Mark Parker: The Top 10 suggestions for lying about wheat yields

Mark Parker:  The Top 10 suggestions for lying about wheat yields

FarmTalk

10. Always refer to a field not located along a road.

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You’re Doing It Wrong

You’re Doing It Wrong

Katrina Huffstutler

Feedlot Magazine

Every year, stocker operators get injured during routine cattle working. But all too often, these costly and painful events could be prevented. Dr. Ron Gill, professor and Extension livestock specialist for Texas AgriLife Extension and nationally renowned low-stress cattle handling expert, says by avoiding four common practices, cattlemen and women can improve their odds of staying injury-free.

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Preconditioning for Profit

Preconditioning for Profit

Greg Henderson

Drovers

Improving the genetics of your cowherd, monitoring their level of nutrition and managing them through calving season are all critical to your success. Preconditioning your calves, however, might provide the greatest dollar return to your time and management.

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Making the Most of Your Feedstuffs

Making the Most of Your Feedstuffs

Doug Medlock

Angus Talk

The things that we need to realize right now: our cows and calves have a dramatic increase in the demands on their body, so their milk production goes up to feed that calf, the nutrition intake goes up – but we never get that intake quite as high as milk production. That’s called a negative energy balance. So what happens is that after these cows calve they have a negative energy balance, so they lose body condition.

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Search for The Perfect Affordable Ration

Search for The Perfect Affordable Ration

Boyd Kidwell

Progressive Farmer

E. B. Harris is a veteran in the stocker business. For more than 40 years, the Warrenton, North Carolina, producer has backgrounded calves from his own cow herd, plus 100 additional 350- to 400-pound calves from sale barns and local producers. He’s learned a thing or two in the process.

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Finger millet shows promise as cattle feed

Finger millet shows promise as cattle feed

Dennis O’Brien

Progressive Forage

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are trying to save water in one of the fastest growing dairy regions in the U.S. They hope to encourage dairy producers to use a drought-tolerant crop the same way it’s sometimes used in India – as cattle feed.

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To Bale or Not to Bale? To Clip or Not to Clip? Here Are Some Answers

To Bale or Not to Bale? To Clip or Not to Clip? Here Are Some Answers

Victor Shelton

On Pasture

Let’s ponder two questions with this article: “To bale or not bale?” and “Should I put up hay or just buy what I need?” I think everyone, no matter how efficient or the type of grazing system, should have some hay on hand. It is your insurance plan; one of your contingency plans. Feeding less hay is a good thing though, at least it should be – meaning that you are hopefully grazing more.

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Adding value to 2016 calves

Adding value to 2016 calves

Derrell S. Peel

Drovers

A variety of production and marketing practices are available to help cow-calf producers enhance calf values.  Though these practices are not new, many are still adopted by only a small percentage of producers. The following summarizes several surveys and feeder cattle pricing studies.

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Calf crop depends on bull management in breeding season

Calf crop depends on bull management in breeding season

Clay Wright

The Samuel Robert Noble Foundation

Assuming your bulls have passed a breeding soundness examination within the last 60 days, are carrying adequate condition (body condition score of 6 or higher), are structurally sound, and have been immunized and treated for parasites, they probably are ready to go to work. Your bulls may already be out earning their keep in your spring-calving herd.

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Bovine TB – It takes a community

Bovine TB – It takes a community

Phil Durst, and James DeDecker

Michigan State University

As sure as the fact that apples draw deer, is the reality that, in general, farmers are independent people. They have acquired skills that enable them to do a great many things on the farm, both in production and maintaining various aspects of the business.

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