Baxter Black, DVM: First Dance

Baxter Black, DVM:  First Dance

I danced with another woman tonight

   My wife didn’t seem to mind.

We took to the floor like a pair of swans

   That fate forever entwined.

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Cost of Baling Hay

Cost of Baling Hay

Travis Meteer

University of Illinois

Mowing, raking, and baling. I wish hay-making was that easy. For me, that sequence is too often interrupted by cussing the weatherman, tedding, and more raking. Making hay is a consuming summer-time task. As farmers prepare to sharpen the pencil, I think it is important to look at what hay costs to produce.

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Quarantine to Ward off the Spread of Warts

Quarantine to Ward off the Spread of Warts

Dr. Ken McMillan

DTN/The Progressive Farmer

Quarantine is always advisable when any new animal comes onto your farm. Ideally this should be done for three to four weeks. There should be no physical contact between the new animal(s) and your herd. The farther apart they are, the better.

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Stock trailers and Beef Quality Assurance

Stock trailers and Beef Quality Assurance

Scott Jensen

Progressive Cattleman

Stock trailers are an essential tool in every beef cattle operation. They provide the ability to transport cattle and horses to various locations on the ranch, to distant pastures or to market.

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Final rule: Antimicrobial sales

Final rule: Antimicrobial sales

John Maday

Bovine Veterinarian

The FDA last week issued its final rule on annual reporting requirements for drug sponsors of all antimicrobials sold or distributed for use in food-producing animals.

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Cattle Marketing Made Easier with Online Decision Support Tools

Cattle Marketing Made Easier with Online Decision Support Tools

Glynn Tonsor

Oklahoma Farm Report

Cattle producers are gaining access to some great tools and mobile apps that help take the guesswork out of marketing livestock, and the backgrounder and stocker margin calculator found at BeefBasis.com is no exception.

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Economically Relevant Traits and Selection Indices

Economically Relevant Traits and Selection Indices

Matt Spangler

Southern Livestock

Sire selection does not need to be overwhelming or complex. Centuries of work by geneticists and statisticians have allowed for the development of tools that help producers make decisions relative to the next bull you purchase; do not ignore them.

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Finishing Strong: Pre-Harvest Management Strategies

Finishing Strong: Pre-Harvest Management Strategies

Simon Kern

FormA Feed

We are currently in the thick of our annual climb in U.S. beef production and fed cattle marketings which seasonally begins in April and runs through June. While most producers devote a considerable amount of time and effort into starting cattle on feed (and rightfully so), little attention is often paid to cattle once they hit the typical “cruise control” point where they are on a full-fed finishing ration and most health concerns are in the rear-view mirror.

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Three Little Words

Three Little Words

Shelby Mettlen

Angus Journal

Bovine viral diarrhea. Those three words have been leaving big question marks over the heads of producers, veterinarians, cattle feeders and animal health experts, and big holes in the pockets of cattle-market players since the 1980s. Cattle industry professionals agree: Bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) is a problem, and we still haven’t fixed it.

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Senate announces hearing on state of livestock industry

Senate announces hearing on state of livestock industry

KXLO

On Wednesday, USCA sent a letter to Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow requesting a hearing be convened to investigate the current state of the market. The letter outlined multiple contributing factors to the collapse of the livestock market in the latter half of 2015, leading up to its current volatility today.
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