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Applying the Soil Health Principles to Fit Your Operation
Applying the Soil Health Principles to Fit Your Operation

What’s your context? One of the 6 soil health principles we discuss in this week’s episode is knowing your context. What’s yours? What is your goal? What’s the reason you run cattle?

Colombia Becomes First Country to Restrict US Beef Due to H5N1 in Dairy Cattle
Colombia Becomes First Country to Restrict US Beef Due to H5N1 in Dairy Cattle

Colombia has restricted the import of beef and beef products coming from U.S. states where dairy cows have tested positive for H5N1 as of April 15, according to USDA.

On-farm Severe Weather Safety
On-farm Severe Weather Safety

When a solid home, tornado shelter or basement may be miles away, and you’re caught in a severe storm, keep in mind these on-farm severe weather safety tips.

Quantifying the Value of Good Ranch Management
Quantifying the Value of Good Ranch Management

The value of good management has never been higher. Well managed cow-calf operations can concentrate inputs into short time frames focused on critical control points of production.

K-State Meat Animal Evaluation Team Claims National Championship
K-State Meat Animal Evaluation Team Claims National Championship

Kansas State University dominates the national Meat Animal Evaluation contest for the fourth year in a row.

Quantifying the Value of Good Management
Quantifying the Value of Good Management

Historically low current US cowherd inventories and limited evidence of heifer retention indicates the robust markets we currently enjoy should be sustained for at least the next couple of years.

Properly Prepared Beef Remains Safe; Meat Institute Calls For Guidance to Protect Workers at Beef Facilities
Properly Prepared Beef Remains Safe; Meat Institute Calls For Guidance to Protect Workers at Beef Facilities

The Meat Institute said properly prepared beef remains safe to eat and called for USDA and the CDC to provide worker safety guidance specific to beef processors to ensure workers are protected from infection.

 A Message to the Ag Industry about H5N1
A Message to the Ag Industry about H5N1

The livestock industry needs a comprehensive, cohesive plan to address the virus. Producers, their employees and veterinarians need clear answers and support from U.S. agricultural leadership, moving forward.

USDA Now Requiring Mandatory Testing and Reporting of HPAI in Dairy Cattle as New Data Suggests Virus Outbreak is More Widespread
USDA Now Requiring Mandatory Testing and Reporting of HPAI in Dairy Cattle as New Data Suggests Virus Outbreak is More Widespread

USDA is now ordering all dairy cattle must be tested prior to interstate travel as a way to help stop the spread of HPAI H5N1. This comes a day after FDA confirmed virus genetic material was found in retail milk samples.

Who Is The Driving Force Buying Farmland?
Who Is The Driving Force Buying Farmland?

David Muth of Peoples Company Capital Markets, the Investment platform for Peoples Company, shares how institutional investors have reacted to higher interest rates on their land investments pursuits.

Lessons Learned After Disaster
Lessons Learned After Disaster

Recently we were reminded of the devasting impacts of Mother Nature during the wildfires that destroyed parts of Oklahoma and Texas. There is a lot to learn from such events so we can be better prepared in the future.

Mistrial Declared in Arizona Rancher’s Murder Trial
Mistrial Declared in Arizona Rancher’s Murder Trial

A lone juror stood between rancher George Kelly and innocent. “It is what it is, and it will be what it will be. Let me go home, okay?”

USDA Shares Recent H5N1 Avian Flu Sequences
USDA Shares Recent H5N1 Avian Flu Sequences

APHIS announced it has shared 239 genetic sequences of the H5N1 avian flu virus which will help scientists look for new clues about the spread of the virus.

Government Regulation Hits Rural Landowner As Feds Claim Dry Ditch Is “Waters of US”
Government Regulation Hits Rural Landowner As Feds Claim Dry Ditch Is “Waters of US”

Federal officials say a dry depression on Dan Ward’s Iowa land, 100 miles from a navigable river, is “waters of the United States.”

Archbold-Alltech Research Alliance Results Confirm Environmental Benefits of Grazing Ruminants
Archbold-Alltech Research Alliance Results Confirm Environmental Benefits of Grazing Ruminants

New six-part video series explores the cattle-grazing carbon cycle and the role of cattle in mitigating climate change.

Cassady Joins Wagyu Association
Cassady Joins Wagyu Association

American Wagyu Association names Jerry Cassady as new Executive Director effective May 1.

Join the Conversation Around Mental Health: You Just Might Save a Life
Join the Conversation Around Mental Health: You Just Might Save a Life

Promoting mental health involves fostering supportive environments, reducing stigma, providing access to care and resources and encouraging self-care. Here's how The Maschhoffs is helping their employees manage stress.

Liver Abscesses in Beef-on-Dairy Cattle are Costing Packers Big Money
Liver Abscesses in Beef-on-Dairy Cattle are Costing Packers Big Money

This growing beef-on-dairy health problem is costing packers two major things – time and money.

Markets: Cattle Trade Lower; COF Up 1.5%
Markets: Cattle Trade Lower; COF Up 1.5%

Cash cattle markets edged lower and while wholesale beef and futures markets were mixed. Cattle on Feed totals were up for the seventh consecutive month and placements lower than expected.

Peel: Fewer Cattle but More in Feedlots
Peel: Fewer Cattle but More in Feedlots

While the heifer percentage in feedlots remains above the average of the past ten years, the decline from January to April is an encouraging sign that heifer feeding is perhaps slowing.

Can High Cattle Prices Pay for Mistakes?
Can High Cattle Prices Pay for Mistakes?

High prices are a welcome change for cattle producers, but it’s important to remember that higher prices mean mistakes cost more than when prices are low, says a University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist.

$3 Corn? That Could be the New Reality Without a Weather Problem This Year
$3 Corn? That Could be the New Reality Without a Weather Problem This Year

As drought deteriorates across the U.S., it's a positive signal for growing a big crop in 2024. And analysts say if weather continues to fuel this year's crop, December corn futures could fall into the $3 range by fall.

NEW: USDA Confirms Cow-to-Cow Transmission a Factor in Avian Flu Spread
NEW: USDA Confirms Cow-to-Cow Transmission a Factor in Avian Flu Spread

USDA said this week cow-to-cow transmission is a factor in the spread of avian flu in dairy herds, but it still does not know exactly how the virus is being moved around.

Plant-Based Meat Analogues Aren't Better for Your Heart, Study Says
Plant-Based Meat Analogues Aren't Better for Your Heart, Study Says

A new study debunks plant-based meat analogue product claims to be healthier for your diet than real meat.

Agriculture Emissions Fall to Lowest Levels in 10 Years
Agriculture Emissions Fall to Lowest Levels in 10 Years

U.S. agriculture reduced greenhouse gas emissions through voluntary conservation efforts and market-based incentives.

Estrus Detection Aids and Timed Cattle Breeding
Estrus Detection Aids and Timed Cattle Breeding

The advent of timed AI protocols became a game-changer in allowing professionals, like AI technicians or veterinarians, to breed many females effectively and quickly.

Trace Mineral Verification Program Supports Optimal Performance
Trace Mineral Verification Program Supports Optimal Performance

One of the industry’s leading collaborations between Purina Animal Nutrition and Zinpro helps optimize cattle performance.

Westfahl Succeeds Borck as ILS Chairman
Westfahl Succeeds Borck as ILS Chairman

Innovative Livestock Services, Inc., announces leadership change for the company that represents eleven feedyards

Worth Ranch to Receive Nebraska Leopold Conservation Award
Worth Ranch to Receive Nebraska Leopold Conservation Award

The award honors farmers, ranchers and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their management of soil health, water quality and wildlife habitat on working land.

Meat Institute Honors 2023 Environmental Achievement Award Winners
Meat Institute Honors 2023 Environmental Achievement Award Winners

More than 200 meat and poultry plants were recognized by The Meat Institute at the 2024 Environmental, Labor and Safety+ Conference in New Orleans for their positive environmental impact efforts.

Global Feed Production Takes a Dip
Global Feed Production Takes a Dip

Compared to all feed production, the global dairy industry showed a 10-fold reduction, down 2.28% in the past year.

The Pros and Cons of Multispecies Grazing
The Pros and Cons of Multispecies Grazing

Kevin Lynch shares the pros and cons of multispecies grazing as well as what beginners need to consider in Season 7, Episode 16 of the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast.

Moving Into the Next Stage of Panhandle Wildfire Recovery
Moving Into the Next Stage of Panhandle Wildfire Recovery

Donation intake closing as distribution continues for AgriLife Extension-operated Animal Supply Points.

CAB Insider: Prime Pops for Annual Quality Peak
CAB Insider: Prime Pops for Annual Quality Peak

Over the past five weeks the combined Prime and Choice carcasses harvested totaled 84.7%, a six percentage point increase over the September low of 78.7%.

Goodbye, El Niño. Hello, La Niña? The Big Transition to La Niña is Already Underway
Goodbye, El Niño. Hello, La Niña? The Big Transition to La Niña is Already Underway

There's now a 60% chance La Niña will develop between June and August and an 85% chance it's in effect by November 2024 to January 2025, according to NOAA.

John Deere Dream Job: Brock Purdy Leads Chief Tractor Officer Search
John Deere Dream Job: Brock Purdy Leads Chief Tractor Officer Search

John Deere is seeking its first ever Chief Tractor Officer with a little help from a new friend - 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.

Profit Tracker: Major Shift in Feed Costs Boosts Livestock Margins
Profit Tracker: Major Shift in Feed Costs Boosts Livestock Margins

Cattle and hog feeders are benefitting from dramatically lower grain and feed costs this year while live animal sale prices are higher. Profit margins for both species have doubled in the past month.

Does Your Selection and Mating Program Create Profit Potential?
Does Your Selection and Mating Program Create Profit Potential?

One of the most important decisions cattlemen and cattlewomen face today is how to engineer their selection and mating program to add value to their next calf crop.

How to Know if Cover Crops are for You
How to Know if Cover Crops are for You

Steve Swaffar encourages producers to be prepared to plant cover crops in a wet year if they are looking to increase ground cover and extend days spent grazing.

Beef-on-Dairy Impacts the Overall Dairy Heifer Discussion
Beef-on-Dairy Impacts the Overall Dairy Heifer Discussion

As long as the beef market is hot, the key for producers will be maintaining the right number of lactating cows going through the parlor and ensuring the right number of replacement heifers can keep that pipeline full.

Wild Pigs Kill More People Than Sharks, Shocking New Research Reveals
Wild Pigs Kill More People Than Sharks, Shocking New Research Reveals

It’s not sharks, wolves, or bears that kill the most people—it’s wild pigs, and the numbers are trending up.

America's Top 34 Beef Cow Counties - Corrected
America's Top 34 Beef Cow Counties - Corrected

Thanks to a reader's observation, another county has been added to our list of those with more than 50,000 beef cows.

cow-swatting-flies
Controlling Horn Flies Starts Now!

Horn flies are a small black fly that feeds on the back, sides and belly of cattle and are the most common fly in beef cattle. Economic losses begin when fly populations reach 150-200 per animal.

BT_USDA_Beef_Hot_Carcass
Carcass Weights, Quality Grade and Yield Grade

Carcass weights have trended heavier for over 60 years with steer carcass weights increasing by an average of 4.0 pounds per year, up over 240 pounds from 660 pounds in the 1960s to over 900 pounds in recent years.

Mackey: Packers Win the Week as Futures Tumble
Mackey: Packers Win the Week as Futures Tumble

Declining cattle futures provided leverage for packers to collect inventory with softer bids.

It's Scary Dry in the Western Corn Belt, But a Drastically Different Story in the East This Year
It's Scary Dry in the Western Corn Belt, But a Drastically Different Story in the East This Year

The U.S. Drought Monitor shows drought coverage is now at its lowest level since spring of 2020, but USDA's topsoil moisture map shows it's still extremely dry in areas of the west and too wet in the east.

Markets: Cash Cattle Lower Still, Market Cows Higher
Markets: Cash Cattle Lower Still, Market Cows Higher

Negotiated cash cattle prices moved lower again under pressure from sinking futures markets. The red-hot hamburger market kept pushing most utility cows higher.

USDA is Discontinuing A Major Cattle Report, And it Could Now Spur More Volatility For Cattle Prices
USDA is Discontinuing A Major Cattle Report, And it Could Now Spur More Volatility For Cattle Prices

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) announced it’s canceling the July Cattle Inventory Report. In the announcement, NASS blamed budget cuts from the most recent appropriations bills. 

Benefits of Estrus Synch and Artificial Insemination
Benefits of Estrus Synch and Artificial Insemination

Manipulating the reproductive process of your cow herd can result in shorter breeding and calving seasons with more calves born earlier in the season resulting in an older, heavier, more uniform calf crop when you wean.

Veterinarians Detail Ear Tag, Tattoo Equipment and Best Practices
Veterinarians Detail Ear Tag, Tattoo Equipment and Best Practices

Individual identification of cattle is important for many reasons, making it possible to identify a number of important management aspects.