Heading off Heat Stress
Travis Meteer
University of Illinois
As the temperatures and humidity elevate, it is important to understand and manage to prevent heat stress in your cattle herd. Heat stress can lower performance and in severe cases cause death. Here are some recommendations to keep heat stress at a minimum.
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Hydration tops heat stress prevention tips
Jeff DeYoung
Iowa Farmer Today
Many weeks of summer remain, which means more weeks of heat stress for most cattle. There are many ways to help reduce that stress, says Warren Rusche, Extension beef specialist with South Dakota State University in Watertown. The best, he says, is making sure plenty of fresh water is available.
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Leasing? Put It In Writing.
Kathy Voth
On Pasture
That’s what Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, AgriLife Extension agriculture law specialist, says. “You never know what might happen between two folks with an oral lease, even if they are family or the best of friends,” she said. “Lease agreements certainly do not have to be lengthy and complex, but there are some terms you need to include to protect both sides.”
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Minerals play key role in cattle diets
Benjamin Herrold
Missouri Farmer Today
Experts say having the right amount of minerals in cattle diets can yield big rewards, especially during hot summer months when cattle receive less nutrition from pastures.While working as a doctoral student at Kansas State University, Cadra Van Bibber-Krueger studied the effects of feeding higher concentrations of zinc to cattle.
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It matters not how much oil if there’s no food or TP
Hembree Brandon
Delta Farm Press
But food security isn’t a given. One has only to read about Venezuela, where government mismanagement and economic woes have resulted in widespread privation for its citizens.
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Is It Time to Consider Retained Ownership?
John Nalivka
AgWeb
Cow-calf producers were in the driver’s seat during 2014 and 2015, with little economic incentive to retain ownership of their calves through the feedyard. This year, however, the market has turned dramatically and it might be worth your time to pencil out the financial opportunity of retaining ownership.
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The ‘positive associative effect’ of high protein supplements
Glenn Selk
Drovers
Most of Oklahoma has substantial standing forage in pastures as we go into late summer. As the day length shortens, plants become more mature and lower in protein content. However, the protein requirements for growth, milk production, and body condition maintenance of beef cattle do not decrease as the “dog days of summer” arrive.
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A Biblical look at rotational grazing
Burt Rutherford
Beef Magazine
“There are as many grazing programs as we have fingers and each one has merit,” says Dan E. Gary, ranch consultant and owner of Adobe Walls Nutrition in Amarillo, Texas. “Some programs require very little cash investment and some require a very large investment in dollars, time and training. How would you like to implement a grazing program that had a longer rest period than any of the others and at the same time is pleasing to the Lord?”
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Finished cattle most stressed by heat
Kathy Jensen
Farm Forum
Just like humans, cattle can be stressed by high temperatures and humidity. The main concern is cattle dying from the extreme heat, said Warren Rusche, South Dakota State University Extension cow-calf field specialist. “We can recover from performance loss,” he said. Performance loss is when beef cattle lose their fat.
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Take Better Forage Samples With Proper Methods
Cheryl Anderson
DTN
The more you know about the nutrient content of your forages, the better you can meet the nutritional requirements of your animals. And the key to knowing the correct nutrient content of forages is using proper sampling methods, according to Dennis Holthaus, senior beef nutritionist for Hubbard Feeds Inc., in Beloit, Kansas.
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The Beef Blog 