Beef Production
Iowa State University research seeks alternatives for saturated animal fats that retain the original products’ desirable qualities of taste, texture and appearance and offer more choices to health-conscious consumers.
Absenteeism at major packing plants due to coronavirus has again helped create a backlog of market-ready fed cattle. Packers used that fact to push fed cattle prices lower last week.
Labor issues continue to plague the packing industry with this week’s slaughter volume lighter than anticipated. Worker absenteeism due to COVID has hindered packers’ ability to run full throttle and prices suffered.
Breakdowns in the global supply chain are hitting home for U.S. livestock producers and the veterinarians who serve them, in the form of shortages of commonly used medications.
New research shows that improved management practices can help create a climate-friendly beef system.
Dry conditions in the West have plagued producers for months. And while some recent relief has come in the form of rain, a new USDA report shows just how dire the hay situation is for many livestock producers.
Understanding the stages of calving is critical in order to know when/if we need to provide assistance during calving season to increase the likelihood a live calf is born and off to a good start.
During the Beef Improvement Federation Symposium last June, Bruce Golden explained how beef producers can improve their sales through situational indexes.
Many producers assume providing minimal protein supplementation to target approximately 1.0 pound/day gain during the winter is the most economical system. However, research data would suggest otherwise.
How One Family is Breaking the Mold to Carve Out New Path to Process Meat Without White House’s Help
Less than 8 months ago, the Hertzogs opened a meat processing facility without any help from investors or federal funds. The family is finding success through breaking the mold and busting through traditional barriers.
Cattle and beef market dynamics the past year were nothing if not volatile, and in some ways, unprecedented. Supply chain imbalances and processing sector issues have been the focal point of beef price inflation.
A significant drought in the wheat pasture regions on the High Plains has stocker operators feeding roughage and supplements. Higher priced grain has ranchers seeking alternative feedstuffs.
With generally rising input costs, cow-calf producers need to put additional effort into cost management. Managing feed costs will be a key to minimizing cow costs and capitalizing on better market conditions in 2022.
Packers needed cattle last week and pushed the cash market higher as the holiday-shortened weeks came to a close.
NDSU Extension has developed an online tool to aid farmers in making their Agricultural Risk Coverage-County (ARC-CO) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) enrollment decisions.
Cattle markets have improved significantly in the final weeks of 2021, with market analysts projecting those positive trends to continue in 2022.
Ranchers are encouraged to make record keeping a priority, including production records and complete financial analysis and planning.
“Will easy calves grow into cows that have more calving difficulty?” and “Will calves from easy cows have higher mortality?” Study results were presented at the BIF Symposium in Des Moines, Iowa, June 23.
Cattle producers may have a few options available to offset the rising costs of adding phosphorus to their herd’s diet, a Kansas State University beef systems specialist said.
The December Cattle on Feed report, released on Friday, was the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year decreases in feedlot inventories, though November and December totals were only down slightly.
Cattle feeders anticipated cash cattle prices would be softer since packers were working with holiday-shortened hours last week. Packers will need cattle this week to fill full-week schedules.
Drought brings many nutritional and animal health-related challenges for ranchers. Cow performance issues during the grazing season may result from reduced forage quality and quantity.
Western Kansas ranchers faced the extreme in December. With winds clocking in north of 100 mph, warnings of wildfires came fast. And as ranchers face a long recovery, neighboring ranchers are rushing in to help.
With 2022 nearly upon us, and bringing the prospect of a solid cattle market and profits to cow-calf producers not realized since 2015, now is a good time for ranchers to rethink their business in terms of time frame.
As California farmers’ try to battle back from extreme drought, hope is coming in the form of snow. The state’s average snow water equivalent percentage of snowpack jumped from 19% on December 10 to 98% today.
Colorado State University will receive grants totaling nearly $1 million to study ways to reduce the risk of feedlot heart disease (FHD), a disease which has increased in recent years.
Optimism that has built in feeder cattle markets in the second half of the year has been enhanced and consolidated with the fed cattle market breaking out and moving sharply higher in the last two months of the year.
Cash bids were scarce last week with packers facing shortened slaughter schedules the next two weeks. Cash prices were $2 lower in all regions.
Alfalfa is the third-highest crop for economic returns in the U.S. and is a feed source for that can reduce the need for costly nutritional supplements when cattle are primarily feed other types of diets.
Through genetic potential, sensors from the environment, and actual practices, producers can predict when an animal is going to be finished or when the animal is going to be optimum in its marketing.