BeefTalk: Grazing: Setting the Base Stocking Rate

BeefTalk: Grazing: Setting the Base Stocking Rate

Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service

I continue my efforts to better understand stocking rate, a simple, yet difficult, concept. The reason rests with the way the stocking rate is calculated and the numbers that need to be known to achieve the correct number.

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Points of weaning for the cow and calf

Points of weaning for the cow and calf

Woody Lane

Progressive Cattleman

My office wall is lined with dusty shelves of old electronic messages, and sometimes they yield pleasant surprises. Rummaging around these shelves, I unearthed an email I had once written about young calves and weaning. I blew off the extra electrons and read it carefully. Hmm, it was pretty good – a list of critical nutritional principles that apply to all calves, orphans and cow-reared.

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Measuring Performance Per Animal vs Per Acre

Measuring Performance Per Animal vs Per Acre

Kit Pharo

On Pasture

For the last 50+ years, nearly all of the so-called “experts” in the beef industry have been focused on one thing – increasing individual animal performance – weaning weight, for the most part. This is why all of today’s status quo beef producers adhere to what I am going to call the “Increase Individual Animal Performance” paradigm.

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Livestock Veterinarians Help Rancher Determine Sex of Unborn Calves

Livestock Veterinarians Help Rancher Determine Sex of Unborn Calves

University of California Davis

When the Graysing Cattle Company needs to diagnose pregnancies in their cows and determine the fetal sex of the unborn calves, they call on the Livestock Herd Health and Reproduction Service from the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. Their small operation (about 20 head) raises beef cattle, specifically club calves, and has used the Service for more than ten years.

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Selection and Use of Breeds and Breedtypes

Selection and Use of Breeds and Breedtypes

Joe Paschal

A Steak in Genomics

Calf value is not price per pound. Calf value is the sum of genetic and management decisions and cost. Many factors go into management decisions, including genetics, reproduction, preweaning care, weaning, and marketing.

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Double cropping winter and summer annuals for better feed, better soil, and better manure management

Double cropping winter and summer annuals for better feed, better soil, and better manure management

Tim Harrigan

Michigan State University

Adding a winter annual in the cropping system provides many benefits beyond feed production: it keeps the ground covered and an active root system throughout the year, builds soil structure and health, reduces runoff and nutrient loss to the environment, improves manure nutrient cycling and use, and can spread out the crop harvest and planting workload. However, new opportunities can present new challenges for managing manure and the cropping system.

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Representatives ask OIG to investigate EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rulemaking

Representatives ask OIG to investigate EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rulemaking

Janell Thomas

Beef Producer

Following release of a series of memos that question the Army Corps of Engineers’ cooperation with EPA in the Waters of the U.S. rulemaking process, a group of legislators has formally asked the Office of the Inspector General to investigate EPA’s solicitation of public comments on the rule.

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What the beef industry is doing to deal with trich

What the beef industry is doing to deal with trich

Burt Rutherford

BEEF
One way to deal with a thief is with a neighborhood watch program. But what if it’s a silent thief? That’s what Keith Roehr, Colorado state veterinarian, calls trichomonaisis — a silent thief. The question is, does the beef industry have an effective neighborhood watch program to deal with it?

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Did you know… How it was raised does affect that grilling experience

Did you know… How it was raised does affect that grilling experience

Larry Corah

Feedlot Magazine

Say you are at the grocery store to buy ground beef and steaks for a family gathering. Your goal is a satisfying eating experience for all. At the meat case, you quickly see all the choices available – and you’re still looking at hamburger. It’s decision time. Do you want an 80-20 chuck, 85-15 sirloin or a 90-10 lean grind? Maybe a 73-27 or cheaper grind?

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Ranchers talk business at 61st annual Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course

Ranchers talk business at 61st annual Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course

Sam Peshek

The Eagle

The telltale signs that the Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course has returned to campus for its 61st year are all around. Students with backpacks have been replaced by ranchers in boots, and the commuter cars in parking garages have been swapped out for pickups, but at least the one deviation from past years cannot be seen.

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