New southern white clover variety released
Beef Producer
Renovation is the first white clover released by the Noble Foundation and the first commercial product of the joint breeding effort. The goal for the Noble-UGA forage breeding program was to develop new white clover varieties that could help restore perennial grass pastures throughout the southern United States.
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Composite Bulls Have Become Popular in Some Areas
Heather Smith Thomas
Cattle Today
Heterosis (hybrid vigor) has proven its value in many agricultural sectors—whether production of hybrid corn, hogs or beef. There are three kinds of heterosis; individual (the calf), maternal, and paternal. Of the three, paternal heterosis has had the least attention.
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Cattle Q&A with Colin Woodall
David Cooper
Progressive Cattleman
Colin Woodall is vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Originally from Big Spring, Texas, he graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural systems management.
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Feeding alfalfa pays dividends
Becky Cook
Progressive Forage
Alfalfa isn’t always an obvious choice for hay growers, particularly in areas where other forages like fescue grow cheaply and easily. In cases like that, the value of growing alfalfa isn’t always an obvious choice, but after investigation, it easily becomes an economic choice.
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Compare corn and corn distillers grains for supplements
Laura Mushrush
Drovers
The incoming bumper corn crop projected by USDA for this fall will open doors for producers to use the increased availability of corn and corn distillers grain for cattle feed. According to University of Nebraska-Lincoln cow-calf range management specialist Karla Jenkins, producers need to weigh the differences between the two commodities when using them to supplement pasture cattle.
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Thompson Research Center Field Day: Modified Genes: Science or Supper?
Rod Geisert
A Steak in Genomics
In the 1950s, artificial insemination was developed. In 1978, the first human born from in vitro fertilization was born. Both of these technologies were criticized at the time, but now they are widely accepted.
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Welfare Concerns at Packing Plants
Kasey Brown
Angus Media
Animal welfare is an important issue, and Mike Siemens, Cargill’s head of welfare and animal husbandry, said packing plants have as much of a stake in the game as cattlemen. Greater attention to welfare is an industry initiative, he emphasized. It is not a marketing tool, because that creates a “close enough” mentality and makes for a meaningless and thoughtless supply chain. It is the right thing to do, and the cattle industry can’t just hide behind the science of performance, he asserted.
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Remain vigilant to mycotoxin threats
Beef Magazine
Mycotoxins in grain are a constant concern for cattle producers, and especially now, at harvest time, as massive quantities of corn and other feedgrains flow from the field to the elevator.
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Here’s the problem with sustainable beef (and pork)
Samantha Bomkamp
Chicago Tribune
In response to consumer demand, restaurants, grocers and other food service companies have shifted toward chickens and turkeys that are raised sustainably — "naturally," more humanely, with less environmental impact and without antibiotics. But there has been comparatively little progress made with beef or pork.
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China Will Resume Limited Imports of U.S. Beef After a Ban Long Seen as Political
Hannah Beech
Time
Chinese officials will still limit U.S. beef imports, only allowing in cattle younger than 30 months. Exactly how American cattle traders will contend with Chinese quarantine requirements is not yet clear. But for an American industry that relies increasingly on global demand, especially amid a declining taste for beef at home, the China news is welcome.
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Bringing Gentility To Cattle Farming
O.J. Early
Greenville Sun
You won’t hear any yelling at Liberty Flat Farms. Loud noises from equipment are kept at minimum, too. It’s all part of a larger strategy, something Robert Tucker learned from his father and grandfather.
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