Baxter Black, DVM: A MARIPOSA SATURDAY NIGHT

Baxter Black, DVM:  A MARIPOSA SATURDAY NIGHT

It was a late Saturday afternoon when Donelle glanced out the front window and saw a cow, one lone cow, standing on her front porch.

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Pregnancy testing: New technology provides several options

Pregnancy testing: New technology provides several options                            

Heather Smith Thomas          

Progressive Cattleman

Pregnancy testing of beef cows is generally done by rectal palpation, but many veterinarians also use ultrasound.

The newest techniques include extension-arm ultrasound (a probe that doesn’t have to be taken into the rectum by hand or arm) and blood tests.

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Ranch math of protein supplementation

Ranch math of protein supplementation

Kenny Barrett

Tri-State Livestock News

A cow can stand next to a bale of feed and starve to death. Veterinarians are called out to examine down cows every year for this exact reason. In veterinary medicine we call it protein-energy malnutrition but more simply they are starving with full bellies. The problem is protein nutrition or lack thereof.

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Six ways to help feedlot cattle adapt

Six ways to help feedlot cattle adapt

Geni Wren

Bovine Veterinarian Magazine

Acclimating new cattle the feedlot takes good management and animal husbandry skills.

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Are Older Cows Less Fertile?

Are Older Cows Less Fertile?

Dr. Ken McMillan

DTN/The Progressive Farmer

Being older doesn’t mean a cow is necessarily less fertile. Rule out other problems before you cull her, including the breeding soundness of your bull.

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Purdue Economist forecasts 2–3% drop in U.S. beef cow herd

Purdue Economist forecasts 2–3% drop in U.S. beef cow herd

AgriMarketing

Purdue University ag economist Chris Hurt predicts U.S. beef cow numbers will be two to three percent lower in the January cattle inventory report.

Hurt says the drought has been particularly cruel to the beef cattle industry. Poor pastures combined with high feed prices have caused many producers to reduce their herds.

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Deadline Fast Approaching for NCBA Cattle Industry Convention Internships

Deadline Fast Approaching for NCBA Cattle Industry Convention Internships

Brownfield Network

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) government affairs office in Washington, D.C., is accepting applications for internships during the 2013 Cattle Industry Convention in Tampa, Fla., Feb. 6-9, 2013. The deadline to submit an application is Nov. 4, 2012.

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Kentucky Waves Aflatoxin Blending Ban

Kentucky Waves Aflatoxin Blending Ban

Hay and Forage Grower

Aflatoxin-contaminated corn in Kentucky can now be mixed with other corn provided it will result in a blend safe for feeding to specific animals.

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Plastic silage wrap technology saves livestock feed

Plastic silage wrap technology saves livestock feed

Andrea Johnson

Farm and Ranch Guide

An Italian company, Bruno Rimini Corp., has developed a product that helps keep high quality silage from spoiling.

Silostop oxygen barrier film is a thin and clingy plastic used underneath traditional polyethylene plastic to help preserve bunked or piled silage.

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Virginia Educator, Cattleman, Dr. John Gerkin Passes

Virginia Educator, Cattleman, Dr. John Gerkin Passes

Roanoke Times

. . . He completed graduate training at both Virginia Tech (masters) and North Carolina State (doctorate). Upon completion of his doctoral degree in 1971, he joined the Animal Science faculty in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech. He served the university and the State of Virginia as extension faculty in beef cattle nutrition until his retirement as professor emeritus in 1991.

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