Management of Cows with Limited Forage Availability

Management of Cows with Limited Forage Availability

Glenn Selk

Feedlot Magazine

Some of the cow calf producers of the Midwest and Southwest are going into winter with very limited hay supplies and standing forage. As they search for alternative methods to keep the cows in adequate body condition this winter, some were planning on wheat pasture that so far has not received enough rain to grow. Therefore it has become time to look for Plan B (or C or D). Most of the alternatives after wheat pasture are not easy or are they inexpensive.

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In search of value

In search of value

Tom Field

Angus Journal

Value is created through work. In some cases it is created by the application of craftsmanship; in others, the investment of raw physical labor; and in others, through process design. Exceptional value does not occur magically. It is created through the application of intentional and sustained effort.

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Expanded Research Could Improve Brucellosis Knowledge and Vaccine

Expanded Research Could Improve Brucellosis Knowledge and Vaccine

Kayla Sargent

Western AG Reporter

Brucellosis has been eradicated across much of the United States.  But a small “red zone” over Yellowstone National Park and the counties surrounding it still designates an area in the nation where the disease remains today.  Hindering total eradication of disease, which can cause abortion in cattle, is the inclusion of certain Brucella strains on the U.S. Select Agents and Toxins List, limiting research due to biosecurity regulations.

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Autogenous Vaccines: Another Tool For Your Toolbox

Autogenous Vaccines:  Another Tool For Your Toolbox

Gilda V. Bryant

Calf News

When commercial vaccines don’t work for certain conditions, such as pinkeye, autogenous vaccines may help. These vaccines are created in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-approved labs with samples of microorganisms from a particular animal or herd. Lab technicians use those organisms to formulate a vaccine that protects a specific animal or herd.

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Instead of Reengineering Cows, Just Eat Less Meat

Instead of Reengineering Cows, Just Eat Less Meat

Jan Dutkiewicz

The New Republic

Editor’s note: Stories of this ilk are included in the blog to inform those in our industry how agriculture is being presented to and perceived by the public.

The United States has a meat problem. The average American will eat about 220 pounds of meat this year, including around 60 pounds of beef. The cattle needed to support that consumption require vast amounts of land and feed. They emit huge quantities of methane, which heats the planet. The farms and feedlots they’re raised on pollute waterways and deplete soils, and contribute to the rising threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

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A foot above the rest in understanding bovine lameness

A foot above the rest in understanding bovine lameness

Lacey Newlin

High Plains Journal

Preventive care, vaccines and proper nutrition are all vital to cattle health, but if the feet or legs—which literally carry cattle from one stage of production to the next—are neglected or misdiagnosed, that animal’s profitability is at a standstill.

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Greening cattle diets, US company looks to the ocean

Greening cattle diets, US company looks to the ocean

Jane Byrne

Feed Navigator

The supplement makes up less than 0.3% of the cattle’s feed; the company said it works by preventing hydrogens from binding to carbon atoms during digestion and creating methane in cattle burps.

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Polk cattle ranchers face competition from foreign beef sources

Polk cattle ranchers face competition from foreign beef sources

Kimberly C. Moore

The Ledger

The sun slipped above Crooked Lake on a recent October morning as fourth generation Lake Wales rancher Stuart Fitzgerald and his wife Stephanie got out of a four-wheel drive vehicle, pulled out a bag of mineral-rich biscuits and began dumping the contents on the ground of a pasture along U.S. Highway 27 that his family has ranched since the 1940s.

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Fall weed control considerations for grazed pastures

Fall weed control considerations for grazed pastures

Clint Hardy

Messenger-Inquirer

Pasture weed control is a critical step in maximizing the livestock carrying capacity of your land. As I have written many times, the key to profitability in beef cattle is to produce the most market animal pounds per grazing acre as possible. Weed control is an important part of achieving this goal.

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Cancelled rodeos & livestock shows raise alarm bells

Cancelled rodeos & livestock shows raise alarm bells

Amanda Radke

Beef Magazine

I’m talking about the closures, cancellations and postponements of major rodeos and livestock shows. From the National Western Stock Show to the Fort Worth Stock Show to the Cheyenne Frontier Days (and countless others), event planners and the cities who host these agricultural expositions are making the tough call to shutter the doors on these time-honored traditions.

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