One of the ways that beef producers can be successful in their business is to identify what their competitive advantage is in relation to their competition. What is it about your product, skills, reputation, business structure, location or service that sets you apart from others? What gives you a “leg up” on the competition?
Many cow-calf producers in Nebraska have become accustomed to using distillers grains as a source of both protein and energy to help meet the nutritional needs of lactating cows from calving until green grass is available. Due to the ongoing distillers shortage, many producers are considering including corn silage in the ration to help alleviate some of the energy shortfall in their hay resources. However, concerns have been expressed that silage in the diet will result in diarrhea or scours in their calves.
Branding is the social event of the spring signaling the end of winter and the long hours of calving, and the beginning of greener pastures ahead. Friends and neighbors come from far and wide to help out and relive the cherished tradition.
As the US continues to limit the spread of COVID-19 by closing offices and promoting social distancing and working from home, agriculture does not stop. The work must go on. Although calves must be branded, not taking precautions can mean the difference between life and death for some loved ones.
Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) is a concept to identify potentially invasive species prior to or just as the establishment of the invasive is taking place. An Integrated Pest Management plan (IPM) can be developed to manage, contain and eradicate the invasive species before it can spread further. This will avoid costly, long-term control efforts.
As livestock producers prepare for another grazing season, thoughts are often directed towards grass conditions, animal conditioning, and fence repair. An additional very important consideration should include what type of flies will impact their pastured cattle, and what method of fly control will work best for their management system. Livestock fly control should be viewed as having a positive economic impact on livestock operations. In Nebraska and elsewhere, there are three fly species that economically impact pastured cattle; horn fly, face fly and stable fly.
Meadows cover approximately 10% of the land area in the Nebraska Sandhills. These meadows have both subirrigated and wetland ecological sites that are an important forage resource (hay and grazing) for many ranches in the Sandhills. Meadows typically provide 2 to 3 times more forage than associated Sandhills uplands. Meadows are also vital to the biodiversity and hydrology of the Sandhills with many native wildlife and plant species found in these subirrigated and wetland areas.
You do not have to go far on social media to find farmers in tractors or families out with newborn calves with the hashtag “social distancing” and the caption “I’ll be engaging in social distancing this spring, like I do every year!”
As we approach the breeding season, cows and heifers are faced with a variety of stressors from the metabolic pressure of providing for a calf to changes in environment. Stress during early pregnancy is well documented to cause embryonic death and loss of pregnancy. However, making strategic management decisions during the fragile 2 months after breeding can help minimize those losses.
The Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center is providing guidance on the prevention and spread of COVID-19 for farmers, ranchers and agricultural workers. Precautions include eliminating exposure, finding ways to reduce person-to-person contact, using administrative authority to establish new work guidelines as necessary, and making use of all appropriate Personal Protective Equipment.
Heifer CONSULT (Collaborative, Online, Novel, Science-based, User-friendly, Learning, Tool) is designed to help beef cow-calf producers improve the reproductive success of their heifers and young cows. If a producer is not satisfied with the current reproductive success of replacement heifers and/or first-calf heifers, this CONSULT will help identify problem areas and provide possible solutions. Please work closely with your veterinarian to create the best heifer development program for your herd.
Artificial insemination (AI) is the most powerful tool cow-calf producers have to improve beef cattle genetics. Still, they have been slow to adopt this technology due to the time and labor of heat checking and a market structure that until recently did not reward genetic improvement. However, markets are now rewarding improved genetics (e.g. premiums) and improved fixed time AI (FTAI) protocols make it easier for the cow-calf producer to use AI.
Have you wanted to have more calves born earlier in your calving season, but did not want to deal with the increase in labor, cost and facilities to utilize estrus synchronization and artificial insemination? The protocol shown (Figure 1.) can increase the number of cows coming into estrus early in the breeding season, with one time through the chute, one injection, and breeding using only natural service.
While Mother Nature has been giving us small tastes of spring, then pulling right back, the reminder that pasture green up is just around the corner shouldn’t be ignored. One of the earliest species we see greening up is cheatgrass (also called Downy brome, Bromus tectorum). This invasive species is found throughout Nebraska but is most prevalent on rangelands in the western portion of the state. Early spring is a good time to begin planning for cheatgrass management.
For a cow-calf enterprise, the second largest expense after grazed and harvested feed is often overhead expenses related to labor and equipment. In ranching, an overhead expense is one that doesn’t change very much based on the number of cows that are in production. For example, the pickup, tractor, ATV, trailer, feeding equipment, and working facilities used to care for 150 cows would also likely be adequate to care for 500 cows. On a cost per cow unit basis, spreading that equipment cost over 500 cows versus 150 cows drastically reduces the equipment cost per cow.
With spring calving in full swing, it is a good time to start thinking about if your cows are prepared for breeding season. Making sure your cows are in a good body condition score prior to calving is one of the most important steps to ensuring your cows stay on track to rebreed whether you plan to turn bulls out, synchronize, AI, or a combination. If you plan to utilize synchronization to tighten your breeding season, there are a few things you should consider.
Good Year-Round Nutrition and Adequate Body Condition Score (BCS)
Conducting rangeland monitoring is an important task to help managers understand how rangeland management practices affect plant communities and soil health. A network of knowledge exchange between cattle producers and scientists can help this data become more meaningful and useful in an adaptive rangeland management framework. The Sandhills Rangeland Monitoring Cooperative (SRMC) is a new collaborative project between UNL Extension and cattle producers in the Nebraska Sandhills.
The Nebraska Range Short Course is scheduled for June 22 to 25, 2020 on the campus of Chadron State College. The short course is sponsored by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Chadron State College, and the Nebraska Section of the Society for Range Management. It is designed to provide individuals who have a background in ranch, natural resource, or wildlife management an opportunity to increase their knowledge in many topics associated with the field of range management.
Although the breeding season for many herds is still a few months away, it is time to be evaluating bull body condition. Body condition is just as important in bulls as it is in cows. Research has shown that bulls in a body condition 5-6 have better semen quality than those in a 4 or 7.
Ranchers interested in learning about the latest cutting-edge research in range livestock production from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln are encouraged to register for the 2020 Nebraska Ranch Practicum offered by Nebraska Extension.
“Local” and “Organic” are two forms of production that have received considerable public attention in the last 10 years. The label of “Local” and “Organic” are noticeably vague and at times can cause confusion among consumers. The USDA has no specific definition of the “Local” label but work to promote locally grown products.
A lot of time is spent on analyzing trends and movements in the quality and yield grade of slaughtered cattle and for good reason. These premiums indicate whether the market is willing to pay for producing a higher quality product. As producers respond to these premiums or discounts the relative share of quality graded cattle changes. For example, as the Choice-Select spread widens there is a greater incentive to feed cattle longer.
Two statements commonly spoken by market analysts and producers are: 1) beef is a differentiated product and 2) global beef supply impacts domestic prices. These are so frequently quoted that we might forget how these two statements imply modifications in local risk management and production practices. So, how do these statements apply to a hypothetical Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) situation in the United States (US)?
Colostrum is the "first milk" produced after calving. It has a different composition than milk as it has an important role in being the first meal a calf receives. Colostrum is more nutrient dense than milk and contains antibodies essential for calf health.
Beef feedlot managers, owners, employees and allied industries will learn new information related to feedlot nutrition and health at Nebraska Extension's 2020 Beef Feedlot Roundtables Feb. 18-20 in Bridgeport, Lexington and West Point.
The past few months, we’ve been focusing quite a bit on the issues that can arise when hay gets a bit too wet: combustion, mold, and Maillard reactions. One often overlooked issue that can arise from wet hay is just the moisture itself.
Nebraska USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) is reminding livestock producers of an approaching deadline for the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). Producers who filed a LIP Notice of Loss with FSA for livestock losses due to natural disaster in 2019 have until Monday, March 2, to supply appropriate supporting paperwork and complete the application for payment, if they haven’t done so already.
The adverse weather conditions experienced by most agriculturalists in 2019 certainly impacted sugar beet production. The reduced volume of sugar beets available for sugar production has impacted the amount of the by-product, sugar beet pulp, available for beef cattle diets this winter.
Sugar beet pulp is often used in gestating cow diets in the winter to increase the energy density of a forage based diet. The highly digestible fiber in sugar beet pulp gives it a total digestible nutrient or TDN value of 85-90%. The crude protein value is approximately 10%.
Beef production from conception to consumption is a complex, biological system where cause and effect are often distant in time and space. For example, things that occurred to a calf while it was developing inside of a cow, can impact that animal throughout its life all the way to harvest. This can make it challenging to identify and address the actual source of a problem when it is observed. To better understand and address the source of problems, consider asking the question “why?”
The annual Nebraska Women in Agriculture Conference will celebrate 35 years Feb. 20 and 21 at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Kearney.
Workshops and presentations will offer tools and information to help women better manage risk, improve their farms and ranches and become more successful operators and business partners.
During the winter and spring of 2020, Nebraska Beef Extension Educators will host 7 beef profitability workshops in Eastern Nebraska to help beef producers evaluate their operations to make them more profitable through the latest research information. Topics will vary depending on the presenters at each location. These workshops have been held across Nebraska for the past sixteen years. The cost is $15.00 but may vary from location to location depending on local sponsorship. There will not be a meal unless otherwise stated.
Animal agriculture often endures criticism from our neighbors and consumers relative to sustainability. But when it comes to management of carbon and nutrients, animal agriculture has a positive story to share. Many environmental and sustainability organizations promote the importance of a “circular economy” for increasing sustainability. Farmers should help our neighbors and consumers recognize agriculture’s long term practice of implementing this circular economy.
Stories about manure often illustrate two opposing sentiments. Is manure a “Waste” that pollutes our water resources and creates undesirable nuisances for communities? Or, is manure a “Resource” that reduces the demand inorganic fertilizers and improves the health of our soils?
In this roundtable podcast, the veterinary team at the Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center discusses calving principles that producers can use to enhance their care and management of both cow and calf.
As winter progresses, winter nutrition and increased environmental stress on cows may concern many cow-calf producers. Winter nutritional management affects not only the profitability of a beef cowherd, but also the future performance of the cow and her offspring. With that in mind, building a nutritional program for a cow-calf system requires understanding nutritional requirements, knowing the “stress periods” that can happen, and knowing the quality and quantity of your forage resources.
This bull sale season, profit-minded cattle producers will utilize expected progeny differences (EPD) and economic selection indices when selecting their next group of bulls. These tools are far more accurate at predicting the average difference in offspring than visual appraisal or actual weights. This is beyond contestation.
This study by Whitney Bowman, Dustin L. Pendell Ph.D. and Kevin L. Herbel can be found at the Kansas State University AgManager.info website. Review and summary by Aaron Berger, Nebraska Extension Educator.
Nebraska Extension will be hosting a series of winter meetings for cattle producers in seven locations across western Nebraska. The program is designed to help producers evaluate management practices that could improve their bottom line. Extension Specialists and Educators will discuss a variety of topics including heifer development, nutritional considerations during cold weather, benchmarking and measuring costs, considerations for retained ownership, parasite control, and more.
Stories about manure often illustrate two opposing sentiments. Is manure a “Waste” that pollutes our water resources and creates undesirable nuisances for communities? Or, is manure a “Resource” that reduces the demand for importing greenhouse gas intensive inorganic fertilizers and improves the health of our soils?
Hay put up too wet can lead to a number of issues, most notably mold and heat. Moisture keeps otherwise dormant microbes and fungi active, decreasing forage quality and creating heat. Too much heat can actually create a risk of combustion.
As a part of the UNL multidisciplinary Beef Systems Initiative and a complementary project funded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), five geographically identified Nebraska producer panels were formed to provide input and feedback on University research and extension projects involving integrated beef systems. These panels have met a combined eight times over the last two years. One of the tasks being worked on is the development of representative cow-calf enterprise budgets for typical cow-calf herds in different geographic regions across the state.
Nutrition, profitability, and health are the themes of the 2020 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Beef Roundup hosted by Nebraska Extension on Tuesday, January 21, and Tuesday, January 28, at 6pm MST (7pm CST). This series features topic experts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Kansas State University. Each evening features two presentations that can be viewed from any location with internet access or at several locations across Nebraska. Sites and registration information is listed below.
Which field benefits the most from manure? Participants combine personal experiences and management principles to identify preferred fields for receiving manure.
Livestock producers with livestock waste control facility permits received or renewed since April 1998 must be certified, and farms must complete an approved training every five years.
What is a respectable value of a beef replacement heifer for the coming 2019-2020 production season? This can be a complicated choice, but a vital one that requires some clear thinking. It is important to have a handle on this value since future prosperity partially depends on it. Pay too much and future profits and net worth will suffer. Non-participation in the market is not likely to be an option since cow numbers are necessary to maintain productivity.
After soybeans are harvested, cows sometimes are put out on the residues to graze. Some bean residues are even baled. But how good is this feed?
We’re all familiar with the usefulness of grazing corn stalks, but I see more and more residue from soybean fields grazed every year. Cows seem to like licking up what’s left behind after combining. But frankly, I’m a little concerned that some folks may think their cows are getting more from those soybean residues than what truly is there.
Temperatures dropping below 15 degrees in early October may have put some sugar beets in western Nebraska at risk of decaying at the crown. When decay begins in the beet before it can be processed, it makes the beet unacceptable for sugar production for human consumption.
In a joint effort, Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa Extension are hosting three meetings to address how to set up an economical and successful breeding season. The registration fee is $25 per person. It includes a meal and a copy of the conference proceedings.
Presentations include:
Pre-calving nutritional strategies: Am I staying ahead or getting behind? Dr. Travis Mulliniks, Range Cow Nutritionist, University of Nebraska
Female agriculture landowners, farmers and ranchers, and industry professionals looking to increase their business management skills are encouraged to register for the 2019 Women Managing Agricultural Land conference. The conference will be held Dec. 11 at Nebraska Innovation Campus, 2021 Transformation Drive in Lincoln.
Nebraska Extension will be hosting a risk management workshop for cattle producers on Monday, December 9, 2019 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. CT at the Tumbleweed Cafe meeting room. Cattle producers will learn strategies designed to reduce risk exposure to achieve a profitable outcome in uncertain times. Topics covered during the workshop include marketing tools available to protect against unfavorable price declines, programs for protecting against weather related forage losses, and current issues facing the cattle industry.
Grazing crop residues is a great way to reduce winter feed costs. However, producers may run into one major issue with crop land – how does one keep cattle contained especially if the fence is only to be temporary?
The Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition, Nebraska Extension, and Green Cover Seed have teamed up to present cover crop workshops at four locations in Nebraska.
Featured speaker Shane New is a regenerative agriculture focused entrepreneur from Holton, Kansas who, with his family, operates New Family Farms. His topics include: knowing how to take economic values from your operation; why are you doing it if you are losing money; do we really know what foods should taste like; and how to change the way you see.
Putting cows out on corn fields with a lot of corn is a recipe for acidosis (grain overload), abortion, and possibly death, if their rumen bacteria are not properly prepared. Cattle that become acidotic for even a short time can have reduced performance long term due to damage to the rumen wall. Therefore, taking the time to avoid acidosis is very important.
You won’t want to miss RBCS XXVI! This year Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, Greg Ibach will be here to discuss domestic and international marketing of U.S. beef. Jim Robb from the Livestock Marketing Information Center will give the traditional market outlook. Wacey Kirkpatrick, a rancher from South Dakota will explain using price protection for the cow/calf producer. Dr.
Cold stress increases a cow’s energy requirement and can pull down her body condition. We think many cow/calf producers experienced this last year. While we don’t know what mother nature has in store for us this year, it is good to think ahead and have a plan. A good start is to evaluate body condition score (BCS) now, and if cows are not at a 5 to 5.5 BCS, then taking steps to improve BCS before cold weather hits can help reduce the impacts of cold weather on the cows.
Have you ever been overwhelmed by the amount of manure regulations in Nebraska? Or anywhere? Let’s make it a little easier to digest.
The good news is that Nebraska regulations related to manure do not change very often. In fact, the current regulations have been in effect since October 2011. So everyone can better follow the rules, let’s break it down into something that is a little easier to follow.
This article was originally published on the “Manure Scoop” by Dan Andersen on September 11, 2015 and has been modified and published here with his permission.
Low-quality range pasture and cold wet winter left cows in thinner than normal condition coming into spring this year. The challenges of last summer and winter may have resulted in lower than average pregnancy rates in replacement heifers and young cows this fall, which may be due to the impact the cold and snow had on body condition. Much of the precipitation patterns through the winter continued into the spring and summer creating a challenging 2019 haying season. Widespread heavy rainfall across much of Nebraska made the haying season challenging, and in some areas, nearly impossible.
Corn silage can be an economical feedstuff in finishing diets, especially when corn prices are high. Feeding corn silage gives cattle feeders the opportunity to capitalize on maximum quality and tonnage of the whole corn plant, while stockpiling large quantities of feed. Considering forage prices, feedyards with bunker storage or flat storage should consider silage this year, even if only used as a roughage source.
The number of growing degree days remaining for the season will influence the amount of light test weight corn harvested this fall. The current standard test weight for corn is 56 pounds per bushel. When corn test weight is below the standard, it is often discounted in price, suggesting the feeding value is lower. However, research has shown that the feeding value of light test weight corn is often similar to normal test weight corn when included in various cattle diets.
Yucca plants, which are also called soapweed by many people, have nearly overrun many rangelands. There are ways, though, to reclaim those grazinglands.
Across much of western and central Nebraska, yucca has nearly taken over some pastures. While they may be able to produce attractive flowers, dense stands of yucca can devastate grass production.
Nebraska Extension will be hosting risk management workshops for cattle producers at five locations throughout the state during November and December 2019. Join specialists and educators from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as they present vital information on strategies designed to reduce risk exposure associated with cattle marketing and forage production to achieve a profitable outcome in uncertain times.
Check out the exciting line up for this year’s Range Beef Cow Symposium in Mitchell, NE November 18-20. On Monday afternoon the program will kick off with beef quality assurance training and certification and you won’t want to miss the Ron Gill Stockmanship Clinic. Tuesday morning will begin the traditional program with Drs. John Hall and Benton Glaze from University of Idaho talking about when it pays to artificially inseminate and breed complementarity. Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam from UC-Davis will talk about alternative meats.
Small grain annual forages are frequently utilized in Nebraska as part of a crop production system. Annuals such as rye, triticale, oats and wheat can be harvested as silage, offering the opportunity to produce high quality forage.
Over 200 ranchers and beef industry leaders attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory (GSL) 20th Annual Open House Wednesday, August 21.
Dry edible beans such as pintos, great northern, and black beans are a very valuable commodity raised in western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming ranking Nebraska second, and Wyoming eighth in national dry bean production. However, hail and drought can easily reduce bean quality and the feasibility of harvest for the rigorous human consumption standards. So the question becomes, when dry edible beans are not suitable for human consumption, what options are available?
There are many questions regarding the differences between written and unwritten agricultural land leases for cropland and for pasture. This Q&A focuses on the status of hunting rights on leased crop or pasture land.
Who has the hunting rights for leased land with a written lease? A written cropland or pasture lease can specify who has hunting rights. If the written lease does not reserve hunting rights in the landlord directly or indirectly, the hunting rights would go to the tenant for the duration of the lease.
On July 17 when the Gering-Ft. Laramie canal breached, it left over 100,000 acres of irrigated crops in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska without water. Without irrigation water and adequate rainfall, taking the corn to full maturity and grain production, may not be the best option for the crop.
Producers with a corn crop impacted by the canal breach may want to consider making corn silage out of this year’s crop. There are several things to consider when making the decision to make silage.
“What material should I use for my new silage pad?” is probably a question most producers ask once a decade at most, but it is an important decision for maintaining an efficient feeding program. Asphalt (e.g.
The Crop Residue Exchange continues to link cattle producers to available grazing resources. To date, a majority of the listings have been for available corn residue. Crop producers who have listed residue available for grazing in the past are encouraged to log in and update their listings on the Exchange for the upcoming fall and winter grazing season. Recent updates to the Exchange have expanded its geographical reach to include large portions of the states that surround Nebraska.
Many beef producers are preparing to wean, or at least thinking about it. After weaning and prior to winter can be one of the most economical times to improve the body condition score (BCS) of a spring-calving cow. Producers should look at weaning date within each year as a supplement strategy to put body condition back on cows before winter. If cows are thinner than normal, a producer may want to consider weaning earlier to give those cows a chance to gain body condition, especially with the younger females. Heifer and cow BCS at calving can impact subsequent rebreeding performance.
Two technologies that are available to producers to utilize to detect pregnancy in heifers or cows are blood tests and ultrasound. These two technologies can be utilized to detect pregnancy as early as 30 days post breeding. Early detection of pregnancy in beef heifers or cows provides producers with information that allows them to make timely management decisions. A recent article Choosing a Method for Pregnancy Diagnosis discusses the use of these two technologies.
A snowy/rainy spring gave way to above average rainfall for the summer in much of the mid-section of the country. While most of us know better than to complain about rain, the moisture has sure presented challenges for this year’s hay crop.
Abundant moisture resulted in rapid growth and maturity in forages. The continued rain delayed cutting the forage, adding to the maturity of the crop, and unfortunately, a lot of hay has been rained on between cutting and baling. This combination is most certainly going to result in poor quality hay, even if tonnage is adequate.
This article is a summary of the 2019 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report “The Effect of Cow Udder Score on Subsequent Calf Performance in the Nebraska Sandhills”. Joslyn K. Beard, Jacki A. Musgrave, Rick N. Funston and J. Travis Mulliniks were collaborators on this research study and report. The report is summarized by Aaron Berger, Nebraska Extension Beef Educator.
The 20th annual University of Nebraska–Lincoln Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory (GSL) Open House will be held on Wednesday, August 21, 2019. In addition, the University of Nebraska Cow Symposium will be held on August 20th in Ord and 22nd in Norfolk. Both the GSL Open House and the UNL Cow Symposium are sponsored by Elanco. A variety of educational sessions, activities, demonstrations and exhibits are planned for the symposium.
Making silage is an effective way for many producers to best use the resources available to their operation. However, for some, spoilage and shrink can result in significant loss that can greatly increase the cost of silage fed and impact animal performance. Bagging of silage offers flexibility for operations of all sizes to produce silage while potentially reducing spoilage and shrink loss.
Recent findings published from the Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Highlights 2018-2019 indicate changes in cow-calf and stocker monthly rental rates trended slightly lower when compared to 2018 (Table 1). Nebraska monthly grazing rates represent a typical fee for one month of grazing during the summer. Many leases run for a five-month grazing season subject to annual weather conditions.
Your lender informs you that your unpaid operating loan will not be renewed. What are your options? Loan foreclosure? Bankruptcy? One important option in Nebraska is farm credit mediation. This is when you and your creditor (or creditors) sit down with a trained mediator who tries to facilitate a compromise among the parties that avoids loan foreclosure and bankruptcy.
The seven-day forecast is calling for above average temperatures creating heat indexes that will reach critical heat stress emergency. Thursday and Friday (July 18 and 19) will be critical days across the state as little cloud cover is expected and wind speeds will be at or below 10 mph across the region.
Often times the terms baleage and haylage are used interchangeable in conversation due to the state or country of the farm/ranch or simply by the type of operation. So how are baleage and haylage different and why are they used?
Beginning and experienced grazers, land managers, policy makers, and those concerned with the utilization and conservation of our grazing lands are encouraged to register for the 19th annual Nebraska Grazing Conference Aug. 12-14 at the Ramada by Wyndham, 301 2nd Ave., Kearney. The conference is hosted by the Center for Grassland Studies at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The first year of data collection for the Beef Systems Initiative (BSI) is complete. This initiative, funded by the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska, is a faculty-driven, interdisciplinary project that began in January 2015. It included faculty from several disciplinary groups in Agronomy and Horticulture, Animal Science, and Agricultural Economics with interests in integrated production systems. From these early discussions, a long-term systems project was developed and administered by the Center for Grassland Studies.
Beef producers know from experience that calving season is fraught with perils for baby calves. Calving difficulties, failure of cow and calf to bond, failure of passive transfer of immunity (colostrum intake by the calf), weather, mud, scours, and injuries are all threats during calving season. Often, once cows and calves are on summer grass, most of the calf-related risk and workload are in the rear-view mirror. It is still time for vigilance, however, because things like nursing calf pneumonia and pinkeye can take a lot of the fun out of baseball games and county fairs.
Understanding what market conditions are telling you together with risk management and marketing strategy are a key component to business success for stocker/yearling operators. This will be the main theme of a meeting and ranch tour scheduled for Friday, July 12 near Burwell. Registration is due by July 8.
The morning program will be held from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Central Time at the Calamus Outfitters meeting facility northwest of Burwell. Dinner will be served at noon. In the afternoon, a tour of the Gracie Creek ranch is planned.
The abundant spring and early summer moisture we have received in Nebraska has been record setting in many areas and has resulted in hay meadows and fields being inundated with water. Even if the rain stops, for many producers, these flooded hay meadows and fields will produce significantly less this year, due to the damage caused to forage stands by the standing water. This sets up a scenario where many producers may find themselves short on hay for the upcoming winter of 2019-2020.
Settling insurance claims can be a daunting task. The first few items that come to mind are easy to remember and price out. The barn lost a roof, the pickup was totaled. Those are both examples of large singular assets that have substantial value. In the case of events such as floods, tornados, and other disasters the assets lost start to go much deeper. Do you remember all the clothing, tools, kitchenware, electronics, and other small asset items? While these are usually small dollar assets their total value can be quite substantial. Creating and m
If planting in July, warm season annual grasses are good options for forage production. They can be used to produce hay, silage, green chop, or grazing both during the summer or winter. However, if the desired use is winter grazing and the need is for high quality forage, then delaying planting until August and using cool-season winter sensitive species like oats may be a better fit. This article provides information on species selection and some key management considerations based on desired use.
In this month's BeefWatch Producer Perspective Podcast, Russ Anderson from near Hyannis Nebraska discuss how the move from a March calving, terminal production system to a late April calving with retention of replacement heifers has impacted their operation.
