Polled Bulls?

Polled Bulls?

Dr. Ken McMillan

DTN/The Progressive Farmer

Scurs are small, hornlike growths that develop at the same site as horns and can range from a "thumbnail" patch to several inches long. They are usually not attached to the skull.

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Will pasture legumes eliminate N purchases?

Will pasture legumes eliminate N purchases?

Brian Pugh

FarmTalk

The cost of nitrogen fertilizer has soared over the last decade, leaving producers wondering if there is a cheaper way of producing the forage they need for their grazing animals. Many are looking at legumes as a way of bridging the gap in the production of their grass pastures since they have reduced nitrogen fertilizer inputs.

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Which Feed Is A Better Value?

Which Feed Is A Better Value?

Kathy Voth

On Pasture

Knowing that the cost to feed a cow can be the largest percentage of your annual production costs, you’ll naturally look for the best feed you can find for the lowest price. The problem is that different feeds have different dry matter, crude protein and total digestible nutrients (TDN). So when comparing several options, knowing the price per ton of TDN or Crude Protein will help you compare apples to apples.

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Proposed IRS rule might affect transition plans

Proposed IRS rule might affect transition plans

Brent Haden

Drovers

In the past 50 years, family ranch operations have increasingly incorporated under state law to take advantage of the liability protection and other business advantages available to corporate entities. Limited liability companies (“LLCs”), family limited partnerships (“FLPs”) and other corporate entities also provide tax advantages when transitioning ownership of the operation to the next generation.

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Rick Machen of the King Ranch Institute Paints the Big Picture on Ranch Management

Rick Machen of the King Ranch Institute Paints the Big Picture on Ranch Management

Oklahoma Farm Report

Featured at a recent ranching summit hosted by Kansas State university, was Rick Machen of the King Ranch Institute who spoke to producers about what he calls a systems approach to ranch management. He and Farm Director Ron Hays talked more in depth about this management style.

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How To Get Started With DNA Testing

How To Get Started With DNA Testing

Alison Van Eenennaam

University of California, Davis

here are a number of different companies offering DNA tests, and testing is being done to answer a number of different questions. I have sometimes heard producers say they “DNAed” their cattle, but that is little bit like saying I vaccinated my cattle – the important question is “for what”? DNA is present in every cell and so DNA can be extracted from a number of different tissues including blood, semen, hair follicles, and an ear notch. Before going ahead to perform DNA testing there are a number of questions you need to ask as detailed in this fact sheet.

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Thin cows cost you money

Thin cows cost you money

Beef Producer

The profitability of a cattle herd is closely tied to its reproductive efficiency. Reproductive failures in cows are influenced by several factors including the environment, animal health status, and bull fertility. However, number one above all of these is nutrition.

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Fall fencing for livestock

Fall fencing for livestock

Kevin Gould

Michigan State University

Moisture has returned to the mid-west, and cooler weather will arrive very soon to the Great Lakes region. This means harvest is beginning and livestock producers are taking feed inventories and preparing for the “white season.

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Whit Hibbard trains ranchers in low-stress livestock handling in the style of Bud Williams

Whit Hibbard trains ranchers in low-stress livestock handling in the style of Bud Williams

Tri State Livestock News

he romantic image of the dashing American cowboy – rope in hand racing after stampeding longhorns under the stars – is deeply embedded alongside the ranching industry. Despite the bravado, most ranchers realize that fast and wild is not necessarily the best way to handle livestock. However, good stockmanship is more than just calm and slow – it’s a series of doctrines, principles, and methods of working with cattle in non-conventional ways.

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8 Signs You’re Not the Environmentalist You Think You Are

8 Signs You’re Not the Environmentalist You Think You Are

Yvette D’entremont

Cosmopolitan

Being the conscientious and considerate person that you are, you’re trying to be an environmentally friendly consumer. You read on the internet that farming is part of the problem, so you shop only for local organic produce at Whole Foods, and as for GMOs? Ain’t nobody got time for that.

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