Commercial focused performance at GENETRUST Brangus

Commercial focused performance at GENETRUST Brangus

Raney Rapp

FarmTalk

When individual ranches came together under the GENETRUST name in 2009, three core values united their herds and the Brangus breed: Quality. Consistency. Profitability.

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Finding the Best Within Your Herd Through Calf Performance

Finding the Best Within Your Herd Through Calf Performance

Julie Walker

iGrow

Variations occur in every cowherd. When evaluating the cowherd, many producers would say they have a uniform bunch of females while others know there is a wide array of variations with their herd. Cattle should meet the producer’s goal(s), so they may have a specific breed, size and mating program to achieve a profitable operation.

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There are Challenges to Keeping Feedlot Calves Healthy

There are Challenges to Keeping Feedlot Calves Healthy

Heather Smith Thomas

Cattle Today

It’s harder today to keep calves healthy after they leave the ranch and enter a feedlot. Dr. Eugene Janzen (Assistant Dean, Clinical Practice, Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary) says there has been a lot of research in the past decades looking at pharmaceutics—vaccines and antibiotics. “The focus is often on demonstrating that one product works better than another,” he says.

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Is More Cattle Grazing the Solution to Saving Our Soil?

Is More Cattle Grazing the Solution to Saving Our Soil?

Maryn McKenna

National Geographic

“What can we do to increase productivity, make this pasture more diverse, get more species of grasses to return here?” he asks the 50 people clustered around him in paddock boots and seed-company caps. They look at him raptly, and he gives them the answer they drove hours to hear: “We can use livestock. Livestock is the most powerful tool we have.”

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Fetal Programming for Beef Calves

Fetal Programming for Beef Calves

JAKE GEIS

Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan

The first time you hear the term “fetal programing,” it makes you wonder what sort of sci-fi movie that came from. In reality, it is a concept that is of vital importance to the calves you sell next fall. What fetal programming refers to is during critical time periods while the fetus is developing, challenges in the environment that fetus is in may produce changes in how the calf grows and functions after being born.

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A Letter to My Professor/Employer, From a Stock Show Kid

A Letter to My Professor/Employer, From a Stock Show Kid

BreAnn Fields

Arable

I remember it very clearly. But, sir/ma’am, you may not understand that there is a vast difference between a beach vacation and spending the week at a livestock show.

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The economics behind bale grazing

The economics behind bale grazing

Steve Kenyon

Canadian Cattleman

I started bale grazing in 1999 and have had many producers over the years thank me for sharing my bale grazing information with them. The usual comment is that they will never go back to the traditional method of feeding cattle. For me, bale grazing was a no-brainer once I looked at the cost savings.

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Contentment

Contentment

Curt Pate

Curt Pate Stockmanship

We used a Sort of Bud Box system, and Temple never said one negative thing about it. I’ve heard lots of folks criticize her and the tubs she promotes in a very negative way. She won’t stoop to that negative type of presenting. She presents the facts as she sees them. I admire her for her honesty. If you don’t like what she presents, give her the facts, prove them to be correct and she will promote it. She is always trying to learn better ways.

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Cattle producers must decide how much risk to take

Cattle producers must decide how much risk to take

Trent Milacek

Enid News

Prices for feeder cattle have continued a bullish trend this fall and pushed above $160/cwt. on the November contract. Contract highs established resistance near $155/cwt. for the last few months, which makes the recent run even more impressive. While strong prices for heavy feeder cattle and good beef demand have provided the fuel for this run, large placements in feedlots through the summer could cause an increase in beef supply and weakness in prices through the winter.

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How does the carbon footprint of U.S. beef compare to global beef?

How does the carbon footprint of U.S. beef compare to global beef?

Amanda Radke

Beef Magazine

Sustainability — it’s a hot topic of discussion these days as our population continues to grow and available resources become fewer and fewer as grasslands and forests are replaced with the concrete jungles of urban sprawl. Yet, if you ask an environmental activist about this topic, he would say agriculture is to blame. This is despite the fact that modern food production uses less land, water and other natural resources to produce an abundance of food that is widely available to consumers.

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