Monthly Archives: November 2013

Timed Grazing Boosts Beef Production Per Acre

Timed Grazing Boosts Beef Production Per Acre

Indiana Prairie Farmer

With more pasture acreage converted to crops, livestock producers heard ways to improve grazing gains at the Missouri Forage and Grassland Conference.

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Effective Communication Crucial to Dispel Myths About Beef Production, ‘Bovi Diva’ Says

Effective Communication Crucial to Dispel Myths About Beef Production, ‘Bovi Diva’ Says

Oklahoma Farm Report

The beef industry often finds itself under attack from activists claiming the industry is environmentally unsustainable. Jude Capper of Bozeman, Montana, refutes that accusation. She says that cattle producers have got to be a part of telling the positive story of their industry. Dr. Capper is an animal scientist from Washington State University and has traveled widely and spoken about the myths that many people hold about cattle production.

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Why We Don’t Eat Beef for Thanksgiving

Why We Don’t Eat Beef for Thanksgiving

Mattie Oatman

Mother Jones

…That’s why Bill Niman, the founder and former CEO of Niman Ranch, sells his pasture-finished Black Angus beef only from early summer to fall—to take advantage of prime Northern California grazing time, which begins in spring. (The timing would be different in other climates; in Vermont, where grass remains lush through the summer, the meat would be best later.) Chefs at premier restaurants—like California’s Chez Panisse and New York’s Blue Hill—say Niman’s rich steaks are worth the wait.

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Protect your investment in beef replacement heifers

Protect your investment in beef replacement heifers

Heifer Pro

After reaching historically low numbers in recent years, the U.S. cattle herd is on its way back.

“There are parts of the country coming into green again that haven’t been able to run cattle for several years, or who need to increase herd numbers,” says Mac Devin, DVM, Professional Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. “It’s exciting to see the industry building back up.”

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What If There Simply Aren’t More Antibiotics to be Discovered?

What If There Simply Aren’t More Antibiotics to be Discovered?

Ryan Cooper

Washington Monthly

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.

Antibiotic resistance, like climate change, is one of those issues that has been blinking red on the world’s dashboard for decades. Everyone agrees it’s potentially disastrous—in fact, has already reached crisis stage in some areas—but interest group politics and crippling political dysfunction combine to make sure nothing is done about it.

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Branded Product Provides Omega-3 Boosted Beef

Branded Product Provides Omega-3 Boosted Beef

Burt Rutherford       

BEEF

Here’s a marketing conundrum for you – how do you sell the health benefit of a new beef product to consumers who know everything and nothing at the same time?

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Conventional beef hits high grades for sustainability

Conventional beef hits high grades for sustainability

David Cooper   

Progressive Cattleman

It was as a 15-year-old vegetarian growing up in England that Dr. Jude Capper gained her first insight into the activist mindset: That the freedom to choose a food and lifestyle was worth fighting for.

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Nutrition plays key role in maintaining efficient cows

Nutrition plays key role in maintaining efficient cows

Blair Fanin

Bovine Veterinarian

Heading into the winter months, cattle producers should give careful attention to adequate nutrition of beef cattle, said a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert.

Dr. Jason Cleere, beef cattle specialist, College Station, told producers at the recent South Central Texas Cow-Calf Clinic in Brenham to monitor body condition of their cattle to ensure those cows will raise a healthy calf and properly re-breed.

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Beef Plant Plight: Concern over foreign investment

Beef Plant Plight: Concern over foreign investment

The Fence Post

The financing methods of the non-operating and bankrupt Northern Beef Packers are under federal investigation, according to the Associated Press.

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Managing BRD Starts with the Veterinarian

Managing BRD Starts with the Veterinarian

Angus Beef Bulletin Extra

Most in the beef industry know there is no “typical” case of bovine respiratory disease (BRD). With the number of variables that can impact cattle health — weather, stress and genetics among them — it’s very important for producers to work with their veterinarian to develop a BRD management program that can help bring consistency to their operation.

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At $55 Per Pound This Beef Melts in Your Mouth

At $55 Per Pound This Beef Melts in Your Mouth

Mark Parker

Progressive Farmer

Raising Japanese cattle in the heart of the Ozarks puts JB Kobe Beef Farms way outside the U.S. beef-production box.

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Abortion Diagnostics

Abortion Diagnostics

Troy Smith

Angus Journal

If you keep livestock long term, you will experience death losses. Most cow-calf producers expect to suffer some losses due to abortion and stillborn calves. However, they typically expect those to occur in a very small percentage of pregnancies.

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Preparing the Cow Herd for Cold Weather

Preparing the Cow Herd for Cold Weather

Rick Rasby

University of Nebraska

Cows in an optimal body condition score (BCS 5 to 6) are better able to withstand adverse environmental conditions. As a risk management strategy at the ranch level going into the winter, reduce the number of BCS 4 cows and increase the number of BCS 5 cows in your herd.

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Want Efficient Cows? Feed Them Well

Want Efficient Cows? Feed Them Well

Beef Producer

With winter months ahead, keeping an eye on herd body condition will be essential to easy calving and re-breeding, a Texas A&M beef cattle specialist told a group of producers at the South Central Texas Cow-Calf Clinic recently.

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Hunter has a cow when bovines invade hunting area

Hunter has a cow when bovines invade hunting area

Marc Murrell

Topeka Capital Journal

Anyone who spends time hunting has run across their fair share of cows.

These often harmless bovine are a fixture in many pastures, woodlands and ranches frequented by deer and turkeys. Sometimes they mingle, sometimes they don’t. One thing is certain — they are often a source of entertainment, or headache, for some outdoorsmen.

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NAFTA and US Farmers—20 Years Later

NAFTA and US Farmers—20 Years Later

Karen Hansen-Kuhn

Common Dreams

One of the clearest stories from the NAFTA experience has been the devastation wreaked on the Mexican countryside by dramatic increases in imports of cheap U.S. corn.

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Never too late to start career in showing cattle

Never too late to start career in showing cattle

Mary MacArthur

The Western Producer

Some people buy a fancy sports car or take a cruise to satisfy their midlife crisis. Shelley Grundberg quit her job and started to show cattle.

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School Raises Cattle For Hands-On Learning And Earning

School Raises Cattle For Hands-On Learning And Earning

Ann Behling  

Hay and Forage Grower

When challenged to help trim the Nettle Creek School Corporation’s tight budget, two staff members looked no further than its 40-acre Hagerstown, IN, farm.

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USDA’s Meat ID Labels Spark International Food Fight

USDA’s Meat ID Labels Spark International Food Fight

Ciaran McEvoy

Investors Business Daily

Most Americans don’t know where their chicken, beef and pork were born, raised and slaughtered, but a new rule now requires that labeling. Supporters say it educates consumers. But critics, including major meat companies, say it’s a costly and unnecessary protectionist measure.

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Beef farmers planning commingled cattle pool to do business with big buyers

Beef farmers planning commingled cattle pool to do business with big buyers

TED BOOKER

Watertown Daily Times

North country beef farmers are preparing to do business with farms across the Midwest next fall by pooling their calves into a commingled herd.

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