Mark Parker: The Top 10 items you probably won’t find in town folks’ homes

Mark Parker:  The Top 10 items you probably won’t find in town folks’ homes

FarmTalk

#10. Sick calf fecal samples more-or-less safely zip-locked in the refrigerator.

#9. A rifle tripod mounted on the front porch for possum/armadillo population control.

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Coming your way: Renewed focus on climate legislation

Coming your way: Renewed focus on climate legislation

Sara Wyant

High Plains Journal

Now that Democrats have won control of the Senate, climate legislation is inevitable, and farm groups have to get involved in the debate, says Chandler Goule, CEO of the National Association of Wheat Growers and a former Democratic congressional staffer.

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Score body condition for livestock is balancing act

Score body condition for livestock is balancing act

Erika Lyon

Farm and Dairy
We often associate body condition scoring, or BCS, with how fat or thin a cow, sheep, goat or hog might be. But we may need to temper our expectations for maintaining BCS for grazing animals.

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Research and Innovation

Research and Innovation

Bob L. Larson

Kansas Beef Institute

Changes in the tools and solutions available to address beef cattle health and production concerns are being driven by both time-tested and new areas of research and innovation. The advances being made in genetics, geographic information systems, nanotechnology, and computing power are exciting and provide researchers with new tools to learn about cattle nutrition, reproduction, grazing, health, and behavior. But all innovations are built on foundational knowledge of animal husbandry and the daily needs and characteristics of cattle.

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Making what’s good even better: New AI protocols for beef cattle

Making what’s good even better: New AI protocols for beef cattle

Heather Smith Thomas

Western Livestock Journal

Advances in artificial insemination (AI) technology help increase conception rates, and research continues to make progress in AI protocols. Dr. Jordan Thomas, state beef reproduction specialist at the University of Missouri, said the existing protocols for timed AI work well. “We’ve had amazing improvements in the past 20 years.

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Ohio Cattlemen’s Association recognizes members for industry achievements

Ohio Cattlemen’s Association recognizes members for industry achievements

Highland Press

Although Ohio’s cattle industry was unable to celebrate in person at the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association’s (OCA) Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet, the 2021 award winners, scholarship recipients and Top Hand recruiters are still being celebrated for their achievements.

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Watch for These Signs of Feed Toxicity

Watch for These Signs of Feed Toxicity

Victoria G. Myers

Progressive Farmer

This time of the year some cow/calf producers will see calves exhibiting odd behaviors. They may press their heads, be blind, have trouble walking or get down and not be able to get back up. Kansas State University veterinarian and Extension specialist Bob Weaber encourages producers to consider the possibility that sulfur levels in supplements are to blame.

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New House makeup holds pros, cons for cattle industry

New House makeup holds pros, cons for cattle industry

CAROL RYAN DUMAS

Capitol Press

The 2020 elections brought some changes to the House of Representatives, some positive and some challenging for cattle producers. Democrats have maintained control in the House of Representatives, but their margin has dwindled, said Tanner Beymer, director of government affairs and market regulatory policy for National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

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Free pasture management field day for farmers, ranchers

Free pasture management field day for farmers, ranchers

Purdue University

Purdue Extension invites livestock farmers and ranchers to join Controlling Pasture Weeds, a virtual field day set for 7-8:30 p.m. (ET) Feb. 1. Participants will learn about pasture research occurring at Purdue and best practices for controlling weeds on the farm.

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3 nutrition tips to change the game this calving season

3 nutrition tips to change the game this calving season

Ted Perry

Progressive Cattle

A successful calving season happens when the cows do almost all the work. To get cows set up for success, start with good, balanced nutrition. Consider these three tips to help prepare cows for calving season.

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Prep now for success in the spring

Prep now for success in the spring

Sara Linneen

Progressive Cattle

It’s a new year, which brings new opportunities for you to improve the health and productivity of your beef herd. As we move from winter to spring, here are some things you should keep in mind to help ensure your cows are set up for success before spring calving begins or to support lactation demand of fall calves.

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K-State’s Winter Ranch Management series set for late January, February

K-State’s Winter Ranch Management series set for late January, February

Salina Post

Kansas State University officials have announced that the annual Winter Ranch Management series, slated to begin in late January, will highlight several topics important to beef cattle producers.  Hosted by three areas across the state of Kansas, the meetings feature presentations and comments by K-State Research and Extension educators and faculty in the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry to enhance management strategies employed by cow-calf producers.

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Hereford thrives in an uncertain year

Hereford thrives in an uncertain year

Beef Magazine

In a year that was anything but predictable, Hereford breeders and the American Hereford Association (AHA) continued to add value to Hereford genetics. Year-end reports shared during the Association’s recent annual meeting show their efforts paid off.

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Longterm Effects of Inadequate Colostrum Intake

Longterm Effects of Inadequate Colostrum Intake

Oklahoma State University

Glenn Selk explains how the amount of colostrum a calf consumes immediately following birth can impact their well-being.

Will your feeder cattle lose identity?

Will your feeder cattle lose identity?

Bob Hough

Western Livestock Journal

When purchasing bulls, one of the considerations for a cow-calf producer is how much emphasis to put on postweaning and carcass traits. There are really two major considerations when weighing the value of these traits, with a major one being whether a producer’s marketed feeder cattle will maintain identity back to their ranch as they move through the feeding and processing segments of the industry.

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Coming your way: Renewed focus on climate legislation

Coming your way: Renewed focus on climate legislation

Sara Wyant

High Plains Journal

Now that Democrats have won control of the Senate, climate legislation is inevitable, and farm groups have to get involved in the debate, says Chandler Goule, CEO of the National Association of Wheat Growers and a former Democratic congressional staffer.

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Bill Gates is now the largest farmland owner in America

Bill Gates is now the largest farmland owner in America

Noah Manskar

Market Watch

Bill Gates may no longer be the world’s richest man, but he can claim a new title: America’s farmland king. The billionaire Microsoft co-founder has become the largest owner of farmland in the United States by quietly buying up massive plots across the county, a new report says.

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Beef producers have unique educational opportunity

Beef producers have unique educational opportunity

Whitney Carman

Messenger-Inquirer

Beef cattle producers across the state have been given a unique educational opportunity from University of Kentucky Beef Specialists and Professors. The webinar series they hosted last fall, “Reaching Out While Locked In,” will be continued starting in February through May of 2021. The seminars will be held on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m., CST.

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Some advice about a safe, prosperous spring calving

Some advice about a safe, prosperous spring calving

Garrett Ford

Tahlequah Daily Press

For many beef cattle operations, the month of February is the beginning of the calving season. In the United States, nearly 60 percent of beef calves are born in the months of February, March, and April, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2009 report.

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Cattlemen name Shepherd to Kentucky hall of fame

Cattlemen name Shepherd to Kentucky hall of fame

ANDREW HARP

The News-Enterprise

For 30 years, local cattle­man Doug Shepherd has worked and volunteered in many capacities in the county and state. Now, he has been given a rare distinction for his efforts. Shepherd was inducted Friday into the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association Hall of Fame.

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