BeefWatch Archive

Beefwatch Archive

To read articles prior to September 2017, please visit the article archive on UNL Announce.

Making Silage from Late Season Hail Damaged Corn

The first step in dealing with hail damage is to contact your insurance agent, so that you know what is required to meet obligations for hail or revenue insurance.

Preconditioned vs Weaned Calves can Affect Bunk Space Requirements in Feedlots

Weaning season is right around the corner for producers. However, some producers do not think about how their management techniques can affect calves when entering the feedlot. These techniques can affect how calves are managed when received at the feedlot and subsequently, can determine the number of head in a pen during receiving. This article will review the difference in bunk space requirements between calves that are weaned and shipped immediately to a different location compared to calves that are preconditioned before entering the feedlot.

Windrow Grazing: An Alternative to Feeding Hay in the Fall and Winter

Advantages to Windrow Grazing

Harvested feed costs can be one of the largest expenses to cattle producers. Windrow grazing, sometimes called swath grazing, is a management practice that can significantly reduce harvesting and feeding costs. Swathing the crop and leaving the windrows in the field provides several advantages.

• Eliminates the costs of baling and hauling bales off the field.
• Reduces labor and equipment costs associated with feeding.

Timing Manure Application to Avoid Neighbor Nuisances

Roughly half of all neighbor complaints of livestock odors originate from land application of manure. A weather forecast and a little knowledge of odor dilution can be a powerful tool for keeping your neighbors happy, or at least avoiding those irate phone calls. This article summarizes those weather conditions that should be considered when planning manure application.

Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Focus on Transportation

Transportation plays an important role in cattle production. The majority of cattle in the United States have been transported with a stock trailer or semi cattle truck at least once in their life time.

Data on transportation was collected in the 2016 National Beef Quality Audits for both fed cattle and market cows/bulls being moved to harvest facilities.

2018 Nebraska Cow-Calf Pair and Stocker Rental Rates

Recent findings published from the Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Highlights 2017-2018 indicate changes in cow-calf and stocker monthly rental rates were mixed when compared to 2017 (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.

Using Artificial Insemination in a Commercial Cow Herd – A Producer's Perspective

Artificial insemination (AI) provides the opportunity for cow-calf producers to use elite genetics. In this BeefWatch Producer Perspective Podcast, Shannon Sims who is part of a family ranch operation from McFadden, Wyoming, discusses how they utilize AI in their cowherd.

Starting Newly Weaned Calves on Feed

Proper management during the receiving phase is critical to overall health and long-term performance of cattle in the feedlot. 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. Whether calves are being introduced into a backgrounding or finishing program, implementing low-stress management practices to ensure this is a smooth transition for incoming calves becomes a major priority.

Heat Stress: Handling Cattle Through High Heat Humidity Indexes

As cattlemen enter the summer months, they need to understand and deal with heat and humidity. We need to consider some guidelines to help us reduce additional stress on cattle during these events and incorporate some of the following practices into our management practices.

Beef Improvement Federation Meeting Summary

The 2018 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) meetings were recently held in Loveland, CO, with over 600 people in attendance. This year’s meeting marked the 50th anniversary of BIF. With this milestone came an opportunity to reflect back on accomplishments made and given thought relative to the direction of activities going forward. One opportunity that was raised throughout several talks during the meeting was the need to collect phenotypes that are economically relevant but have largely only been collected in research settings.