Battling dehydration with electrolyte use
Don McKillip and Dave Lindevig
Progressive Cattleman
When I am on the highway and pass a truck hauling calves to the feedlot, I am always reminded of the complex process that it takes to keep them healthy. The producer has to have a bit of faith when managing calves prone to stress-induced health difficulties in each step of their development, but there are items on the market that can help ease concern.
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Using Performance Data in Judging Classes
John Massey
University of Missouri
Judging contests are an important educational tool. Someday young cattle producers will be faced with selection decisions that affect the profitability of their operations. They should be prepared to use all information available to them, including performance data.
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“Grass fed” label dropped by USDA for beef
Wyatt Bechtel
Drovers
The “grass fed” beef label is going out to pasture, along with “naturally raised” claims for other livestock. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is getting rid of a labeling program focusing on grass fed beef and naturally raised claims on livestock.
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Measuring Your Cost of Production and Profit Margin
Jay Parsons
University of Nebraska
The cost of producing one unit of output is extremely important information in any business. It determines your break-even price which, in turn, helps determine pricing decisions and profit margins. It also provides a baseline for comparison to other producers with the same or similar output so you can see how competitive you are at producing the product in question.
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Precondition as a marketing strategy
Bob Larson
Angus Journal
Cattle producers who manage newly weaned feeder cattle recognize that calves castrated and dehorned, trucked, commingled with new penmates, and given a completely new diet — all near the time of weaning — are at high risk for bovine respiratory disease (BRD).
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Understanding tendon problems in young calves will help cattlemen respond to and treat the issue.
Hereford World
Occasionally a calf is born with crooked legs or contracted or lax tendons. Some of these straighten out on their own with time and exercise, while others require intervention to resolve the condition. Some defects are so severe the calf must be euthanized.
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Winter Water Systems
Feedlot Magazine
In northern climates winter is a big deal. Neither your cow herd nor machinery should go into it unprepared. For cattle, make sure they head into winter with extra body fat. They need reserves of energy—a good store of back fat–to draw on to help maintain body heat on cold days.
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‘Go time’ for newborns
Miranda Reiman
High Plains Journal
A baby calf nursing for the first time—if everything’s going right, it might look a little peaceful. But no matter how serene it may seem on the outside, what’s happening inside is a fast and furious defense system. The biological signal that calf, and its immune system, could be summed up as, “It’s go time!”
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Frost Seeding
Mark Landefeld
Ohio Beef Cattle Newsletter
The time of the year when frost seedings are most effectively done will be here before long. One can use this method to renovate pastures, improve stands, or alter the species mix within a pasture. Producers should remember however, this is only a means to get the seed in good contact with the soil.
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Winter Cow Management
Heather Smith Thomas
Angus Beef Bulletin Extra
According to Shannon Williams, Lemhi County Extension Agent in Salmon, Idaho, the most important thing in winter cow management is to make sure you are meeting your cows’ nutritional requirements according to where they are in their gestational stage.
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The Beef Blog 