Beef - General
It’s not sharks, wolves, or bears that kill the most people—it’s wild pigs, and the numbers are trending up.
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.
Donation intake closing as distribution continues for AgriLife Extension-operated Animal Supply Points.
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%.
Do America’s trade policies push ranchers out of business? That’s a protectionist’s view, but there’s no evidence suggesting ranchers “displaced” by beef imports – nor being unduly damaged in the marketplace.
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.
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.
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.
Now, along with undergraduate students, current high school seniors who have experience raising and caring for small or large livestock, equine and/or poultry, are eligible to apply.
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.
Thanks to a reader’s observation, another county has been added to our list of those with more than 50,000 beef cows.
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.
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.
Declining cattle futures provided leverage for packers to collect inventory with softer bids.
Cherry County Neb. remains the U.S. County with the most beef cows, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture. South Dakota has seven counties ranked in the Top 33 while Texas has five.
Negotiated cash cattle prices moved lower again under pressure from sinking futures markets. The red-hot hamburger market kept pushing most utility cows higher.
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.
Individual identification of cattle is important for many reasons, making it possible to identify a number of important management aspects.
In an effort to prevent domestic cattle from being exposed to Bovine Influenza A Virus (BIAV), 17 states have restricted cattle imports from states where the virus has infected dairy cows.
Fertilization requires the ability to use increased forage growth in a timely manner. That’s more important for stockers than cow-calf operations as excessive early pasture growth is more efficiently used by mature cows.
Research indicates multiple animal performance benefits linked to earlier castration (birth to 3 months), including shorter initial weight loss periods, lower disease susceptibility, and higher post-weaning ADGs.
USDA reports are not an exact science of data collection and should not be treated as such. We have to take the information from all reports, reported and/or surveyed, and use it accordingly in our analysis.
Caitlin Word shares the difference between principles and practices in this week’s podcast episode as it relates to regenerative agriculture.
The margin spread between packer losses and feedyard profits expands as wholesale beef prices continue their retreat. Pork producer profits continue increasing.
Steve Troxle, state commissioner of agriculture, said he is waiting for more diagnostic information from the National Veterinary Services Laboratory and will work collaboratively with North Carolina dairy farmers.
NASS said the decision to discontinue select surveys was necessary given appropriated budget levels. NCBA noted its objections to the plan.
The American Association of Bovine Practitioners is making the name change, as it more accurately reflects the issue.
There’s a lot of rhetoric surrounding beef trade that we shouldn’t accept at face value. A closer look at the data shows America’s ranchers are the direct beneficiaries of international trade.
Five-hundred-sixty-three bidders registered for the annual sale with 264 buyers from 31 states and Mexico competed for 670 lots.
King Ranch has acquired a 50% stake in Cobalt Cattle, the nation’s fourth-largest cattle feeding operation with six feedyards in Colorado, Kansas and Texas.