Book Addresses Midwest Cow-calf Management Issues

A book written by a team composed predominantly of Purdue Extension specialists provides management advice for an agricultural sector that often doesn't demand the same attention as some other commodities in the Midwest.

Cow-Calf Production in the U.S. Corn Belt covers topics from breeding to marketing. The 272-page book (publication MWPS-66) is $40 plus shipping and handling and is available through MidWest Plan Service, a university-based publishing cooperative at Iowa State University.

"It's geared toward the cow-calf industry in Indiana and surrounding states because we felt that this industry, compared to at least the dairy and swine industries, is underserved by Extension,"  Don Jones, a retired Purdue agricultural engineer and one of the book's authors said. "This is a very large industry in the Midwest with more than 200,000 cow-calf producers, most of whom have relatively small operations."

The book devotes chapters to farmstead planning, utilities, watering systems, fences and gates, lots and housing, harsh environments, handling facilities, manure management, forage management, feeds and feed storage, body condition score and reproduction, nutritional management, breeding programs, calving management, herd health, non-ambulatory animals and disposal of dead animals, arthropod pests, vertebrate pests and predators, beef operation safety, and value-added marketing.

To order the book, visit the MidWest Plan Service website at http://www.mwps.org/ and click on the publication link.