Hoof care to prevent foot rot

Hoof care to prevent foot rot

Lisa Moser

Kansas State University

Sores on the feet can sure make a person feel miserable not to mention making it hard to walk. The same can be true of cattle when they develop foot rot in the crevasse between their toes, causing some of them to become lame according to the veterinarians at the Beef Cattle Institute. Speaking on the weekly Cattle Chat podcast, Kansas State University veterinarian Bob Larson explained how this condition develops.

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Managing pasture into fall, during a hot, dry summer

Managing pasture into fall, during a hot, dry summer

Victor Shelton

Ohio beef Cattle Letter

Distribution of rain never seems fair, especially when you are on extreme ends of it. I greatly appreciate the rain that I’ve received and am pleased with good regrowth. It certainly has been a good year for red clover and timothy. I thought I had a tremendous take where I had frost-seeded back in February, but fields not seeded were almost as good.

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USDA Announces Changes to Emergency Haying and Grazing Provisions

USDA Announces Changes to Emergency Haying and Grazing Provisions

Andy Schwab

Northern AG Network

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) today announced changes for emergency haying and grazing of acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). This includes changes outlined in the 2018 Farm Bill that streamlines the authorization process for farmers and ranchers.

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Great American Outdoor Act or Great American Land Grab?

Great American Outdoor Act or Great American Land Grab?

Lilly Platts

Western AG Reporter

The Great American Outdoors Act (GOA), signed into law by President Trump on August 4, has been met with a rallying cry of support from public lands advocates.  At first glance, the bill offers to remedy much of the overdue maintenance of existing public lands, as it fully and permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which is intended to provide a steady source of dollars dedicated to the upkeep and improvement of public lands, including National Parks.

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Field vs. feedlot backgrounding researched

Field vs. feedlot backgrounding researched

William DeKay

The Western Producer

Study is looking at how animals differ in gain, morbidity, mortality, antibiotic use, yardage and manure costs, Backgrounding calves in the field rather than the feedlot might be a viable option, and researchers are now studying the concept. The first year in a three-year study has been completed at the University of Saskatchewan’s Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence near Clavet, Sask. It compared winter backgrounding of steers in an extensive field setting with a conventional drylot setting.

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U.S. farm state senators in a beef over livestock bill

U.S. farm state senators in a beef over livestock bill

Tom Polansek, P.J. Huffstutter

Reuters

Two senior Republican U.S. senators from top farm states have locked horns over legislation intended to make cattle markets more transparent, after the COVID-19 pandemic tanked livestock prices.  U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa and a bipartisan group of colleagues introduced a bill in May that would force meatpackers like JBS USA , Tyson Foods and Cargill Inc to buy at least half the beef cattle they slaughter directly from producers on the open market and then kill those animals within two weeks.

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Beef industry continues to evolve: Rancher looks to future

Beef industry continues to evolve: Rancher looks to future

Erica Quinlan

Agri News

The beef cattle industry is continuing to evolve as technology changes. Lee Leachman, founder of Leachman Cattle in Colorado, has seen changes on the farm firsthand. “We’re in this traditional business of raising bulls, but what’s cool is that technology is starting to significantly impact the way we’re raising cattle,” he said. “We’re all about measuring and evaluating beef cattle and trying to select them using big data to be more profitable.” Leachman talked about the past, present and future of beef cattle during a webcast hosted by Charleston Orwig.

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U of M Extension to host beef webinar series

U of M Extension to host beef webinar series

The Globe

The University of Minnesota Extension will host a six-part webinar series, “Key Components of a Successful Beef Operation: Cow/Calf to Consumer,” during the month of August. Farmers, 4-H’ers, ag business professionals who work with farmers and anyone interested in beef cattle production are invited to attend. Sessions are from 6 to 7:30 p.m. each night.

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Walmart, Sam’s Club set goal to source beef more sustainably by 2025

Walmart, Sam’s Club set goal to source beef more sustainably by 2025

Michael Browne

Super Market News

As part of its commitment to sourcing 20 key commodities more sustainably by 2025, Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart, operator of Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club stores, announced a new set of aspirations to help the company meet its goal of sourcing beef products more sustainably.

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Slowdown in ethanol production affects livestock industry

Slowdown in ethanol production affects livestock industry

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

The reduction in ethanol production caused by coronavirus-related issues has ultimately affected the cattle market through a reduction in distillers’ grains as feed, according to Dan Loy, Iowa State University Extension beef specialist and director of the Iowa Beef Center.

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Is That Corn Crop Worth More as Silage or Grain?

Is That Corn Crop Worth More as Silage or Grain?

Aaron Berger, Galen Erickson

University of Nebraska

Ongoing dry and drought conditions in many parts of the state are supporting hay and forage prices as we look towards this fall. Perennial dryland hay production in many parts of Nebraska has been less than average and annual forages planted for hay in the western third of the state look to be significantly below the long term average in terms of production.

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Automatic fence lifter makes short work of high-density grazing

Automatic fence lifter makes short work of high-density grazing

Alexis Stockford

Canadian Cattlemen

The first time Ted Unruh came across the idea of an automatic fence lifter, it was over social media. Unruh, along with a number of other farmers, had been chatting about a fence lifter that could take the place of a conventional gate, with some suggesting that a water jug could be used as a counterweight, with a hole as a sort of primitive timer as water dribbled out.

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Triple Digit Feeding Losses Continue

Triple Digit Feeding Losses Continue

Greg Henderson

Drover

Cattle feeding losses were estimated at $157 per head the week ending July 31, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker. Negotiated cash cattle prices averaged $99.33 per cwt. on the week, about $1 higher than the previous week. Packer margins were estimated at $286 per head, about $9 less than the previous week. The Choice beef cutout price averaged $200 per cwt., about even with the previous week.

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Feeder and stocker cattle marketing venues

Feeder and stocker cattle marketing venues

Nevil Speer

Beef Magazine

As some background, the proposed 50/14 legislation is meant to increase weekly negotiation in the fed market – requiring each respective processing facility (over 125,000 head annual capacity) to purchase at least 50% of its weekly kill based on a negotiated spot price. The thought is that greater cash sales would subsequently mean reduced alternative marketing arrangements (AMAs) in the fed market.

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Confinement system for cow herd provides alternative housing opportunity

Confinement system for cow herd provides alternative housing opportunity

Martha Blum

AgriNews

The drylot confinement housing for cow/calf herds research project at the Orr Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center was initiated to answer cattlemen’s questions. “Producers have been asking how to maintain or expand their cow herds,” said Travis Meteer, University of Illinois Extension beef cattle educator. “In the Midwest, land prices, land availability, drought and other issues influence producers ‘decisions if they can maintain or expand cow numbers.”

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Grazing cattle the old-fashioned way

Grazing cattle the old-fashioned way

Alice Mannette

Leavenworth Times

Figuring out the best way to graze cattle, increase soil health, help the environment and save money seems like a daunting task. But the folks at Cheney Lake Watershed knew it was possible, so they found a rancher who was willing to test a variety of cover crop mixes and grazing areas.

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American beef gets a bad rap as climate-change factor

American beef gets a bad rap as climate-change factor

Frank Mitloehner

San Francisco Chronicle

Americans won’t halt global warming until they stop eating beef — at least, that’s what many people have been taught. Some have even reluctantly given up their steaks and cheeseburgers in a well-intentioned effort to save the planet.

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Options to reduce stocking rates

Options to reduce stocking rates

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Drought conditions are persisting across much of the U.S., especially in the states of Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska. Although adequate soil moisture has kept some areas out of drought, portions of the Midwest and the West have received well below normal spring and summer precipitation, as well as above normal spring and summer temperatures.

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House Ag Leaders Seek More Answers on Cattle Markets

House Ag Leaders Seek More Answers on Cattle Markets

Chris Clayton

DTN

A month after the CRS report, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock held a hearing “Reviewing the State of the U.S. Livestock and Poultry Economies.” That was timely. Neither the House nor Senate Agriculture Committees have held hearings looking at what happened to cattle markets after the Holcomb fire, or in the early days of the pandemic. Lawmakers seemed to indicate they were waiting on that USDA report.

 

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Ethanol woes impact farmers using distillers

Ethanol woes impact farmers using distillers

JEFF DE YOUNG

Sioux City Journal

Dan Loy remembers when cattle feeders first began using ethanol co-products in their rations. “Corn gluten came first, in the 1980s, and it was used for many years or sold to Europe since there was no tariff on it like there was on corn,” says Loy, Extension beef specialist at Iowa State University and director of the Iowa Beef Center.

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