News Update
October 27, 2017
Windbreaks for Fall-calving Herds
In climates where wind chill is an issue, creating windbreaks can save stockmen money in reduced feed costs, reduced illness and health costs, reduced loss of body condition, and increased growth for young animals.
Shelter is important for fall-calving herds, says Joseph Darrington, ag engineer at South Dakota State University. “There are two main types — natural shelter using trees/planted shelterbelts and constructed windbreaks. If you plant a shelterbelt, have a couple rows of tall trees and a couple rows of smaller trees.”
For maximum protection during winter and spring, it helps to include some evergreens that won’t lose their leaves.
Constructed windbreaks are generally made with vertical boards, leaving spaces between them rather than a solid barrier.
“The best porosity, according to several studies, is from 20% porosity (open) and 80% solid, down to 65% or 70% solid. If you have more than 35% porosity (and 65% solid) or closer to 50-50, you lose some of the benefits of the windbreak; you’ll have more air coming through rather than being pushed up and over,” explains Darrington.
Continue reading this Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
Tips on Barn Lighting and Electricity
It pays to figure out what type of lights you want and where — whether you are improving an existing barn or building a new one. Rob Rulison, RMS Electric, Saint Johns, Mich., has done extensive work on agricultural facilities and says people need a plan for the electrical set-up, whether it be lighting, power sources, water heaters, fans for cooling, feed rooms, etc.
“This all needs to be taken into consideration regarding size of circuitry supplying the barn — whether it will be a 60-amp electrical panel or a 200-amp electrical panel,” he explains.
An important system design feature is ensuring proper placement of electrical fixtures to prevent livestock from damaging them and, in the process, possibly injuring the animal and/or causing electrical problems. Anything that is exposed, where an animal could rub on it, chew on it or kick it, should be encased in metallic conduit, advises Rulison.
“For electrical safety, it also needs to be a grounded system, which all modern systems must be today to pass national electrical code.” Read the full Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
Beef Import Update
Despite a notable recovery in U.S. beef imports during the third quarter, overall imports of fresh/frozen beef remain under year-ago levels. Lack of product availability earlier in the year and strong demand in Asian markets have limited U.S. beef imports from both Australia and New Zealand, traditionally two of the top three imported beef suppliers in the U.S. market. Australian producers are slowly rebuilding their cattle herd, but weather remains a key wild card and has negatively impacted the pace of herd rebuilding recently. Imports of fresh/frozen beef from Australia through mid October were down 17% compared to the same period a year ago. This is up from where they were at the end of June, when imports were tracking as much as 32% under last year’s levels.
The latest projections from Meat and Livestock Australia indicate that they expect cattle inventories by the middle of next year to be around 27.7 million head, 2.5% higher than the previous year but still well short of the 29.3 million head inventory at the end of June 2013.
Read the full report online at www.dailylivestockreport.com.
The Right Choice
Ty Rumford runs the feeding company like it was his own. He’s been doing that for the business south of Scott City, Kan., since 1994, with the title of operations manager since 2000. That was six years before the ownership and name change, but Rumford provides continuity.
For an unflinching focus on producing what consumers want over the years by working with the people who produce the cattle, High Choice Feeders (HCF) was selected to receive the Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand’s 2017 Feedyard Commitment to Excellence Award.
Today’s owners bought the 38,000-head, two-yard facility in 2006 from the Crist family, who started feeding on their farm in the 1950s. HCF President Brad Scott, with his father Jim Scott and partner John Hintzsche, go back to a century of cattle feeding near Chicago, Ill. Pandorf Land & Cattle, Callaway, Neb., raises a lot of corn on that land, with cows in the Sandhills and feeders in grow yards.
Scott handles much of the risk management, but he leaves day-to-day operations in Rumford’s capable hands.
Learn more in this Angus Journal article online.
Genetics, Goals and Grids
Every person on this earth has a finite amount of time to make a difference. When Troy Hadrick returned to his family’s Faulkton, S.D., ranch, he may have heard a tick-tock in the back of his mind.
“I was thinking at the time, ‘Okay, I’m in my late 30s. How many years do I have in this business, and can I get my cow herd where I want to be in that amount of time?’ ” the commercial cattleman asked himself. “It seemed overwhelming. Can you live long enough to really make a difference?”
Ever a student, with more determination than doubt, Hadrick tackled the challenge head on.
“I think you’ve got two choices,” he says. “You can either be a victim of the market and just be willing to take whatever they give you that day. Or, you can put some effort in, change some things and produce cattle year in and year out that will generate more money than the commodity cattle.”
Hadrick’s use of technology, his ability to make rapid change and willingness to share earned him the 2017 Progressive Partner Award from the Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand.
Read the full Angus Journal article online.
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