Vaccinate Twice a Year to Prevent Lepto in Herds

Vaccinate Twice a Year to Prevent Lepto in Herds

Heather Smith Thomas

Cattle Today

There are several bacterial infections in cattle that occur worldwide, and one of the most common is leptospirosis. Illness from this type of infection can be mild or severe, but this disease is economically significant because it is one of the most common cause of infectious abortion in cattle.

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The Paradigm Shift in American Food

The Paradigm Shift in American Food

Brian Stoffel

The Motley Fool

No matter when and where it started, there’s no doubt a fundamental shift is occurring in how Americans approach their food. Instead of blindly trusting that the industrial agribusiness model has consumers’ best interests at heart, people are starting to make informed decisions about where they get their food.

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Inside the Beef Industry’s Battle Over Growth-Promotion Drugs

Inside the Beef Industry’s Battle Over Growth-Promotion Drugs

Dan Charles

KQED

. . .Yet concern about Zilmax and the class of growth-promotion drugs called beta agonists has been building for some time. In an interesting twist, the decisive pressure on Zilmax did not come from animal welfare groups or government regulators: It emerged from within the beef industry itself, and from academic experts who have long worked as consultants to the industry.

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Use beef genomics to improve or lose out to ‘other protein’

Use beef genomics to improve or lose out to ‘other protein’

Barbara Duckworth 

The Western Producer

A DNA train is coming down the track, and scientists are urging beef producers to get on board or be left behind.

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Stockpile fescue for winter grazing

Stockpile fescue for winter grazing

Mark Keaton

Baxter Bulletin

Some producers cut hay in October and then begin feeding hay in November. Stockpiling is sort of like managing a last cutting of hay, but you let the cattle harvest the hay for you.

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Minn. Beef Producers To Vote On Doubling Checkoff

Minn. Beef Producers To Vote On Doubling Checkoff

WCCO

Minnesota beef producers vote in February on whether to double the state checkoff to $2 for every head sold to help elevate the image of beef.

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MU researchers develop app that could save cattle lives

MU researchers develop app that could save cattle lives

Jerett Rion

Quincy Journal

Each year, overheated cattle cost farmers more than $1.2 billion. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have created a smartphone application that can detect when a cow is at risk for heat stress. The app also can offer the best methods for intervention.

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Beef & “Vitamin Z”

Beef & "Vitamin Z"

Regina Schrambling

Epicurious.com

Editor’s note: Stories of this ilk are included in the blog to inform those in our industry how agriculture is being presented to and perceived by the public.

I just ruined lunch with a friend by bringing up a food story that’s been surprisingly undercovered, at least in the media outlets where I spend time. That would be "Vitamin Z," a weight-gain supplement for cattle whose manufacturer has temporarily stopped selling it since feedlots and slaughterhouses started noticing the animals are looking odd ("as muscle-bound as athletes") and behaving oddly (staggering, lying down like dogs

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Coccidiosis in Calves

Coccidiosis in Calves

Heather Smith Thomas

Angus Beef Bulletin Extra

Coccidiosis is an intestinal disease caused by protozoa that calves pick up from the environment. Most cattle encounter these protozoa and develop an immunity, but continue to shed a few oocytes in their feces, which can then contaminate feed or water and be picked up by other cattle.

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Iowa State Economists Issues Cautious Message For Farmers

Iowa State Economists Issues Cautious Message For Farmers

AgriMarketing

Iowa State University economists are cautioning farmers to be prepared for a potential downturn in the values of commodities and land.

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