Beef Production
Weaning spring calves may be more of a challenge this year because of short pasture supplies and the questionable nutritional value of this year’s hay crop.
Stable flies and other blood-feeding pests take a $2.2 billion bite out of agriculture. A team of researchers is finding a new way to fight back...with a coconut.
Timely baler maintenance is key to preventing dangerous round baler fires.
Both summer and fall are important times for ranchers to keep an eye on cattle that graze where Johnsongrass is present, due to the risk of prussic acid toxicity.
Amid continuing drought, the 2022 hay supply data illustrate why so much herd liquidation has occurred this year. It also speaks to the continuing challenges that cattle producers will face to get through the winter.
Beef packers were forced to pay up to attract inventory last week, a bullish signal that the longer-term trend is higher for cash cattle.
All plants can contain some nitrate, but buildup of nitrates to toxic levels in forage plants can occur. Nitrate is not particularly toxic to cattle, at normal levels, but how much is ‘too much?’
Weather events in the weeks, days and even hours leading up to harvest can trump our best efforts and transform a carefully raised feed resource into a nutritional time bomb.
Reducing your cow inventory may be the best option to reduce stress on your grazing system and help stretch your feed/forage resources as long as possible.
The impacts of drought are leading some to reconsider marketing alternatives for calves. Consider these 5 things before you shift your marketing plan.
U.S. consumers grappling with soaring inflation face more pain from high beef prices as ranchers reduce their cattle herds due to drought and lofty feed costs, a decision that will tighten livestock supplies for years.
Cattle markets reversed a month-long lower trend with decent gains in all regions, a strong indication retail buying for the Labor Day holiday has begun.
Packers had to pay up to acquire the numbers of cattle they wanted last week helping to clean up show lists and signaling the summer lows may be in the rearview mirror.
Early weaning can help reduce the pressure on drought-stressed pastures, but ranchers should evaluate feeding, management, and marketing options prior to weaning.
Advancing drought pushed auction volumes higher with early marketings of summer grazing cattle. Calf prices dropped under accelerated seasonal price pressure.
With dry weather and short pastures, Missouri cow-herd owners face tough culling decisions. One way to match cows’ needs to available grass is to sell cows. There is no feed for freeloaders when forage is short.
Nitrates and prussic acid build up in forages to levels dangerous to livestock during drought. Consuming such forages can cause illness and even death to livestock.
Intensive or ‘mob’ grazing allows for higher stocking densities, but does it provide benefits to soil health and biodiversity? UNL researchers share their findings after an eight-year study.
All manure is not the same. That’s why a group of researchers is taking another look at manure nutrient “book values.”
Beef producers are culling older cows, cows with any health concerns and selling calves earlier, plus planting and trying to store up some hay. Without rain, it’s a struggle.
Considering a replacement heifer is a 10+ year investment and requires 2 years of expenses without income from the day we wean her, is the survival model the best we can do?
Sudden deaths late in the feeding phase are both frustrating and expensive. Simplot Land & Livestock says its research suggests genetic selection can greatly reduce the incidence of bovine congestive heart failure.
Warm-season annuals are often thought of as emergency grazing and hay crops when late spring and early summer hay harvests are lacking. Recent rains in some areas offer an opportunity to plant warm-season annuals.
Cattle feeders continue to fight for shackle space as cash price continue slumping toward a summer low.
Anaplasmosis is transmitted through the bite of ticks and flies, as well as blood contaminated instruments like needles, tattoo tools, castration equipment and dehorning instruments.
Testing the quality of your harvested hay is important as hay quality is variable depending on the type of forage, soil type, fertilizer rate, and the maturity of the forage when it was hayed.
Take steps now to determine your estimated winter feed resources and if you might be able to plant late summer and fall forages for grazing.
Drought impacts have accelerated sharply in the southern plains in July, with the volume of feeder cattle in Oklahoma auctions up 24% the last two weeks and the volume of cows and bulls up nearly 124%.
Cash cattle prices declined a dollar or more in all regions last week with packer demand noticeably softer than the week before.
Nothing says county fair week like a hot forecast. Don’t forget to prepare for the heat your animals will face at the fair.