Beef Production
Adding seaweed to animal feed to reduce methane gas released into the atmosphere by ruminants’ is a relatively new idea. Early laboratory research at IGFS has shown promising results using native Irish and UK seaweeds.
All parties upstream of the packing sector are elated, and likely relieved, to see the price break free from the furrow between $120 and $125/cwt that the fed cattle trade had been digging for 19 weeks.
With the average frost date upon us, prussic acid will be (or already is) an issue in certain forages. Prussic acid is found when susceptible plants are under drought conditions or after a light frost.
Reproductive efficiency is highly correlated to nutrition. The target Body Condition Score going into calving season is 5.5 for the mature cow and 6 for first calf heifers.
The highest fed cattle prices since the spring of 2019 has feedyard managers searching for additional gains this week. Calf prices at auction last week traded uneven.
Many ranchers in the Dakotas depend on surface water sources, such as dugouts and stock dams to provide water to grazing livestock. These sources naturally contain salts, which are dissolved minerals or solids.
The Meat Institute says the revised Fischer/Grassley bill proposed in the Senate ignores the analysis of beef and cattle markets by the country’s leading agricultural economists.
Maybe the stars are finally lining up for the beef industry. With the fed cattle market pinch point removed, cattle and beef markets are poised to realign and rebalance.
Last week cattle feeders found themselves in an environment they had not seen since August of 2019. Four packers were in the market competing for the cattle that were available on the list.
Cattle feeders found willing packer buyers even as they priced cattle higher throughout the week. Higher prices were supported by solid gains in the futures markets.
Zoetis announced Synovex® One Grower as the new trade name for the long-duration cattle implant producers have known as Synovex® One Grass.
Producers should manage their calving season, genetics, grazing system, supplementation program and herd health to achieve an average BCS of 5 to 6 (target 5.5) in the mature cow herd at calving time.
Cow and bull slaughter for 2021 continues outpacing last year’s totals, and cow processing plants are operating at higher capacity utilization levels than fed cattle plants.
Most round bales are typically stored outside and unprotected because of their ability to shed moisture. It’s not always easy to control weather related losses, but producers can minimize storage losses.
Producing Wagyu beef is as much an art as it is stockmanship, according to Kenichi “Ken” Kato, well-known butcher and restaurant owner in Japan, who is four generations deep in the Wagyu culture.
Average drought conditions currently are slightly worse than the drought conditions at this time last year. Although there has been some regional changes in drought situation, the overall picture has not changed much.
If a vaccine isn’t preventing disease, perhaps the money would be better spent on adding real value to calves.
If a vaccine isn’t preventing disease, perhaps the money would be better spent on adding real value to calves.
Diarrhea in neonatal calves is one of the leading causes of morbidity (sickness) and mortality (death) in North America and Europe and continues to be a major cause of economic loss to the beef cattle industry.
Cash fed cattle prices moved higher last week with all packers participating. This week cattle feeders will look to keep the momentum going.
Cash fed cattle prices finally broke out of a weeks-long rut, trading $2 to $4 higher in all regions. This week saw the highest prices of the year and the highest average since 2019.
Winter hay feeding is a reality for most producers and some use high quality hays such as alfalfa for supplementation. In both instances, a forage analysis is essential to cost effective and efficient use of the hay.
To identify unique proteins that can be used for interventions against BRD, scientists took a closer look at the genetic material of multiple strains of three groups of bacteria commonly implicated with the disease.
Neonatal diarrhea is a significant economic loss to the cattle industry and continues to be the most common cause of mortality in calves.
The bull lameness exam Lameness can mean the difference between a valuable bull and hamburger.
The ongoing drought has impacted all segments of the cattle industry, and some of the hardest hit have been beef cows.
When news surfaces about cattle with rabies, media outlets and the urban public might treat it as a humorous event, with images of a vicious, slobbering cow running amuck on the farm.
Determining the most cost effective means of supplementing cows requires the evaluation of feeds on a cost per unit of protein and energy provided.
APHIS announced it has withdrawn its plan to phase-in mandatory RFID tags for cattle and bison in response to executive orders calling for “transparency.”
There are steps farmers can take to get the hay up quickly and reduce the potential for rain damage.