News Update
Oct. 7, 2009

Kansas Hosts Series of Informational Beef Producer Meetings

A series of informational meetings for cow-calf and feedlot operators will take place across Kansas this month, featuring timely information on nutrition, genetics, beef marketing, and age and source verification.

“This will be a unique opportunity for producers to hear about some of the key developments and critical research that will be impacting the beef business in the years to come,” says Matt Caldwell, regional manager for the American Angus Association®. “We’ve lined up a top-flight group of speakers who will be sharing information that no doubt will have a positive impact on Kansas cattlemen.”

Read more…

Super-Sized Cows Require Appropriate Management

It is a truth hiding in plain sight: Mature weight and milk production of many commercial beef cows are both greater than they were 30 years to 40 years ago, and that means management considerations must change as well.

Oklahoma State University (OSU) animal scientists Bob Kropp and Glenn Selk explain that many commercial ranchers underestimate the mature size of their cows simply because they have not weighed the adult cows to know what average mature weight to expect.

“Today’s cows are not the type your grandfather was used to raising,” said Glenn Selk, OSU Cooperative Extension livestock reproduction specialist. “To expect large, heavy-milking cows to be in moderate body condition at calving and maintain condition through breeding, they must receive more feed than smaller, lighter-milking cows.”

According to the 1996 National Research Council’s guidelines for beef cows calving in February and March and weaning in October, heavier-milking cows weighing about 1,250 pounds (lb.) require 34% more energy on average for an entire year compared to 1,100-lb. moderate-milking cows.

Consequently, an operation that was carrying 100 head of the smaller cows need carry only 66 head of the larger cows to use the same quantity of forage available on a specific farm or ranch.

The large cows also will require 34% more winter hay and supplement to maintain body condition.

Kropp, an OSU professor of animal science, said feed and fertilizer prices highlight the need for producers to consider reducing herd size to better fit required stocking rates.

A larger mature cow size also affects the principle of percent of body weight needed for heifers to reach puberty. For a cow that eventually will weigh 1,000 lb., the target weight for the heifer would be 650 lb. For a cow that eventually will weigh 1,250 lb., the target weight would be 812 lb. going into the heifer’s first breeding season to promote a high cycling and pregnancy rate.

“Many ranchers underestimate the target weight for replacement heifers,” Kropp said. “Matching cows to a producer’s specific enterprise is one of the topics we will be discussing at the Central Oklahoma Cattle Conference on October 29 in Chandler.

Selk added that cattle producers can pick up a number of valuable tips aimed at increasing operational efficiency at the conference.

The conference will take place at the Lincoln County Agri-Civic Center, located on the county fairgrounds off State Highway 66, just west of the junction with State Highway 18 south. Cost is $10 per participant if preregistering and $15 at the door.

Participants are asked to preregister no later than Oct. 22 by contacting the Lincoln County Extension Office at 405-258-0560, or by stopping by any OSU Cooperative Extension county office.

The biennial conference is sponsored by the Lincoln County Cattle Producers’ Association and the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, part of the OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

Backgrounding Feeder Calves: Considerations For Fall of 2009

This growing season has given us rain, drought and cool temperatures that resulted in an abundance of immature corn, or at the least very wet shelled corn with possible test weight or quality problems. One possible option to utilize some of this corn and capture greater value for it may be to background feeder cattle.

Backgrounding feeder cattle is when lighter-weight cattle (350 pounds (lb.)-550 lb.) are grown to 700-900 lb. using low-cost medium- to lower-roughage feed sources. Then they are either sold as yearlings or heavy feeders or transitioned onto a finishing diet. Pasture is often used as the primary feed source for backgrounding during the summer, but harvested feeds like corn silage and hay can also be successfully used to background calves. Target daily gains for backgrounding calves are usually between 1.5 lb. and 2.5 lb. of gain per day. The idea is not to put finish on the calves but to have them grow frame and muscle.

Profit and loss may vary greatly between farms that choose to background calves. Careful planning and management are necessary to accomplish a successful backgrounding program.

Farmers who are considering backgrounding calves this fall as a way to utilize marginal feeds from this year’s growing season need to consider several factors before committing to backgrounding.

It is very critical for producers to have the feeds tested and use those values when calculating rations and costs for backgrounding calves. Feeds from immature and stressed plants most likely will not perform like feeds from “normal” plants.

As producers make their decision to background cattle, the following spreadsheets can help look at rations and costs for backgrounding:

• a cost of production spreadsheet developed by Jeff Lehmkuhler, former University of Wisconsin (UW) Extension beef specialist, initially developed for Holstein steers that can be adapted for all kinds of cattle by adjusting the input numbers; and
  
  
• a ration program developed by Mike Boersma at the University of Minnesota.
  Both of these have links at the Monroe County Extension web page. Read the full article.
  

— Adapted from a UW release.

Annual Turfgrass Conference to Focus on Water Conservation and Fertilization

It is possible to successfully maintain healthy turfgrass in the desert without depleting already limited water resources, and experts plan to teach participants the tricks of the trade at the annual Southwest Turfgrass Conference Oct. 12-14 in Ruidoso, N.M.

Water conservation and appropriate fertilization techniques are the themes of this year’s event, sponsored by New Mexico State University (NMSU) Cooperative Extension Service and the Southwest Turfgrass Association (SWTA). Presentations at the conference cater to people who maintain turf areas and are in the landscape business.

The conference starts off Oct. 12 with a fundraiser golf tournament at 1 p.m. at Rainmakers Golf Community in Ruidoso. All proceeds will support research projects and students in NMSU’s turfgrass program.

On Oct. 13, the conference will switch venues to the Ruidoso Convention Center.

The cost to attend the conference is $160. For a full schedule and speakers, click here. Anyone with questions can visit the web site or contact Bernd Leinauer, a professor and Extension turfgrass specialist with NMSU at 575-646-2546.

— Adapted from a release by Audry Olmsted, NMSU.

— Compiled by Mathew Elliott, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.