|
Another month has sped by and summer is close at hand. It's a busy
time of year for beef producers wrapping up the calving season,
preparing for breeding season, and getting cows and calves out on grass
- not to mention the fact that many of us also balance an off-farm job
and family and school activities. Thankfully just one great spring day
is enough to help re-energize and remind yourself that it's all
worthwhile.
This issue of American Cowman Update provides part two of our
series on business-minded books to read, tips on record-keeping for
source- and age-verification of this year's calf crop, and a commentary
about being open-minded and not "fencing yourself in."
We've also got another great cowboy poem by Steve Lucas titled
Learning from a mistake. A Virginia cattleman himself, Lucas
wrote this piece in response to the American Cowman blog asking
our readers to share a mistake that they've learned from. You can view
readers comments, or share your own, at the following link: blog.americancowman.com/community_blog/
^ Back to Top
|
Now, boys, we had a bull one time, he was big, and black, and grand.
He'd come up to me in the pasture; eat horse treats from my hand.
He'd let me scratch him under his chin, or up behind his ears.
He was just a one ton baby, but of folks, he had no fears.
'Cause one day he broke out of the winter trap, got in the cedar pen.
Twern't far so I went out afoot to put him back again.
I walked up to him to haze him, he looked at me and arched his back.
Pawed the earth and snorted, and got ready to attack.
He took a step towards me and I whacked him on his nose
With my old Stetson hat, and as you'd suppose,
He shook his head then went to grazin, I pushed him back to the cows,
He went to the sale barn two days later, but I'll tell you right now,
That it made me feel real crummy to see him go that way,
'Cause any unpredictable critter just isn't gonna stay.
And I had made him do it. But I've learned from what I've done.
Don't treat your stock like pets or your world might come undone.
And I still see guys that do it, they brag on their pet bulls.
But folks, I learned my lesson. You'll turn your bulls to culls.
I hope you'll learn from my mistake, and I'll tell you all that,
A cows a cow and a bulls a bull, not a puppy or a cat.
Written By Steve Lucas
Mountain View Farm
Louisa, Virginia
www.ibiblio.org/farming-connection/ruralwri/lucas/home.htm
^ Back to Top
|
April showers kick-start the grazing season for much of North
America. It's a great time to think about fencing and fences, both
literal and metaphorical.
The literal kind usually keeps animals where we want them. But, maybe
people are more like critters than we like to admit. We are controlled
by metaphorical fences, some of our own design, some erected by others.
To read the complete article, click on the headline above.
^ Back to Top
|
| advertisement |
|
Two million calves have been
enrolled.
One more reason why yours should be next.
NEW! Age
and source verification, an optional program enhancement.
- Convenience -- Sell to more than one packer or feedlot
without additional paperwork.
- Confidentiality -- Prevent access to sensitive
records.
- Flexibility -- Cattle enrolled in AgInfoLink's PVP for age
and source verification may be eligible for multiple PVP and Quality
System Assessment (QSA) programs.
Enrolling in SelectVAC® has never been easier. Visit www.selectvac.com or contact your
veterinarian or animal health supplier.
SelectVAC is a registered service mark of Pfizer Inc. © 2006
Pfizer Inc. All rights reserved. SVC06041
|
As ranchers across the country move through the calving season,
officials with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA), Nebraska
Beef Council, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Extension are
encouraging producers to keep good records regarding the age and
identification of their spring calves.
NDA Director Greg Ibach said such records are necessary if producers
decide at a later date to enroll their cattle in age- and
source-verified programs for possible export or domestic marketing
opportunities. To read the complete article, click on the headline
above.
^ Back to Top
|
The Rocky Mountains provide the backdrop for the annual meeting and
40th anniversary celebration of the Beef Improvement Federation. The
meeting will be held June 6-9 in Fort Collins, CO. It will focus on the
future of genetic evaluation and improvement with a variety of
presenters from around the country.
The meeting will take place at the Hilton Fort Collins. To register and
for program details go to www.beefimprovement.org under
the conventions tab. Pre-registration is due May 15. For information
contact Willie Altenburg, 970/568-7792, willie@rmi.net or Mark Enns at
970/491-2722, Mark.Enns@Colostate.edu.
"The BIF meeting is a great opportunity for cattlemen from around the
country and the world to come together and discuss genetics and how to
improve our industry," says Altenburg, Colorado planning chairman. To
read the complete article, click on the headline above.
^ Back to Top
|
Wild West. It's been a fundamental part of our American culture for
more than a century. But today we're going beyond the old Wild West to a
new creation: Wild West World. That's the name of a new theme park that
is being built in Kansas. It is the first ever cowboy- themed park in
the world, and it's found in rural Kansas.
Thomas and Cheryl Etheredge are owners of the Prairie Rose Chuckwagon
Supper, which is a wonderful tourism attraction they created on their
home farm near Wichita. A few years ago, Thomas conceived the idea of a
theme park based around the American cowboy. It was an incredible
vision: Creating a modern theme park based on the values and persona of
the cowboy and the old west. It sounds like Disneyland in cowboy boots,
and now, after a lot of hard work and effort, this dream is about to
become a reality.
In May 2007, Wild West World will open to the public. Thomas says, "Wild
West World is all about family entertainment." The $30 million park will
feature approximately 24 rides, including two roller coasters, a 50-foot
high water log ride, numerous thrill rides and family rides. It will
also include skill games, food concession areas, gift shops, craft and
artisan shops and music throughout the park.To read the complete
article, click on the headline above.
^ Back to Top
|
Champion Sires, LLC has launched www.Champion-Sires.com, a
website dedicated to promoting winning livestock show sires in cattle,
pigs, sheep and goats.
The purpose of www.Champion-Sires.com is to provide show livestock
breeders and exhibitors with the most effective, free venue to
advertise, market, compare and select their champion producing sires.
Breeders and sellers of show stock can post their sires, the awards
they've won and winners they've produced so that visitors to the site
can view them and find out more about them.
Designed and developed with EDJE Technologies, www.Champion-Sires.com is
already very popular, with over 150 sires from some of the top breeders
in North America, including Prairie State Semen Supply in Champaign, IL,
Cain Super Sires in Chariton, IA, LaRog Club Lambs in Bellevue, OH, Able
Acres Boer Goats in Crawfordsville, IN, and many more. Additionally,
www.Champion-Sires.com already has over 200 registered members, over
10,000 hits daily, almost 2,000 page views daily and almost 200 visitors
daily. For additional information, visit www.Champion-Sires.com or email
info@champion-sires.com.
^ Back to Top
|
| advertisement |
|
 Gallagher has a field staff of 26 fencing professionals
willing to come to your farm or ranch to review your needs,
troubleshoot your problem or simply discuss your future plans.
Rotational grazing, predator problems, horse fencing or any fence
related issue; we will likely be able to provide you with an effective
and affordable solution!
Check out the Gallagher web site for the professional
nearest you.
|
Sometimes the best ideas for the beef business come from other
industries. We continue our spotlight on some of the books that offer
innovative applications from brand marketing to leadership.
Brand marketing is a buzzword in all industries today -- including beef.
Former advertising executive Kevin Roberts tackles the emotional aspect
of marketing in his book Lovemarks: The future beyond brands. He
boldly suggests that love is the essential ingredient brands need to
offer to attract consumers and shift their business.
In applying this to the beef industry, Colorado State University's Tom
Field says future branded beef products need to embody the "story" and
"Western spirit" behind beef production -- because that is an emotional
connection that consumers want to be part of. To read the complete
article, click on the headline above.
^ Back to Top
|
It's one of the great partnerships in culinary history -- savory
grilled hamburgers or steaks and delicious Wisconsin cheese. For dairy
producers, who are, of course, also beef producers, two exciting new
summertime promotions funded by the beef checkoff and the Wisconsin
Milk Marketing Board, Inc. (WMMB) will encourage consumers to pair these
food favorites.
Father's Day Favorites and Bold Flavors of Summer are two new marketing
drives in the checkoff's annual retail promotion aimed at building beef
demand throughout the peak grilling season, when supplies are
historically high. Not surprisingly, summer is one of the hottest sales
seasons for beef. In fact, according to FreshLook Marketing data, total
beef dollar and pound sales in summer 2006 were up 3 percent and 6
percent, respectively, versus the same period in 2005. To read the
complete article, click on the headline above.
^ Back to Top
|
The repercussions of high-priced corn are on everyone's mind these
days. Not only are many wondering about the supply of corn, but how the
price will affect cattle feeders' bids for calves next fall.
To offset lower calf prices, producers may want to consider using growth
implants on the ranch to garner extra pounds come sale time, says South
Dakota State University's (SDSU) Robbi Pritchard. The nutrition
professor and researcher is well-known across the industry for his work
with implant strategies.
"Implants are a way to add pounds to calves. And for the next couple
years, a few pounds will help the rancher's paycheck a lot," says
Pritchard in reference to the forecast for lower prices.To read the
complete article, click on the headline above.
^ Back to Top
|
The application of livestock grazing to suppress unwanted plants has
been around for centuries. Today, targeted grazing by livestock is being
rediscovered and honed as an ecologically friendly and effective tool to
address management challenges, like controlling invasive exotic weeds,
reducing fire risk in the wildland-urban interface, and finding
chemical-free ways to control weeds in organic agriculture. A new
handbook is now available that outlines the basics of applying targeted
grazing.To read the complete article, click on the headline
above.
^ Back to Top
|
|
|
