Heifer Development

Heifer Development

University of Tennessee

Tennessee’s beef producers are looking to turn dropping cattle numbers around with a new focus on cattle reproduction.

Forage tips from the pros

Forage tips from the pros

The Cattle Business Weekly

Garry Lacefield, a longtime forage specialist with the University of Kentucky, shares several farmer-feel good statistics:

• In 1950 the average farmer fed 18 people. In 2015, the average farmer produced enough to feed 169 people.

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Higher concentration of zinc improves cattle feed efficiency

Higher concentration of zinc improves cattle feed efficiency

Pat Melgares

Farm and Ranch Guide

Kansas State University researchers have found that feeding concentrations of zinc that are higher than recommended dietary concentrations can help improve the growth of finishing cattle, a finding that could lead to more profits for the industry.

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Breeding Season : Are your beef cows ready?

Breeding Season : Are your beef cows ready?

Julie Walker

igrow.org

Preparing cows for a successful breeding season is critical for a cow/calf producer’s financial bottom-line. Two considerations often come to the top of the list when thinking about management strategies for setting the cowherd up for high pregnancy rates: 1) nutrition and 2) moving late calving cows up in the breeding season.

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Using Ionophores with Grazing Beef Cattle

Using Ionophores with Grazing Beef Cattle

Dr. Kim Mullenix

Southeast Cattle Advisor

An ionophore is a feed additive used in beef cattle rations to improve feed efficiency and animal gains. Ionophores improve fermentation characteristics in the rumen, which leads to improved production efficiency.

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When a cow is called “pregnant” but turns up “open”- Could Neospora caninum be to Blame?

When a cow is called “pregnant” but turns up “open”- Could Neospora caninum be to Blame?

Michelle Arnold

Ohio Beef Cattle Letter

“Neosporosis” is caused by a single celled protozoan parasite called Neospora caninum and is a major cause of abortion and weak calves in cattle across the US and worldwide. Neospora affects both beef and dairy cattle and abortions may present in clusters (epidemic outbreaks) or as sporadic cases.

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The cause of summer pneumonia in calves is not easy to determine.

The cause of summer pneumonia in calves is not easy to determine.

Heather Smith Thomas

Hereford World

Pneumonia can affect calves of any age. Though most of the bacterial pathogens that cause pneumonia are already present in the calf’s upper respiratory tract, they become a problem in the lungs only when immune defenses are compromised — such as by viral infections or stress.

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Veterinary Feed Directive: 3 Things You Should Be Doing Now

Veterinary Feed Directive: 3 Things You Should Be Doing Now

Kristin Lewis Hawkins

The Cattleman

A VFD drug is any medically necessary antimicrobial intended for use in animal feed or water, alone or in combination with other drugs. Purchase and use of a VFD drug is permitted only under the professional supervision of a licensed veterinarian; the packaging will display a prominent warning label stating it as such.

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Managing pasture flies: Tips for 3 different types

Managing pasture flies: Tips for 3 different types

Dave Boxler

High Plains Journal

As we transition into spring and before livestock producers turn cattle in to summer pastures, selecting this year’s fly control program should be considered. A thought to consider, did your fly control program work last year? If it did not, now is the time to consider a different method. There are many fly control options and strategies available to Nebraska livestock producers to help manage the three fly species that economically impact grazing cattle: the horn fly, face fly and stable fly.

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Red, white, blue beef cattle system aims to improve calving efficiency

Red, white, blue beef cattle system aims to improve calving efficiency

Blair Fannin

Feedlot Magazine

A patriotic color scheme used in a cattle production system study aims to make cow-calf production more efficient and ultimately produce more pounds of beef with fewer acres, according to researchers.

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