News Update
October 31, 2017
Considering Creep-feeding?
Would you like to see a smoother and healthier transition of calves from weaning to going on feed, as well as boost calf weaning weights by 70 to 100 pounds (lb.)? What about keeping your cows in better body condition going into fall and postweaning — and leaving more grass in your pastures?
If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, creep-feeding calves prior to weaning may merit consideration for your operation, according to Dustin Elkins, a nutrition consultant for CHS. Elkins works from Richardton, N.D., and says that particularly in drought years when pasture conditions begin to wane in late summer, creep-feeding can be beneficial to calves, cows and pastures.
“It’s about $60 per head to creep-feed for four to eight weeks prior to weaning, and studies have shown calves will put on 70 to 100 pounds,” he says.
However, that creep-feeding is not just about the extra calf pounds; there is also value from reducing forage use by the calves and lessening lactation needs from cows so they can maintain body condition.
Keep reading this Angus Journal article online.
Cattle Handling Workshop Offered
at Upcoming Range Beef Cow Symposium
Producers are invited to participate in a hands-on cattle handling workshop to be hosted with the Range Beef Cow Symposium set for Nov. 28-30, 2017, at the Little America Hotel and Resort in Cheyenne, Wyo.
The biennial symposium, which is a joint effort coordinated by the Extension programs of South Dakota State University, Colorado State University, the University of Nebraska and the University of Wyoming, will feature two days of speaker presentations on Nov. 28 and 29 before concluding on Thursday, Nov. 30, with a new format this year. The cattle handling workshops will be hosted at the Laramie County Community College indoor arena located in Cheyenne.
Participants will have the opportunity to rotate to three different 45-minute sessions, selecting from topics including body condition scoring with ultrasound, frame scoring, reproduction and artificial insemination with ultrasound, and range monitoring sampling and analysis. The event adjourns at noon that day.
Registration prior to Nov. 15 is available for $120 per person or $60 per student. After that date prices increase to $160 and $80, respectively. Single-day registration passes are available for $50 and increase to $60 after Nov. 15.
For more information, View the website online.
Benefits of Humane Cattle Handling
The past three decades have seen a growing educational movement in low-stress handling and humane treatment of cattle. Temple Grandin, Colorado State University, has been instrumental in developing many user-friendly facilities and in educating producers about low-stress handling.
She says there is still a wide gap between stockmen who handle cattle quietly and calmly and those who don’t.
“There are still some people who can’t stop yelling at cattle. The percentage of people who are good at handling cattle has probably tripled, but there are still a few who are just as bad as ever,” says Grandin. Those “bad actors” apparently don’t realize the many benefits of humane handling.
“Good handling requires patience — a little more walking and a little more time, and people tend to take shortcuts,” she says. Those shortcuts can lead to negative consequences.
If cattle are stressed and scared, they try to find an escape route and may run over someone. Stressed cattle go through the chute too fast and may slam into the headcatch. They are hard on equipment and hard on themselves, with more bruising and injuries.
Continue reading this Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
Texas Agricultural Losses from
Hurricane Harvey Estimated at More Than $200 Million
Hurricane Harvey, which decimated parts of South Central Texas and the upper Gulf Coast, caused more than $200 million in crop and livestock losses, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service economists.
“The effects of Hurricane Harvey will linger for quite some time with our Texas farmers and ranchers,” said Doug Steele, agency director in College Station. “Many South Texas or coastal area cotton farmers were on the verge of harvesting one of the best crops ever in Texas, while some ranchers were unable to save some cattle from insurmountable flood waters.
“However, the livestock losses could have been far worse had it not been for the many cooperating associations that joined forces with AgriLife Extension to establish animal supply points in the impacted areas, providing livestock with fresh hay and feed donated from across Texas and from generous individuals in neighboring states.”
Hay and feed donations were valued at more than $1.3 million, according to AgriLife Extension economists.
Hurricane losses by agricultural commodity include:
- – Livestock: $93 million
- – Cotton: $100 million
- – Rice and soybeans: $8 million
Learn more in the AgriLife news release online.
Beef Talk
Sometimes, words are really difficult as events shake our foundation.
Questions without answers abound. Words of hope and encouragement fall by the wayside. Our world simply stops. We stop, ponder and question. However, on the range or any place that maintains the living, the world may pause, but it does not stop. We may look to pause, to simply get away.
Unexpected events bring that emotion forward, generally when something is wrong, very wrong. We all have this innate feeling, a feeling of emptiness, of loss without a fix. We cannot go back; we cannot change what has happened. We simply may sit at a gate, looking back, but it’s a gate that will not open.
Today’s world seems to move the tenets of wrong. Our foundations and core remain solid but questions multiply. Who is going to feed the cattle? Who is going to open the pasture gate? Who is going to go get fuel? So much is taken for granted, so much is assumed, and then there is nothing.
Living is vast and tough, reflected in the bumps and bruises accumulated in our days on any given day.
Read this Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA column online.
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