July is upon us and thoughts of weaning calves, vaccination
protocols and fall marketing plans will soon be top of mind. Take time
to consider the details of these management and marketing practices. As
North Dakota State University beef specialist Kris Ringwall shares in
his commentary below, "Success is in the details."
Another great place to gather information about current issues in the
industry is from the proceedings of the recent Beef Improvement
Federation meeting held in early June in Fort Collins, CO. Highlights
from the meeting, including audio of presentations, is online at www.bifconference.com">www.bifconference.com.
Happy Fourth of July as well!
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It's been a mushroom spring. Nature, for many, can be very broad and
often times simply can be stated as brown or green, dry or wet, cold or
hot, dead or alive. For those who succumb to such broad brushes, the
fine points of nature often are missed and the joy of piecing together
the detail simply is brushed aside.
Those thoughts come to mind while reading the recent publication
"Priorities First: Identifying Management Priorities in the Commercial
Cow-Calf Business." The report, summarized and authored by Tom Field,
Ph.D., Fort Collins, Colo., identified herd nutrition as the No. 1
priority for cow-calf operations.
The publication does an excellent job of stimulating additional
thoughts. Cow-herd nutrition is a very large subject and much like
defining nature. Feed can be yellow or green, wet or dry, present or
absent, but it is more than that. In beef production, as in most
businesses, the "success is in the details." To read the complete
article, click on the headline above.
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Milk is hovering around $4 a gallon in the Chicago area, and could
cost as much as $4.25 a gallon to $4.50 a gallon by September.
Bill Brooks, a dairy economist with Downes-O'Neill, one of the nation's
largest dairy product brokerage firms, attributes the higher price to
what he calls a new competitor -- ethanol.
The effect is being felt on other food prices as well. The American Meat
Institute, which represents the nation's beef, pork and chicken
producers, said that corn previously used to feed animals is
increasingly being diverted to ethanol production. To read the
complete article, click on the headline above.
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Farming is an extremely hazardous occupation. Yet, according to the
National Safety Council, many farmers are not making use of safety
equipment that could save lives or prevent disabling injuries.To read
the complete article, click on the headline above.
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The 53rd annual Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course will be held Aug.
6-8 at Texas A&M University in College Station. Dr. Jason Cleere, Texas
Cooperative Extension beef cattle specialist and conference coordinator
reports that this year's short course will address cost increases in
fertilizer, fuel, equipment and grain and how they affect a rancher's
profits.
"Increasing feed and fertilizer costs continue to put a lot of pressure
on beef cattle producers to look for new ways to produce a pound of beef
more economically," he said. "In the near future, economics may override
traditional ranch practices." To read the complete article, click on
the headline above.
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Cow-calf producers face the continued challenge of rising feed
costs, according to a recent study conducted by the American Angus
Association.
"Our research indicates that combined pasture, harvested forages and
other feed costs have been increasing at the rate of $5 per beef cow per
year since 2000," says Sally Northcutt, genetic research director at the
Association. "The typical U.S. cow-calf operation will spend $35 more
per cow in 2007 to meet herd nutritional requirements compared to what
they spent at the beginning of the decade."
A sizable increase, it underscores the need for producers to optimize
cow size and milking ability according to their operation's own feed
availability and feed cost scenarios, she explains. Estimating industry
average feed costs per cow was the primary objective of Association's
analysis.
"We have now incorporated this updated feed cost information into our
web-based Optimal Milk Module, which was originally constructed more
than two years ago, when feed costs were lower," Northcutt explains.
This easy-to-use, interactive program is designed to help commercial
producers identify Angus milk EPDs that are appropriate for their
operations. To read the complete article, click on the headline
above.
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While we often talk a lot about nutrition, forage quality, and
mineral needs during the summer grazing season, water is sometimes taken
for granted, almost overlooked. Yet water is the most essential nutrient
for livestock production. Cattle can survive for a number of days, even
up to weeks without food, but will die within a few days without water.
Assuming that the goal of most cattle producers is more than just cattle
survival, it is important that cattle receive a sufficient quantity of
water each day to maximize feed intake, produce milk for the calf, and
maintain a healthy reproductive cycle.To read the complete article,
click on the headline above.
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