Rumen function vital for greater gains in beef and dairy herds

Rumen function vital for greater gains in beef and dairy herds

AB Vista

“Feeding the ruminant is very challenging because there is a complex variety of available feed ingredients, and diet digestibility can fluctuate significantly depending on ration composition,” Dr Walker says. “By optimising rumen function, we are trying to reduce the incidence of metabolic disorders such as sub-acute ruminal acidosis (SARA), when rumen pH drops below 5.8. This is because it impacts negatively on fibre digestion, because the activity and number of fibre-digesting bacteria are reduced.”

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Beef Industry Past, Present, and Future

Beef Industry Past, Present, and Future

Gene Johnston

Successful Farming

Recently, I saw some news articles from 50 years ago, when Dad started that group. The big cattle issues were trade, heavy-handed government regulations, and creating better markets – some of the very issues we are dealing with today. I couldn’t believe it.

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Beef Cattle Institute program engages students, mentors in research

Beef Cattle Institute program engages students, mentors in research

Bryan Richardson

The Mercury

Do bad headlines really hurt beef sales? That topic was among the issues researched by students in the Summer Scholars program, which is coordinated by the Beef Cattle Institute at Kansas State University.

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BeefTalk: Diversity Helps Mitigate Drought Effects

BeefTalk: Diversity Helps Mitigate Drought Effects

Kris Ringwall, NDSU Extension Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service

Are you interested in increasing soil water absorption by 685 percent? Remember the commercials that showed paper towels absorbing copious amounts of water, more than a competitor’s paper towel? Is one paper towel better than another in water absorption? I think we know the answer: Yes.

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Data and fertility

Data and fertility

Cliff Lamb

Angus Journal

Most cattle producers have initiated and, in most cases, completed their spring breeding seasons. Many producers will be recording data associated with the breeding season, such as sires, matings, pregnancy information, breeding dates and more.

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Internet Tools a Great Resource to Help Producers Develop Marketing Strategies and Manage Risk

Internet Tools a Great Resource to Help Producers Develop Marketing Strategies and Manage Risk

Oklahoma Farm Report

The web-based calculator tool called, BeefBasis.com, is free to use and helps producers run the numbers on cattle marketing opportunities in their specific locations. Dr. Glynn Tonsor at Kansas State University, uses this tool and others on the internet, to develop marketing strategies for his cattle and to also manage his associated risk.

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Why Do the Big Guys Win?

Why Do the Big Guys Win?

Dave Pratt 

On Pasture

A recent Ranching For Profit School graduate sent me a link to MSN Careers.  It had a list of the top 10 “dead-end jobs.” Number one on the list was Farmers and Ranchers. The author concluded that large farms would get bigger and that smaller, independent family farms, that didn’t rely on off-farm income, might soon be a thing of the past.

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