Baxter Black, DVM: The Grapevine

Baxter Black, DVM:  The Grapevine

What better way to impress his new lady friend, thought Rob, than to take her to his friend’s rancho for an afternoon branding and BBQ? 

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The Cost of Late Calvers

The Cost of Late Calvers

Heather Gessner

iGrow

Pounds of beef sold is a key number for cattlemen. Late calvers the cows that drag out the calving season, may cost producers more than extra work and management, they may actually be costing dollars.

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Steer Clear of Foot Rot

Steer Clear of Foot Rot

Dr. Ken McMillan

DTN

Prevention of foot rot should focus on limiting exposure to muddy areas for extended periods of time and minimizing contact with rough, rocky areas or coarse, cutover land — especially in the warmer times of the year. Good nutrition is especially important.

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Why it’s important to protect calf health prior to birth

Why it’s important to protect calf health prior to birth

Beef Magazine

Herd health is important for a couple of reasons. And many producers vaccinate their calves at branding and weaning. But have you considered vaccinating your calves before they’re born?

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Will your next load of hay arrive by Uber Freight?

Will your next load of hay arrive by Uber Freight?

Lynn Jaynes

Progressive Forage

It was only a matter of time. Uber has extended its services from the taxi division to include truck freight, via an app on your smartphone. The service, launched mid-May, connects truck drivers with long-haul opportunities. Truckers licensed as authorized carriers with a Motor Carrier or DOT number can submit an application to the company as a carrier.

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Humanely Raised Beef 101

Humanely Raised Beef 101

Farming Magazine

Food that is “humanely raised” is in high demand, according to recent literature from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Services. The publication reported that 51 percent of consumers indicate that humanely raised food is important or very important when weighing purchasing decisions. The report also found that 68 percent of respondents want to learn how farmers maintain animals while they’re being raised.

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Which U.S. Beef will China Accept?

Which U.S. Beef will China Accept?

Northern AG

The United States has so far been able to negotiate favorable terms of the broad agreement between President Donald Trump and China President Xi Jinping earlier this month regarding opening China’s market to U.S. beef, according to USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services Jason Hafemeister.

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USDA revises Angus certification requirements

USDA revises Angus certification requirements

AgNewsFeed

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has announced that the agency is revising the live animal specification used for all Angus certified programs to reflect evolving cattle genetics and marketing. Proposed to take effect July 1, the revised specifications, for phenotypic evaluations, require that cattle have a main body that is solid black with no color behind the shoulder, above the flanks, or breaking the midline behind the shoulder (excluding the tail.)

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Better beef leads to value gain

Better beef leads to value gain

Steve Suther

Business Farmer

When cattle gain or lose $150 in per-head value in a week, it’s easy to lose sight of what lifts that value trend over the years. A University of Missouri study of 2003-’16 boxed-beef cutout values isolates the contribution of branded and Prime sales.

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Fall Calving Season May Yield Higher Returns for Southeastern Beef Producers

Fall Calving Season May Yield Higher Returns for Southeastern Beef Producers

Lauren Neale

Tennessee Cattlemen’s Association

The vast majority of cow-calf producers in Tennessee and the Southeast using a defined calving season have long favored spring calving; however, researchers at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture have evaluated the risk and returns for a fall calving season, proving once again that timing is everything.

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Twin births in beef cattle: Double your pleasure?

Twin births in beef cattle: Double your pleasure?

Dr. Carl Dahlen

Minnesota Farm Guide

Twin births occur in <1 to 7 percent of cattle depending on breed and genetics. Though fairly rare, it helps to prepare for the possibility of twin births prior to calving season. Gestation length of twins is from 1 to 2 weeks shorter than for single calves, so if a cow became pregnant with twins early in the breeding season she will likely be one of the first to calve. Sometimes this happens unexpectedly ahead of your target calving dates.

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Well Designed Management System Requires Planning

Well Designed Management System Requires Planning

Stephen B. Blezinger, Ph.D., PAS

Cattle TOday

Every business has (or should have) a means of measuring and analyzing the various factors that play a role in overall performance and profitability as well as to help in decision making. Cattle operations are no different. And of the different types of beef cattle operations (cow/calf, stocker, preconditioning/backgounding, feedyards) the cow-calf operation may be the most challenging.

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Try These Simple Steps to Improve Livestock Distribution, Pasture Health, and Your Bottom Line

Try These Simple Steps to Improve Livestock Distribution, Pasture Health, and Your Bottom Line

Kathy Voth

On Pasture

“Poor grazing distribution throughout a pasture is like feed waste at the feed bunk in winter,” Kelly says. “Dollars are left on the table when areas of a pasture are not utilized and grazed properly.” When we calculate stocking rates for the current grazing year, we might assume that cattle will graze evenly over the entire pasture. But as Kelly says, and as we’ve all seen over the years, “Cows are lazy and will develop their own convenience areas within a pasture.”

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Targeted cattle grazing for specific management objectives

Targeted cattle grazing for specific management objectives

Mitchell B. Stephenson

Progressive Cattleman

When cattle producers hear the term “targeted grazing,” they often think of a herd of goats grazing to control a patch of invasive weeds in an urban environment, but targeted grazing can be used for more purposes, with more types of livestock, and at larger scales.

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Optimizing the Size of Your Cows to Maximize Profits

Optimizing the Size of Your Cows to Maximize Profits

Oklahoma Farm Report

Ted McCollum of Texas AgriLife is one of the top beef cattle specialists in the region. Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays caught up with McCollum during a recent presentation he gave on the subject of figuring out the right size of cows to have for your beef cow herd. He says over the decades we have seen cattle bred to fit the full range of the size spectrum. Currently though, more moderately built cows seem to be the norm, but McCollum suggests that each individual ranch should have its own optimized standard.

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VFD cutting down on use of CTC

VFD cutting down on use of CTC

Amanda Radke

Tri State Livestock News

Chlorotetracycline or CTC seems to be one of the most widely used feed antibiotic products that now require a VFD. "A big concern clients have brought to me is the hand-fed vs. free choice issue with CTC," said Geis. "Since CTC is only approved for anaplasmosis as a free choice feed, it becomes a big issue if a producer had been using it in creep feed for calves on pasture. However, most of our clients were previously using CTC as it was labeled, so the change hasn’t been an earth-shaking issue at this time."

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Three common summer cattle diseases

Three common summer cattle diseases

Julie Thelen

Michigan State University

As temperatures continue to increase, so does the anticipation for summer shows and fairs. When planning to exhibit any animal species, the most important requirement is having a healthy animal. Raising a healthy animal involves nutrition, housing and management. Preventing, diagnosing early and treating any illness will pay big dividends.

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Beef producers need to find ways to tell consumers their story

Beef producers need to find ways to tell consumers their story

Teresa Clark

The Fence Post

With an estimated 94 percent of U.S. consumers having zero connection to agriculture, producers may have to get creative educating them about the food they eat.

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Hearing stresses importance of farm programs to rural America

Hearing stresses importance of farm programs to rural America

Steve Davies

Agri Pulse

“Farmers, ranchers, and rural families understand fiscal responsibility,” said Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan. “But now is not the time for additional cuts. We need to review what is working and what is not working.”

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Lancaster Beef Farmer Taps Into Local Marketing Opportunities

Lancaster Beef Farmer Taps Into Local Marketing Opportunities

Charlene M. Shupp Espenshade

Lancaster Farming

There’s nothing like a high-quality steak or juicy hamburger during grilling season. With that in mind, one Lancaster County beef producer is hoping to capture growing consumer interest for fresh, locally sourced beef.

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