U.S. Hay Production and Supplies at Record Low
Derrell S. Peel
Beef Today
Two years of drought have taken a huge toll on U.S. hay production. In the recently released USDA Annual Crop Production Summary, total U.S. hay production in 2012 was 120 million tons, down nearly 18 percent from the 2006-2010 average. This is the lowest U.S. hay production total in data going back to 1974.
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Beware of Cold Stress and Newborn Calves
South Dakota Ag Connection
For the 73 percent of South Dakota’s cattle producers who calve in the spring, calving is right around the corner. Being prepared is key for a successful and profitable calving season, says Kalyn Waters, SDSU Extension Cow/Calf Field Specialist.
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Brangus Association Announces New Board Members
GoBrangus
The International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) recently elected five new members to serve a three-year term on the IBBA Board of Directors. The directors will be officially inducted at the IBBA Annual Membership Meeting March 1, 2013, in Houston, Texas.
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Water use a concern for U.S. livestock operations
Waterworld
Producers who plan to start or expand a livestock operation need to think about water before moving forward.
“Water is one of the critical natural resources needed for a livestock operation,” said Joe Zulovich, University of Missouri Extension agricultural engineer. “I’ve run into more cases than I care to think about where water was an afterthought rather than something built into the preplanning phases of putting an operation together.”
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It’s time to take stock of the Stock Show
Patricia Calhoun
Denver Westworld
"No convention to be held here this year will exceed in importance the gathering of this week," the Rocky Mountain News pronounced in January 1906, the year the National Western Stock Show got its start, as an adjunct of the annual Colorado Cattle and Horse Growers Association convention by the Denver Union Stockyards, where so many animals were penned awaiting shipment back east.
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Drought costs Texas a beef plant
Lynn Brezosky
Houston Chronicle
A 2,000-employee beef plant north of Lubbock has become a casualty of years of drought, which has led to the smallest U.S. cattle herd in 60 years.
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Caring for Cattle in Cold Weather
Dr. Rick Rasby, UNL Extension Beef Specialist
Winter has arrived in Nebraska. Producers need to be aware of how to care for cattle under cold and wet weather conditions. Dr. Rick Rasby explains how winter weather conditions impact cattle and how management can be used to minimize these effects.
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What Does that Bale of Hay Really Cost?
Gordon Groover
Traditionally, when asked what something costs, e.g. a bushel of corn, we call the co-op or a feed dealer and ask. When purchasing corn, we know that the price for number 2 yellow corn is good for today and that transportation costs must be covered by the purchaser.
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Carcass-based measures of cattle performance and feeding profitability
J. D. Tatum, W. J. Platter, J. L. Bargen and R. A. Endsley
The Professional Animal Scientist
Closeout records for 67,570 lots of commercially fed steers and heifers, together with individual carcass records for animals in each lot, were analyzed, holding prices for feeder cattle, beef carcasses, and feed at constant levels, to characterize relationships of carcass-based measures of cattle performance to feeding profitability.
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Feeding beef cows a balancing act after drought
Iowa State University
Iowa beef producers have to balance dietary and nutritional considerations with getting the most value for their dollar after feed prices skyrocketed this winter as a result of last year’s drought, said an Iowa State University Extension and Outreach beef cattle expert.
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The Beef Blog 