Are brood cows getting too big?
Dr. Ken McMillan
DTN/The Progressive Farmer
Some producers, especially those in the grass-fed niche, feel cows that weigh less than 1,000 pounds work best. And I have several very good producers whose cows average between 1,400 and 1,500 pounds. So one size does not fit all.
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Keep Ranch Books to Help in Tight Times
University of Nebraska
When cattle prices go down, it’s important to keep financial books on the ranch for more than just tax time. A pair of upcoming workshops by Nebraska Extension will show how to get started.
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Protect Your Pastures and Hay Fields While Fall Grazing
Gene Pirelli
On Pasture
Fall is one of the most critical periods determining the amount of forage that is produced on a pasture. Management decisions made at this time affect the ability of the plants to overwinter, they determine when new growth is initiated in the spring, and how much total forage growth will be produced over the entire season.
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What Beef Does HSUS Have with Cattle Industry This Time?
Oklahoma Farm Report
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association recently learned that Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) attorneys filed a lawsuit against USDA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) last week on behalf of the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM).
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What is Gene Editing?
Jared Decker
A Steak in Genomics
Gene editing is a category of new methods that can be used to precisely edit or change the genetic code. As the name “gene editing” suggests, these technologies enable researchers to add, delete, or replace letters in the genetic code
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Profit Drivers
Troy Smith
The Cattle Business Weekly
Risk is inherent to the ranching business. According to Chip Ramsay, manager of the Whitman, Nebraska-based Rex Ranch, becoming further integrated in the beef business is a way to mitigate risk. By also owning a cattle-feeding enterprise, the parent company for Rex Ranch and several other cow-calf operations finds increased opportunity to add value and efficiency to the whole system, and to increase long-term profitability.
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Cattle trailers need modifications to eliminate bruising to bigger cattle
Greg Henderson
Drovers
Finished cattle have outgrown the equipment used to haul them. That’s the consensus of packers, truckers and feedyard managers, and now documented through research conducted by Kansas State University. The fact cattle are bigger has created a significant animal welfare and product quality issue, and an estimated industry-wide loss of $35 million due to carcass trim of bruised muscle on strip loins.
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Feed makes good use of ethanol coproduct
Roy Leidahl
Iowa Farmer Today
When processors use the starch in corn to produce ethanol, they turn about one-third of their processed corn volume into coproducts that contain protein, fat and fiber. As ethanol production surged between 2000 and 2010, the supply of distillers grains and other ethanol coproducts soared.
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Why "Natural" Farms Are Taking Over the Northeast
Gillie Houston
Food and Wine
For farmers like Wallace Greenwalt, owner of Cream Hill, one of the largest beef cattle feedlots in the north-east, going antibiotic and hormone-free is a matter of boosting business. Though the farm’s previous owner, Paul Saenger, raised 1,000 head of cattle using artificial growth hormones, Greenwalt has embraced farming methods that justify the "natural" label to consumers.
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W.Va. Farm Bureau expresses beef with state Agriculture Department
Brad Mcelhinny
Metro News
The West Virginia Farm Bureau and the state Department of Agriculture are in a fight over cows and potatoes. The Farm Bureau claims the Agriculture Department’s purchase of four breeding cows from Oklahoma for $33,000 presents unfair competition for West Virginia’s existing beef cattle farmers.
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The Beef Blog 