BeefTalk: Have a Plan to Manage Cowherd Subgroups
Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service
Spotty spring rains are helping relieve dry conditions. However, there always will be a ranch short of moisture, so planning for the dry days is critical. But the real challenge with the implementation of a long-term grazing plan and developing stocking rate reductions based on seasonal moisture is that cattle are not easy to gather.
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Make hay in May for high quality
FarmTalk
April showers that drive corn farmers crazy make better grass, and hay, for livestock farmers. Early grass growth made 200 pounds of dry matter per acre per day in early April. “That’s amazing,” says Rob Kallenbach, University of Missouri Extension forage specialist.
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Environmental exposure to hormones used in animal agriculture greater than expected
EurekaAlert
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.
Research by an Indiana University environmental scientist and colleagues at universities in Iowa and Washington finds that potentially harmful growth-promoting hormones used in beef production are expected to persist in the environment at higher concentrations and for longer durations than previously thought.
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Re-Think Silage Shrink
AgWeb
Federal and state agencies are becoming concerned enough with the environmental impacts of farming practices that they have begun regulating silage production (mainly in California) to mitigate losses that may affect air and water quality.
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Is a Fault-Finding Fence Tester Worth the Money?
On Pasture
I usually say if you have over 10 or 20 acres of area fenced off, then go ahead and buy a good fault finding tester. If you have less than that, then purchasing a standard digital fence tester is fine.
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American Angus Association Hires Adam Conover
Located in 12 geographical locations across the country, American Angus Association® regional managers are the feet on the ground for the organization’s nearly 25,000 members. They are a dedicated group of representatives who travel countless miles promoting the Angus breed and helping cattle producers secure high quality genetics.
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Beef Demand Leaps 15.5 Percent in First Quarter 2015
Oklahoma Farm Report
Over the last several years, beef demand has been measured on a quarterly basis. Most quarters have shown beef demand has exceeded year ago levels. Kansas State University Agricultural Economist Glynn Tonsor said beef demand for the first quarter of 2015 was exceptionally strong compared to one year ago with demand up 15.5 percent relative to the first quarter of 2014.
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Starlings a Costly Problem for Livestock Producers
Feedlot Magazine
Starlings can be a major problem for livestock producers in the northern Plains in the winter. “During a year like our last one, when the weather is particularly cold and the ground is snow-covered, these birds are looking for convenient food sources,”
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Identifying and preventing neosporosis in the cow herd
Katie Allen
High Plains Journal
An often-overlooked reason for late-term abortions in gestating beef cows and heifers is neosporosis, which is difficult to prevent. Gregg Hanzlicek, director of production animal field investigations for the Kansas State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, said the laboratory has confirmed a handful of cases already this spring calving season in Kansas.
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Completing the incomplete heifer
Tom Brink
Drovers
She could be a commercial replacement heifer standing in a pen almost anywhere. But this one happens to be one of mine. There are many things to like about this spring 2014-born heifer. She has length, depth, muscle, adequate femininity and a polled head.
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