BeefTalk: Change, It’s in Your Mind

BeefTalk: Change, It’s in Your Mind

Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service

I could not help noticing Whit Hibbard’s article, It’s All About Mindset, that popped up on the Drovers CattleNetwork. The article talked about low-stress livestock handling. The article quoted Bud Williams, who noted that to establish the principles of low-stress livestock handling, one must have the correct mindset.

Full Story

Purebred Beef Unit offers students chance to gain experience

Purebred Beef Unit offers students chance to gain experience

Taylor Isley

The Collegian

Students and faculty alike enjoy working and learning at the Purebred Beef Teaching Unit. The Purebred Beef Teaching Unit located off Kimball Avenue allows students to experience the cattle industry through hands-on work experience and different teaching experience offered at the unit.

Full Story

Corn stalks can be a good option for feed

Corn stalks can be a good option for feed

Rory Lewandowski

Ohio’s Country Journal

As corn harvest progresses, don’t overlook corn stalks as a feed resource. Corn residue can meet the nutrient needs of ruminant livestock that are in early to mid-gestation.

Full Story

Is there a right to farm?

Is there a right to farm?

Suzanne B. Bopp

Drovers

After a recent vote (and a recount), Missouri has decided to make an addition to its state constitution: a right to farm amendment. The closeness of the vote necessitated the recount. Out of almost a million votes cast, the difference between supporters and opponents was just 2,375 votes.

Full Story

Red Angus Selection Indices Estimate Profitability

Red Angus Selection Indices Estimate Profitability

Redangus.org

Guided by Red Angus philosophies that separate science from politics, the Red Angus Association of America (RAAA) is pleased to announce the development and release of the HerdBuilder and GridMaster indices.

Full Story

Calf Prices Pressured By Seasonality And Harvest

Calf Prices Pressured By Seasonality And Harvest

Wes Ishmael

BEEF

Notwithstanding the fact that calf and feeder prices remain amid the historic ether and that supplies remain exceedingly tight, situational economics pressured calf prices this week.

Full Story

How to Use the Stocker Price Tracker Spreadsheet

How to Use the Stocker Price Tracker Spreadsheet

Alan Newport

Beef Producer

To see value of gain numbers this spreadsheet will generate, you’ll need to enter real prices from a nearby cattle market in the value of gain analyzer.

Full Story

Seeking Top Dollar

Seeking Top Dollar

Greg Henderson

Angus Beef Bulletin Extra

It’s sale day. The gate opens, and the first draft of your calves trots into the ring. You hear the auctioneer announce from the block, “Here they are, boys, a set of reputation calves from …”

Full Story

Frugality can cost you on energy supplements

Frugality can cost you on energy supplements

Michael Fisher

Progressive Cattleman

Energy is a vital component of every cow’s diet. Unfortunately, most grazing cattle will experience a period of time when the available forage does not meet their energy needs.

Full Story

Animal welfare and consumer relations

Animal welfare and consumer relations

Dr. Bob Larson

Angus Journal

Providing a safe and healthy environment for cattle is not only the foundation for good animal welfare and efficient production, but it is also necessary in order to maintain a positive image of cattle production for consumers.

Full Story

Fall calving when the opportunity strikes

Fall calving when the opportunity strikes

Laura Mushrush

Drovers

For most cow-calf operations across the United States, fall’s early frost marks a time when weaning of spring-born calves is complete or coming to an end and cows are prepped to finish gestation through the cold winter months.

Full Story

Determining how much forage a beef cow can consume daily

Determining how much forage a beef cow can consume daily

Rick Rasby

Angus Journal

It’s October, and spring-born calves are weaned or about to be weaned. Now it’s time for producers to turn their focus to mapping out the feeding program for their cow herd.

Full Story

Evaluating Cattle Feeding Sites Vital to Producers

Evaluating Cattle Feeding Sites Vital to Producers

Kansas State University

“If producers live in the western part of the state, rainfall is at a minimum,” Graber explained. “From an environmental standpoint, that makes it easier to deal with, because we can minimize runoff. Conversely, if they live in the southeastern part of the state and get 45 inches of rain a year, we have a lot of potential runoff to deal with.”

Full Story

Tax Planning for High Income

Tax Planning for High Income

Tina Barrett

University of Nebraska

For the past 5 years I’ve been writing articles for crop farmers on how to manage the unprecedented amount of income flowing through their operations and now it is the turn of the livestock producer to worry about what to do with all the extra income.

Full Story

The impact of dressing percent on cull cow marketing

The impact of dressing percent on cull cow marketing

Glenn Selk

Roosevelt County Agriculture

Cull cows that are destined to go to the packing house are graded by their fleshiness. The fattest cows are called “Breakers.” Moderately fleshed cows are “Boners.” Thin cows are called “Leans” or “Lights,” depending upon the weight of the cow. There will be price differences among these four grades. There will be price differences among these four grades.

Full Story

Will my alfalfa survive the coming winter?

Will my alfalfa survive the coming winter?

Phil Kaatz

Michigan State University

During the 2014 growing season, much of Michigan had cooler and wetter weather, preventing many alfalfa producers from being able to harvest high quality dry alfalfa hay on a timely basis.

Full Story

Protect Livestock From Sweet Clover Disease

Protect Livestock From Sweet Clover Disease

Beef Today

“Unfortunately, proper harvesting can be difficult,” says Gerald Stokka, North Dakota State University Extension Service livestock stewardship specialist and veterinarian. “If cutting is delayed until full bloom, the large, high-moisture stems will take a longer time to dry than the leaves.

Full Story

Cattle Industry, Land Group Presses Feds to Pull WOTUS Rule

Cattle Industry, Land Group Presses Feds to Pull WOTUS Rule

Todd Neeley

DTN

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council asked the EPA to withdraw the proposed Clean Water Act rule in a 37-page comment letter submitted Tuesday, calling out the agency on a number of fronts including making claims that EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have not followed the Administrative Procedures Act during the public comment period that ends Nov. 14.

Full Story

Another sales record for Certified Hereford Beef

Another sales record for Certified Hereford Beef

Certified Hereford Beef (CHB) LLC experienced a record year of growth during fiscal year 2014 with 50.2 million lb. of product sold — a 2% increase compared to the previous year’s total. Since 2008, CHB LLC has increased beef sales by 43%.

Full Story

Utilizing scales in herd management is important to profit

Utilizing scales in herd management is important to profit

Robyn Scherer

Progressive Cattleman

In the cattle business, weight is important. The weight of a calf when it’s born through the weight when it’s processed are all values that help a producer to know more about a herd, and make management decisions.

Full Story