Latest News From Beef nutrition

Does feeding whole soybeans to growing or finishing cattle make economic sense?

Does feeding whole soybeans to growing or finishing cattle make economic sense?

Although no animals have even been placed yet onto Southern Plains wheat pastures, as indicated in the prior article, conditions currently are quite favorable

The best way to utilize cornstalks is to graze them.

Cattle mineral nutrition is complex and often confusing, but one strategy to help ranchers better understand their mineral program is to monitor mineral consumption.

Soybeans can be used as a protein supplement for beef cattle, as long as the beans are a small part of the cattle’s diet.

Newly weaned calves are faced with the stress of separation from the cow, deprivation of feed and water during transportation, and adaptation to the feedlot environment.

For some producers, a number of factors came together to create the perfect storm that led to significantly lowered forage quality.

After a year of drought and weather challenges, some cattle farmers are putting in extra cover crops this fall to ease the forage burden. Here’s the top six cover crops cattle farmers are using to stretch fall grazing.

Cow-calf production systems that rely heavily on harvested and purchased feeds have less potential to be profitable.

Bunk space can vary depending on if calves were preconditioned or not prior to entering the feedlot.

Ideally, two year old heifers should be in a body condition score “6” at the time that their first calf is born. 

Forage quality decreases in late summer can present challenges for the May calving heifer.

Windrow grazing is a management practice that can significantly reduce harvesting and feeding costs.

Fall aftermath grazing helps cows increase their conditioning and be better prepared for winter and next year’s calving and breeding.

There appears to be considerable interest and excitement about winter wheat grazing this year.

Weaning is a good time to evaluate your cows to determine average body condition score of your herd.

Presenters at the 2018 Feeding Quality Forum, encouraged producers and feeders to rise above the status quo.

Over past two decades, ethanol production has increased, and in turn, the byproduct of this industry (distillers grains) has become more available. 

In the 2018 drought forages for cow herds are short. Without rain, pastures didn’t grow and stored hay for winter feeding fell short. But feed options are at hand that were not available before.

A very cool and wet August is just the latest turn in a rather unusual year for forage production in Oklahoma.

Currently, low hay supplies and overstocked pastures are commonplace in the Midwest. Limited forage availability is still a challenge for cattlemen.

The person who originated the adage, “It beats a snowbank” may have been thinking about feeding corn stalk bales. However, like most forages there can be quite a bit of variability in nutritional value.

A new Iowa State University Extension and Outreach publication provides information on understanding and controlling parasites in grazing cattle.

Ten cattle died on one Texas ranch where 82 cattle were seized, while another ranch in Texas had eight head die and six cattle confiscated. All of the cattle are believed to have been deprived of water or feed.

Seeding winter annual small grain offers fall grazing for beef cow herds short on grass and hay.

If drought conditions persist, producers could find themselves seeking winter feed options. The program will focus on what producers can do to maximize on rainfall or plan ahead for various scenarios this winter.

Research by the University of Nebraska investigating summer dry lotting of cow-calf pairs has shown seasonal dry lotting can be a cost competitive option to traditional production systems. 

Authorities in Utah believe that 15-20 cattle starved to death in the Capitol Reef National Park.

Authorities in Utah believe that 15-20 cattle starved to death in the Capitol Reef National Park.

Research continues to demonstrate the impact of maternal nutrition on the developing fetus in beef cattle.

Poisonous plants are responsible for considerable losses in livestock although many cases go unrecognized and undiagnosed due to a lack of knowledge of which plants could be responsible.

Stunted, stemmy pastures unable to support grazing cattle have potential. Depend on fall rains to bring fall regrowth, says University of Missouri Extension forage agronomist Craig Roberts.

Prussic acid and nitrates affect cattle differently.

New supplements offer value but producers need to determine costs and potential returns for practices they adopt

New supplements offer value but producers need to determine costs and potential returns for practices they adopt

Utilizing field peas as a protein supplement for grazing cattle is a viable option.

Several options exist for producers to make up for forage lost to severe spring weather.

Along the Florida Panhandle there are vast areas that can potentially be used with limpograss, especially along the Gulf coast.

Drought-stressed corn silage will contain lower levels of grain than normal corn silage.

Flexible grazers could include developing more heifers.

Although many of the pastures are green and lush around the country, this is not the time to forget about trace minerals and their importance to beef production.

Cattle are one potential option to salvage some value if the corn crop does not look like it will yield. 

Corn prices have been on a sharp downtrend since late May due primarily to a combination of trade uncertainty and a strong start to the growing season.

Don't forget to check the mineral feeders or blocks to be certain that they are supplying the minerals that your cows need.

Fall born replacement heifers have been (or soon will be) weaned and will be at a very critical growing period.

With the limited opportunities and short windows many have had to make hay so far this year, some hay may have been made at higher moisture levels than we would like

Shortage of cattle forage forces some Ozark herd owners to chop trees to feed leaves. That method was used in big droughts of the 1930s and 1950s.

Observation can help answer a lot of questions.

As grass leases continue to get harder to find and more expensive to acquire, and drought continues, cow/calf producers are showing more and more interest in feeding pairs in a confinement system.