Mark Parker: The Top 10 signs ag technology is getting out of hand

Mark Parker:  The Top 10 signs ag technology is getting out of hand

FarmTalk

#10. Instead of “recalculating, recalculating,” your GPS says, “Wrong-turn dumb*##!”

#9. Mechanics no longer have grease under their fingernails but they do have carpal tunnel syndrome.

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Minerals to Cows

Minerals to Cows

Dr. Ken McMillan

DTN

The amount of minerals in forages varies tremendously over the year. Lower levels and availability of calcium and magnesium in lush spring grasses, combined with a cow’s peak need for calcium and magnesium, may mean an increase in cases of milk fever (low calcium), grass tetany (low magnesium) or a combination of both (what I call lactation tetany).

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The design for successful feeder calves

The design for successful feeder calves

David Cooper

Progressive Cattle

Knowing which cattle to bring into the largest feeding company in the beef industry isn’t based on algorithms and vast caches of data, according to Tony Bryant, manager of research at Five Rivers Feeding.

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Making hay when the sun doesn’t shine

Making hay when the sun doesn’t shine

Jenny Schlecht

Agweek

ou’re supposed to “make hay while the sun shines.” But what happens when it doesn’t shine? For Justin Weatherford, of Florence, S.D., the wet summer and early fall has meant putting up about two-thirds of the amount of hay he needs for his approximately 150 ewes and 1,200 feeder lambs. It also means, thanks to runoff filling low spots, that he’s only going to be able to move about a third of his hay home until a hard freeze firms up the ground.

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Testing Hay for Nutrients

Testing Hay for Nutrients

Ben Beckman

Farms.com
Beef Systems Extension Educator Ben Beckman shares ways to sample hay and ensure the best nutritional quality prior to feeding.

Oh, the Places He’s Gone

Oh, the Places He’s Gone

Lindsay King

Angus Journal

Finding the perfect balance between life on and off the farm is no easy task. Keith Burgett – a well-traveled veterinarian from Carrollton, Ohio, and longtime Angus producer – seems to have it all worked out. Now retired, Keith dedicated his life to animals large and small, near and far.

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BRD: A War With Multiple Fronts

BRD: A War With Multiple Fronts

John Maday

Drovers

While the cattle industry continues to re­ ne preventive measures, treatments and overall management, feedlot morbidity, mortality and costs associated with bovine respiratory disease (BRD) stubbornly refuse to improve.

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