BeefTalk: Calves Pay the Bills, But the Cows Make the Bills
Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service
Breeding systems have goals, objectives and outcomes that reflect a total beef operation. Today, dairy, swine and poultry breeding systems exist and many accomplish the operations’ goals and objectives. Beef production, however, is often the exception.
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Preconditioning Calves Needn’t Be Hard
Oklahoma Farm Report
“There’s been lots of studies to show that whether producers sell on video auctions or other auctions, typically if they mix a good vaccination program with perfect timing, they’ll net some income from actually using a preconditioning program,” he said. “For me, that means two to four weeks before the desired weaning time, let’s get a good product that basically includes all the respiratory diseases and then also Blackleg. Let’s get those vaccines in those calves.”
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Dial in forage productivity with today’s technology
Samantha Athey
FarmTalk
At the University of Missouri Southwest Research Center field day near Mount Vernon last Saturday, dairy specialist Stacey Hamilton explained how he is working to make your smartphone an integral part of forage management.
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Successfully managing weaning season – Progressive Cattleman
Chris Clark
Progressive Cattleman
Management of the weaning period can have a huge impact on animal health, welfare, performance and profitability. Weaning involves many potential stressors that can negatively affect beef calves: separation from dam, new environment, diet change and new social dynamics, just to name a few. Minimizing the stress of weaning will give your calves greater opportunities to thrive, perform and reach their genetic potential.
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Timing the harvest of frosted corn for silage
Gene P. Gengelbach
Progressive Forage
For most grain and livestock producers, the only time you want to hear “frosted” and “corn” in the same sentence is when you are thinking about breakfast cereals. However, due to late planting in many areas and cooler than normal temperatures in August, frosted corn may be a reality in many locations. Will your crop mature before it frosts?
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Do You Have These Traits of a Successful Grazing Manager?
Jeff Goodwin
On Pasture
We recently conducted a survey of 14 resource professionals who have spent their entire working careers assisting land stewards through the good and tough times. These professionals are from respected institutions such as the Noble Research Institute, Texas Christian University Ranch Management Program, the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and several private consultants. Additionally, the majority of the respondents own and operate their own cow/calf operation.
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JBS, Batista Arrests Fallout Continues in Brazil
Wyatt Bechtel
Drovers
On Sept. 13, JBS chief executive officer Wesley Batista was arrested for insider trading. His brother Joelsey, a fellow major shareholder in JBS, gave himself up to authorities on Sept. 10 because he had withheld information from prosecutors during plea deal in May. The plea deal is pending after these recent developments.
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Farmer puts future on display
DEBORAH GERTZ HUSAR
AgriView
What may be the future of the cattle industry was on display Aug. 8 near Camp Point. Jacob Schmidt keeps cattle in a hoop barn designed for calving, backgrounding and finishing – a system providing benefits for the cattle, the farmer and the environment. “I really think the future of the cattle industry is moving to these buildings,” Schmidt said. “We are seeing better efficiency in the cow herd in the hoop barn. The cows are very gentle and comfortable and don’t burn energy to find food and water.”
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Transitioning Calves from Receiving to a Feedlot Diet
Dr. Francis L. Fluharty
Ohio Beef Cattle Letter
Transitioning newly weaned calves from a forage diet to a grain and grain byproducts based diet is a critical time period in the feedlot. Since many farmer feeders only receive calves once a year and fall weaning is just around the corner, here’s a quick reminder of things to consider.
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Washington D.C. is like a bad marriage
Troy Marshall
Beef Magazine
The system is broke. And the best analogy I can think of is a marriage gone bad. Take President Trump and the media. They have been consumed in war, they have said things that weren’t true, they hurt each other’s pride and they became less in the process. They distorted the truth and they abandoned the key promises they made and the responsibilities they undertook.
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