Carcass traits are a major profit driver
Dr. Bob Hough
The Cattle Business Weekly
Over the last 20 years the beef industry has gone through significant structural changes that have dramatically changed the profit driver matrix in the beef industry. Over this time, the industry has moved from an almost exclusively cash market to one that is now value-based, so the need for cattle to have the potential to excel in end product characteristics has become paramount.
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Identification is key to livestock record keeping
Shane Gadberry
Bovine Veterinarian
The truck in the driveway has a VIN, the vaccine in the refrigerator has a lot number, but does the cow and her calf in the field have a tag? According to the most recent NAHMS survey, cow and herd identification is least common when herd size was less than 50 cows.
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See Mob Grazing In Action
Lon Tonneson
Beef Producer
Three South Dakota ranchers offer mob grazing tips, how-to advice and anecdotes in three videos shot by South Dakota State University staff. Pat Guptill, Quinn; Charlie Totten, Chamberlain; and Richard Smith, Hayti, tell how mob grazing has improved forage production, stretched their grass supply, increased stocking rates, upped soil health, made cows happier and healthier and put some extra income in their pockets.
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Millennials, The Farmer’s Friend
Gary Truitt
Hoosier AG TOday
Those of us in agriculture know all too well who our critics are. From TV talk shows to social media channels, the anti-farm, anti-animal, anti-GMO, anti-everything crowd — along with those organizations who make money by bashing agriculture and scaring people about their food, our critics have no problem making their voices heard.
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House calls for monument designation oversight
Theodora Dowling
Western Livestock Journal
If the president designates 2 million acres of federal land as a national monument, and nobody is around to hear it, can it still bring a local economy to its knees? According to university research, interviewed locals, and Congress, yes, it can. In fact, it’s precisely what happened after President Clinton single-handedly in 1996 designated the Grand Stair-Case Escalante National Monument (GSENM) in southern Utah.
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Remembering the late John Bartee
Jimmy Settle
The Leaf Chronicle
The late University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service director for Montgomery County, John D. Bartee, was not always one for being in the limelight. That was just his style. But, maybe that’s one of the reasons this gentle giant was beloved not only in the northern middle Tennessee area, but throughout the state, and the entire Southeastern United States, for that matter.
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Many reasons for vaccine changes
Roy Lewis, DVM
The Western Producer
There are many difficult decisions to be made when changing the brand or manufacturer of a vaccine line. The first thing producers must do is determine what diseases they will be vaccinating against, whether they use a modified live, killed or combined program and how effective they think their program was originally.
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Judge Upholds Country of Origin Label for Meat
MARY CLARE JALONICK
The Daily News
Shoppers who want to buy American beef for dinner instead of meat from Canada or Mexico will still be able to find the country of origin on the label. A federal appeals court ruling Friday allows the government to go forward with rules that require labels on packaged steaks, ribs and other cuts of meat to say where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered.
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Moxley Ranch adds to rich Flint Hills legacy
Frank J. Buchman
The Topeka Capital-Journal
The story of the historic Moxley Hall Herefords Ranch near Council Grove begins with a Kentucky tobacco plantation during the Civil War and continues through six generations of Flint Hills cowboys.
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White House looks to regulate cow flatulence as part of climate agenda
Michael Bastasch
Daily Caller
As part of its plan to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, the Obama administration is targeting the dairy industry to reduce methane emissions in their operations. This comes despite falling methane emission levels across the economy since 1990.
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Pondering Herd Size
Troy Smith
Angus Journal
There is considerable concern about the shrunken state of the U.S. cow herd and the need to increase numbers. The situation prompts people to ponder questions about how that may happen and how long it might take.
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Marketing calves on genetic merit
John Maday
Bovine Veterinarian
Cattle feeders routinely see wide variation groups of cattle they feed in performance, value and profitability. Some of that variation relates to management before the cattle arrive, which has led to marketing programs designed to capture value based on verification of health and weaning practices back at the ranch.
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Select a Quality Clean-up Bull
Beef Producer
"Progressive cattle producers who use technology, like heat synchronization and fixed-time artificial insemination, realize a cleanup bull is an important player on the beef team," said Eldon Cole, University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist.
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Adapting Breeding Practices to Genomic Technologies
Jared Decker
A Steak in Genomics
Reporting on the RAAA Brain Trust 2014: Genomics are building blocks for the future; seedstock producers are the architects, Sheyna Strommen discusses the recent Red Angus seminar held in Denver, Colorado. The Brain Trust is the Red Angus Association’s educational forum.
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Before heading out on the range
Stockmanship and Handling Cattle on the Range
Steve Cote
Green riders shouldn’t ride green horses. That’s a recipe for wrecks. Don’t expect that you’ll be able to gather and pull a large herd together and place them on the range unless the herd has been well handled first.
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BeefTalk: Do the Cows Fit the Operation?
Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service
Generally, facts do not change and the application of facts to life determines success. In other words, life is more than luck. One needs to plan, implement, evaluate and replan to stay in touch. That was the essence of the integrated resource management program that was very successful with the help of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the cooperative efforts of the land-grant universities across the U.S.
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Time to evaluate udder soundness
High Plains Journal
Cow-calf producers should consider udder soundness as an economically relevant trait translating to the life or death of a newborn calf. The simple process of taking udder scores will improve overall udder soundness in your cow herd.
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The Beef Cow Mammary System
Ron Torell, Robert Pawelek
Oregon State University
The mammary system is one of the most important functional traits of the cow. Anyone who has ever attempted to milk out a sore bagged, balloon teated cow can certainly relate to the need for quality udders. Udder and teat soundness are a concern for a number of reasons.
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Few farmers immune to impact of epic California drought
Dale Kasler
Sacramento Bee
COALINGA — When spring arrives, the Central Valley farm fields owned by Harris Ranch normally come to life with tomatoes, lettuce and watermelons. This year, much of the land has been left dry and bare.
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Hawaii and the electric cow
Port Orchard Independent
Normally, you wouldn’t think the cost of electricity would clobber ranchers, but in Hawaii, high power rates are the central competitiveness issue. In fact, the owners of the mammoth Parker Ranch on Hawaii’s big island have calculated their “per cow” electricity costs.
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