Monthly Archives: August 2015

Fencing for short-duration grazing

Progressive Cattleman

Most pastures are continuously grazed year-round, which results in the lowest possible forage yields. Continuous grazing doesn’t provide time for forage to reproduce foliage removed by cattle.

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Antibiotic Resistance: Let’s Change the Way We Understand It

Beef Cattle News

In the past few days, there have been two interesting reports on antibiotic resistance. One was released by Consumer Reports entitled, “How Safe Is Your Ground Beef?” The other, much less publicized, was put together by scientists and physicians who work in public health and do know something about antibiotic resistance.

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Success, Challenges, and Continued Improvement: A packer’s perspective

Heidi Carroll

iGrow

Audit standards for animal handling are in place at meat processing plants and most company programs are based off of the North American Meat Institute animal handling and auditing guidelines.

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Research points to higher palatability ratings on branded beef

Beef Producer

A recent study at Kansas State University (K-State), funded by the Angus Foundation, aimed to better understand beef palatability and how branded programs may affect consumer ratings of beef products.

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Old World forage grass making a comeback in the Midwest

Brooks Hays

UPI

A long ignored grass species is poised for a comeback. Federal researchers are urging cattle farmers in the Upper Midwest to reintroduce a fescue variety forgotten by time. The grass, a type of meadow fescue, was first introduced from Europe in 19th century. It was popular with beef and dairy farmers for decades, but in the 1950s, meadow fescues were ditched in favor of newer, taller varieties with higher yields.

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Nat’l Cattlemen’s Beef Assn’s Statement On EPA’s WOTUS

Agri Marketing

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Philip Ellis statement regarding Federal Court ruling in North Dakota that will block EPA and the Army Corps’ "Waters of the United States" rule. "America’s cattlemen and women applaud the decision of the federal judge in North Dakota to block EPA’s "waters of the United States" rule, which was set to go in effect today, August 28.

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Joel Salatin’s Secrets to Reconnecting with Your Food

FoodTank

Joel Salatin is the owner and Farmer of Polyface Farms in Swoope, Virginia. In 1961, the Salatins bought and restored an old farm in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley.

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Stay safe when vaccinating cattle.

Heather Smith Thomas

Angus Beef Bulleting Extra

Nora Schrag, veterinarian with the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, says it’s important to walk beforehand through the facilities that you’ll be using to hold, sort and restrain cattle.

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Profitable Beef Pastures Need Legumes

Dr. Rhonda Gildersleeve

University of Wisconsin

Forage legume species such as red or white clover, birdsfoot trefoil, and alfalfa are important plant contributors to productivity and quality of beef pastures in the Upper Midwest and elsewhere.

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Is the cash fed cattle market relevant anymore?

Burt Rutherford

BEEF
Bottom line, says Steve Koontz, professor of agricultural and resource economics at Colorado State University, is the cattle feeding sector will continue to use more formulas and other alternative marketing arrangements at the expense of the cash market.

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Beef Talk: Are Cattle Records Worth the Effort?

Kris Ringwall. Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension Service

I have said many times that the constant in beef production is change. I remember when I graduated from college in 1975, the continental cattle influence was strong. People had to reposition themselves around the animal so they could be seen in the picture. At the same time, calves were weighing off cows at 469 pounds.

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Judge blocks new federal rule on jurisdiction of waterways (WOTUS)

FoxNews

A federal judge in North Dakota on Thursday blocked a new Obama administration rule that would give the federal government jurisdiction over some state waterways.

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Figuring the “Marginal Value” on Calf Weights

Ed Rayburn

On Pasture

When you’re raising calves for sale, how do you know if you should feed that supplement, spend time and money on pasture improvements, or make other investments to increase weaning weights? Well, you do a little math. Here’s a calculator that can help

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Are you a ‘stereotypical’ farmer?

Andy Overbay

Progressive Forage Grower

If you really want to know what people think, ask a child. Children have a unique way of being brutally frank because they haven’t been schooled in the art of filtering their thoughts. Ask any fourth grader and they will tell you that farmers are older, male, Caucasian, poor, dirty and uneducated.

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Reducing hay storage losses

Jeri Geren (Sigle)

FarmTalk

Large round bales can be a practical and economic way to put up hay to use at a later date. Reducing hay lost to storage is beneficial to any producer. It’s key to note storage losses occur even under the best storage conditions with any type of hay. However, losses are greatest for large round bales stored outside, which also happens to be the most common meth-od in Kansas.

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CattleFax Webinar Builds Cow-Calf Expansion Roadmap

Angus.org

Cow-calf margins will shrink as the U.S. beef cowherd expands, but producers can ensure future profitability by adjusting business plans for the supply increase. An upcoming free CattleFax webinar will address the scope of expansion and guide producers through the challenge.

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Industry At A Glance: How non-feed costs affect profitability

Nevil Speer

BEEF

During the past several weeks, Industry At A Glance has focused on cowherd profitability. That focus has primarily come from two different perspectives: land and cows.

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Humans Carry More Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Than Animals They Work With

AG Web

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a concern for the health and wellbeing of both humans and farm animals. One of the most common and costly diseases faced by the dairy industry is bovine mastitis, a potentially fatal bacterial inflammation of the mammary gland (IMI). Widespread use of antibiotics to treat the disease is often blamed for generating antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

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BQA issues for the beef cow-calf producer

Frank Wardynski

Michigan State University

Beef cow-calf producers have consistently improved the quality of beef from cull cows and bulls. Over the past two decades the beef industry has conducted quality assurance audits for cull cows and bulls. Every concern has been addressed and producers have decreased quality defects of most quality measures.

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Using the ‘Grazing Stick’ to Assess Pasture Forage

Pete Bauman

iGrow

Assessing pasture forage is a key step in planning grazing strategies. Although most producers understand the importance of assessing production, few invest the time necessary to clip and weigh vegetation within and across seasons in order to build a long-term database for their pastures.

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