Getting your cows through winter
Adam Russell
Southern Livestock
Getting or keeping cows in proper body condition throughout the winter can optimize pregnancy rates the following season, said a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert. Dr. Jason Banta, beef cattle specialist, Overton, said cows with proper body condition scores at calving are more likely to breed back and produce healthy calves in the future. Proper nutrition and supplementation are two keys to keeping cows in good shape.
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Compendium of Veterinary Products (CVP Vet) app gives answers
Austin Miles
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
Proper administration and use of antibiotics and other animal health products is an absolute necessity, not only for the product to be as effective as possible, but to minimize animal discomfort and reduce the risk of adverse side effects from improper use.
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Don’t Wait To Supplement
Dr. Jeff Lehmkuhler
Ohio Beef Cattle Letter
The impacts of the fall drought conditions can be seen in some of our cow herds across the state. Cows are lower in body condition as a result of the grass shortage. Fall vegetative fescue grass will often be in the low 60’s on TDN and mid-teens for crude protein, much higher in quality than our average hay. The lack of this fall forage growth will necessitate some early intervention.
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Trump Not Close to Picking Ag Secretary
Hoosier AG Today
Agriculture advisers for President-Elect Donald Trump do not want North Dakota Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp as Agriculture Secretary. While Heitkamp has sided with agriculture and Republicans at times, Trump’s agriculture allies consider Heitkamp a snub against Trump’s network of rural supporters.
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Add value through backgrounding
Chris Reinhardt
Today’s Producer
The strong dollar is good for a lot of things, or so I’m told. However, the strong dollar also hurts our export markets because our product is automatically more expensive to buyers around the world simply because their currency loses its purchasing power vs. U.S. products.
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Managing risk in livestock production
Meghan Grebner
Brownfield Ag Network
University of Missouri’s Scott Brown says prices could go higher – but it could be risky to wait. “You know if you’re working about markets going higher, maybe you don’t want a straight futures contract,” he says. “Maybe you don’t want to use options. But doing nothing and watching those prices be higher and then erode away is a risk management plan that doesn’t work very well.”
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Agriculture’s Best Defense, is a Good Offense
Jared Wareham
Drovers
A life spent dedicated to production agriculture teaches you that aggressive planning and strategizing pays off. For generations, these skills have been honed, perfected and passed on. Hours are spent detailing the precise methods and timing for calving, planting and feeding to gain every advantage possible.
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Is U.S. agriculture on the cusp of the next phase of its evolution?
Burt Rutherford
Beef Magazine
The corporations and companies that supply ranchers with the products they use to keep their operation running have undergone change and consolidation in the last decade or more. Likewise, U.S. grain farmers have seen the same dynamics of “get big or get out” affect their farming operations.
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How Does Cold Stress Affect the Energy Needs of Cattle?
Warren Rusche
iGrow
Most beef producers understand that when the weather gets colder their cattle need more energy for maintenance. The questions are when do cattle start experiencing cold stress and then how much more energy do they need?
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Test hay for nitrate levels before it’s fed to cattle.
Heather Smith Thomas
Angus Beef Bulletin
Nitrate in forages can sometimes be a problem for cattle, according to Kevin Sedivec, professor of range science at North Dakota State University. Depending on growing conditions, nitrate levels may be excessive, and those levels remain high in stored feeds.
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The Beef Blog 