BeefTalk: A Heads-up for a Dry Summer: Plan Forage Production Now

BeefTalk: A Heads-up for a Dry Summer: Plan Forage Production Now

Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service

Cows eat every day of the year, so now is the time to start thinking about hay and how to use land that is not fenced nor has water to help feed the cows because those lands may be the difference between keeping or selling cows. Haying, especially given the potential for drought, comes quicker than anticipated and quality changes daily. So now is the time to plan forage production.

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Scorecard shows Presidential candidates mixed on ag issues

Scorecard shows Presidential candidates mixed on ag issues

Meghan Grebner

Brownfield Network

Ahead of Indiana’s May 3 primary, the Indiana Corn Growers Association and the Indiana Soybean Alliance Policy Committee have released their scorecard for the Republican and Democratic candidates.  The scorecard outlines each candidate’s position on five major ag issues.

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Vet Report: Tetany risk rises when pasture is overgrazed

Vet Report: Tetany risk rises when pasture is overgrazed

Eric Knock

Tri-State Neighbor

Cattle are going to be getting out to grass soon, and with cattle on grass comes the risk of grass tetany. When it comes to grass tetany, an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.

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Getting ready to tighten cow-calf expense belt

Getting ready to tighten cow-calf expense belt

A. DiCostanzo

Farm and Ranch Guide

Feeder cattle prices have not escaped the decline experienced by the fed cattle market. Since September 2015, prices of 5-cwt steers at Sioux Falls Regional Livestock Auction dropped from nearly $240/cwt to current prices near $190/cwt with forays into $175/cwt in late December. If you were marketing a draft of calves and picked the wrong week, the market swing could have cost you $25/cwt or $125/calf.

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Cow-calf producers urged to pay extra attention to livestock nutrition after calving

Cow-calf producers urged to pay extra attention to livestock nutrition after calving

Tracy Turner

Ag Answers

As livestock producers move from winter feed to spring grazing, they should pay extra attention to spring-calving beef cows to make sure their nutritional needs are met, says a beef cattle expert with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University.

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You’re teaching my daughter WHAT in health class???

You’re teaching my daughter WHAT in health class???

Ty Higgins

Ohio’s Country Journal

What started out as a nice family meal out at one of our favorite fried chicken stops, turned into a conversation that had me boiling like the oil that cooked our supper that night.

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Stop Wasting Food to Slow Global Warming

Stop Wasting Food to Slow Global Warming

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.

Niina Heikkinen

Scientific American

If Americans made changes to their diets and stopped wasting food, they could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help conserve global natural resources, experts say. Cutting down on milk and meat protein are top ways to lower an individual’s carbon footprint, said Janet Ranganathan, vice president of science and research at the World Resources Institute.

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Bull Management and Nutrition

Bull Management and Nutrition

Julie Walker, George Perry, Russ Daly and Ken Olson

South Dakota State University

Proper management and nutrition of bulls is essential to ensure cow/calf producers maximize reproductive efficiency and genetic improvement of the calf crop. In addition, the herd bull influences overall herd fertility more than any other single animal, and loss of fertility by a bull can cause substantial loss to a potential calf crop.

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Fetal development wheel outlines cow nutritional recommendations

Fetal development wheel outlines cow nutritional recommendations

Beef Magazine

"Bovine fetal development is much more specific than many producers may realize," said Dorothy Orts, BioZyme Area Sales Manager. "So we’ve developed a tool for producers to use that helps them zero in on what’s going on right now in the life of calves in utero in their own herds, while stressing the importance of proper nutrition during all stages of development."

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CattleFax To Conduct May 25 Webinar On Cow-Calf Margins

CattleFax To Conduct May 25 Webinar On Cow-Calf Margins

AgriMarketing

Cow-calf margins will continue to be under pressure as the U.S. beef cowherd expands, but producers can mitigate a reduction in profitability by adjusting business plans for the supply increase.

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