Mark Parker: The Top 10 hardships suffered by ag husbands in exchange for being married to such wonderful women

Mark Parker:  The Top 10 hardships suffered by ag husbands in exchange for being married to such wonderful women

FarmTalk

10. Removal and proper burial of all deceased family pets.

Full Story

Beginner’s Introduction to EPDs

Beginner’s Introduction to EPDs

Kristin Lewis Hawkins

The Cattleman

You may have heard the term epd when looking for a new herd bull or seen the tables of numbers and symbols while leafing through sale catalogs. It probably looks like advanced-level equations that require classes to gain an extensive knowledge of genetics for it to make sense.

However, do not let what appears overly complicated intimidate you — once you know what you are looking at, and with a little practice, EPDs can become a valuable tool to help you make decisions for your operation.

Full Story

Cow-calf Producers Need an Appreciation for Depreciation

Cow-calf Producers Need an Appreciation for Depreciation

Troy Smith

Angus Journal

While many cow-calf producers sang sad songs, lamenting the way calf prices dropped during 2015, cash returns to cow-calf operations were not so sad. From a historical perspective, they look pretty good.

Full Story

Premature Problems

Premature Problems

Dr. Ken McMillan

DTN/The Progressive Farmer

The passive immunity function is something your veterinarian can check with a simple blood test. If it is inadequate, and you want to give her the best start possible, a blood or plasma transfusion from her dam or another mature cow could benefit her greatly.

Full Story

Work safely, efficiently with custom cattle facilities

Work safely, efficiently with custom cattle facilities

BEEF
Every rancher or farmer works cattle a little differently depending on a variety of factors from herd size, type, and age to equipment/facility layout and budget, yet too often standard equipment does not accommodate these needs.

Full Story

Producers look for protection from volatility

Producers look for protection from volatility

Greg Lucht

Iowa Farmer Today

While the outlook for cattle prices remains strong, producers have seen more than a little volatility in the past few months. And that means using market tools to buy a little protection has been, and will likely continue to be, a good strategy.

Full Story

Teff: A worthy contender among forage options

Teff: A worthy contender among forage options

Daniel LaFaver

Progressive Forage Grower

I grew up in the Midwest grain belt where corn, beans and wheat were homogenous commodities – one had no real advantage over another. But when I moved my family west to Oregon, where I was soon immersed in the forage industry, I began to see opportunities that could offer real competitive advantages. Not necessarily in wheat, barley and peas but in other forage applications, like teff.

Full Story