto workers once assembled cars by the millions, nature is taking back the land.

Cottonwood trees grow through the collapsed roofs of homes stripped clean for scrap metal. Wild grasses carpet the rusty shells of empty factories, now home to pheasants and wild turkeys.

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Cows Thrive on Standing Forage for Fall, Winter Grazing

Cows Thrive on Standing Forage for Fall, Winter Grazing

Del Deterling

DTN/Progressive Farmer

Dean Hopkins believes he has found a cheaper way to winter cows.

Instead of feeding expensive hay and supplement, he makes greater use of standing grasses in the field for late fall and early winter grazing. By the time this standing grass is utilized, ryegrass or clover is available to carry cows until bermudagrass greens up in the spring.

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OSU Scientist Talks Beef in China

OSU Scientist Talks Beef in China

Thebeefsite.com

China’s appetite for beef is growing at a long-term trend rate that is unparalleled by any other major consuming market. That is one reason that Oklahoma State University’s Dr Brad Morgan, department of animal science meat scientist, recently traveled to all-corners of China and talked to several purchasing groups regarding the usefulness, high quality and safety associated with the current US beef offering.

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USDA approves eTattoo™ as First Official UHF Indentification Device

USDA approves eTattoo™  as First Official UHF Indentification Device

Eriginate™ Corporation announced today the approval of its eTattoo™  tag by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The approval marks the first ultra-high radio frequency identification tag (UHF RFID) and the first non-low frequency tag (LF) to be approved for use with the “840” Animal Identification Number (AIN).

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Junior Beefmaster Breeders Begin Show Season

Junior Beefmaster Breeders Begin Show Season

Cattle Today

Members of the Junior Beefmaster Breeders Association (JBBA) kicked off a new show season recently that will run through the spring of 2010. JBBA exhibitors head into the season riding a wave of momentum from a successful year in 2009.

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BeefTalk: Maybe We Should Slow Down and Ask for Directions

BeefTalk: Maybe We Should Slow Down and Ask for Directions

Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service

Perhaps now is the time to stop, ponder a bit and appreciate what we have.

As the year comes to a close, many thoughts come to mind. These thoughts are embedded with questions. What makes these thoughts unique for each person is a combination of time and place.

Questions for older or younger people are anchored at a different point in time. Of course, someone living in Argentina is going to view things differently than someone living in the United States.

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