Bull-Buying Basics
Dr. Ken McMillan
DTN
When purchasing a new bull, what should I do to protect my herd from any possible diseases the bull might bring in? Years ago the first two things on that list would have probably been brucellosis and tuberculosis, but today many states are free of those diseases. The bigger threats now are from diseases that many producers haven’t even heard of.
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Futures, ‘little things’ can help producers with cattle marketing
Austin Black
Iowa Farmer Today
Marketing livestock is never easy. Producers gamble against weather and fluctuating prices every day. To be profitable in today’s market, it’s important to have a strategy for selling. This strategy relies on one main factor: How much financial risk can producers handle?
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Activists Boldly Upfront About Their True Goals for Animal Agriculture, "We’re Not Here to Negotiate"
Oklahoma Farm Report
“At the end of the day, they want to end all forms of using animals and all forms of animal agriculture,” Hannah said, explaining their strategy to first target ‘factory farms,’ a term they themselves coined to cast a negative light on larger production operations. “They think they are going to get further if they start with large-scale, modern, efficient production systems which is that idea of factory farming.”
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Solving Seasonal Electric Fence Problems
Kathy Voth
On Pasture
A season of managed grazing can be hard on your fences and changes in vegetation and soil moisture take their toll. Here are some suggestions for figuring out what’s wrong and fixing it.
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Shipping, no fever
John Maday
Bovine Veterinarian
Shipping recently weaned calves from their home ranch to a stocker operation or feedyard, with associated stress and pathogen exposure, can contribute to sickness. Careful management can minimize shipping stress and morbidity though, as demonstrated in some of the longest hauls of all – from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland.
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How to figure contract cow grazing
R. P. "Doc" Cooke
Beef Producer
More questions that arise than I may ever have the answer, so the most positive and usually the best reply to many of the questions I field in this business is, “I don’t know.” Contract grazing might be a really good example.
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Watch your silage for high nitrates before feeding cattle
Dr. Eric Knock
Tri-State Neighbor
With drought conditions continuing to worsen, our hopes of getting decent feed of any quality rounded up are also dwindling. Along with poor production, we need to be very mindful of nitrates in our feed this year. Nitrates can be present in just about any forage, but of most concern this year are small grains harvested for forage and forage used as silage.
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Should You Keep or Sell Heifer Calves?
Northern AG
Dry conditions are impacting range and forage production across much of Montana, the Dakotas and Nebraska. This is causing producers to sell yearling cattle early and prompting them to consider strategies to reduce cattle numbers going into the fall. One of the classes of cattle that can be a dilemma when the question of keep or sell comes up is weaned heifer calves.
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4-H cattle shows build camaraderie, learning
Ben Beagle
Livingston County News
When Ben Lyness and his bull calf Beauty would stop after promenading around the show ring at the Hemlock “Little World’s” Fair, the York teenager could be seen leaning over the cow’s head. At times, he appeared to be talking to her. Other times he’d blow across her snout.
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Pruitt Called Biased Against WOTUS
Greg Henderson
Drovers
U. S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s impartiality has been questioned after his recent interview with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). Last week NCBA released an audio and video of Pruitt urging producers to submit official comments on the repeal of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule before the agency’s August 28, 2017 deadline.
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