Indicators of Hay Quality

Indicators of Hay Quality

Dr. Katie Mason

University of Tennessee

You may be familiar with the phrase, “if you don’t test, it’s just a guess.” This applies directly to hay quality. The only way to know the exact nutrient content of hay is to conduct a test. A forage analysis is a relatively inexpensive way to ensure hay quality and develop a subsequent supplementation strategy, which in the long run can save money on your feeding program.

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Small grain silage adds options

Small grain silage adds options

Raylene Nickel

Successful Farming

Adding diversity to cropping systems is a huge calling card for growing small grains for silage.  “Growing and harvesting small grains for feed lets you grow a crop at a different time of year than a typical grain crop like corn and soybeans,” says University of Nebraska Extension forage specialist Bruce Anderson.

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A cattle-powered solution to winter water

A cattle-powered solution to winter water

Heather Smith Thomas

Beef Producer

One solution to the winter-water problem for cattle is a frost-free nose pump. Jim Anderson of Rimbey, Alberta, created this innovative water system 20 years ago. Cattle pump water for themselves from shallow wells, which never freeze up even at 40 below zero. Anderson’s innovation is a piston pump, like the old-fashioned well where you work the handle up and down to lift water.

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Locally raised beef the Shorthorn way

Locally raised beef the Shorthorn way

Beef Magazine

It’s no understatement to say the coronavirus pandemic changed lives for nearly all Americans in a fundamental way. And going forward, it has likely changed consumer behavior for beef demand and how beef producers have adapted to meet that new reality.

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Retail Beef Market Embraces Changes, New Cuts

Retail Beef Market Embraces Changes, New Cuts

Kay Ledbetter

Drovers

Chuck flap, rib-eye filet, tomahawk steak, Denver or Sierra cuts, flat irons and tri tips – the landscape of the local grocery meat case is changing when it comes to beef cuts, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert.

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Can You Recognize These Seven Common Cattle Ailments?

Can You Recognize These Seven Common Cattle Ailments?

Victoria G. Myers

Progressive Farmer

“Try to fill them up on some feed, or hay, before you turn them in. Free choice feeding, especially on legumes that have dew on them in the morning, can be a recipe for disaster. Instead, wait till the dew dries and limit-graze them. Make sure you have bloat blocks, a mineral or a salt ionophore out too. And even with precautions, watch them until you’re sure there isn’t a problem.”

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The cattle industry in south Texas may be bouncing back

The cattle industry in south Texas may be bouncing back

RFD-TV

Beef producers in one Texas county are seeing business look up again. The industry is recovering from a rough blow this year.  Early 2020 was a good time for the Starr County, Texas cattle industry, but then came COVID-19 and it suffered the fate of most industries.

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NCBA Hosts Beef Industry from “Pasture to Plate” Panel

NCBA Hosts Beef Industry from “Pasture to Plate” Panel

Agri Marketing

In effort to educate key opinion leaders in the food and hospitality industry on the beef production cycle, from pasture to plate, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, held a webinar in partnership with the James Beard Foundation. The “Pasture to Plate” webinar highlighted the beef community’s commitment to raising cattle in a safe, humane and environmentally sustainable manner. The webinar was part of the James Beard Foundation’s Industry Support Webinar series, targeting chefs and other hospitality leaders.

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Culling considerations for beef cow-calf herd

Culling considerations for beef cow-calf herd

Ryan A. Sterry and William Halfman

Wisconsin State Farmer

Culling decisions are a routine part of beef cow-calf herd management. Producers should make culling decisions based on what is best for their farm’s profitability, and what is best for animal well-being. This can be summed up as marketing cattle while they are in a condition that processors prefer, before they become a transportation risk and their value declines.

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FHSU ag students learn low-stress cattle handling practices

FHSU ag students learn low-stress cattle handling practices

Hays Post

The Kansas Beef Council partnered with Kansas State University to host a virtual chuteside cattle demonstration featuring Dr. A.J. Tarpoff, KSU beef extension veterinarian.  This video, using both GoPro and drone technology, showcases the key principles of Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) and applies them in a relatable real-world setting. Dr. Tarpoff discusses proper vaccine storage and handling, needle size, low-stress cattle handling, and facility design while processing cattle next to the squeeze chute.

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