Latest News From cow-calf

Boosting Calf Health Following Calving
Boosting Calf Health Following Calving

Ensuring cows are in an adequate nutritional status (body condition score of 5 or 6) and not overfed can help reduce concerns of dystocia and plays a role in determining the quality and quantity of colostrum.

Evaluating Cow Efficiency and Fit During Calving Season
Evaluating Cow Efficiency and Fit During Calving Season

A cowherd of optimum mature size and milk level relative to a given production environment creates the potential to increase revenue in the form of increased reproductive efficiency.

BSEs can Add Dollars to Producer Pockets, Thanks to Improved Calf Weaning Weights
BSEs can Add Dollars to Producer Pockets, Thanks to Improved Calf Weaning Weights

Turning out a subfertile bull means some cows in the herd won’t get bred or bred in a timely manner. Both problems are costly, says Chance Armstrong, DVM, Auburn University. Check out the two scenarios he outlines here.

Chasing the Elusive Second Calf
Chasing the Elusive Second Calf

Growing, lactating cows have greater nutrient requirements and smaller rumens than mature cows making it difficult for them to meet their nutrient needs with the same diet as the cow.

Maintaining Cattle Immediately After a Wildfire
Maintaining Cattle Immediately After a Wildfire

Once hay is available, priority should be given to providing enough long-stemmed hay to keep the rumen healthy and provide a balanced diet to sustain the animals until adequate spring forage is available.

Nevil Speer
Speer: Profiting From the Grid

Cattle are NOT fungible – value differences across the slaughter mix is enormous. Precision pricing – via a grid – makes a huge difference and attempts to mandate arbitrary levels of live cash trade negates that reality.

Tips for Selection of Replacement Heifers
Tips for Selection of Replacement Heifers

Selecting heifers that will have the optimum mature size and milk level to fit our production system, breed quickly, wean a calf annually and have longevity is important for the success of your ranch.

Markets: Cattle, Wholesale Beef, Futures All Higher
Markets: Cattle, Wholesale Beef, Futures All Higher

All classes of cattle and futures prices moved higher for the week ending March 1. April live cattle closed at the highest level since early November.

CAB Insider: 2023 Carcass Primal Premiums Review
CAB Insider: 2023 Carcass Primal Premiums Review

Comparing cutout values across USDA quality grades and Certified Angus Beef® brand carcasses provides the quality pricing component of fed cattle values for grid and many formula sales.

The Value of Calving Distribution
The Value of Calving Distribution

Calving distribution is a go-to production measure for its ease and the information it provides. Finding cost effective ways to front load our calving season can have significant financial benefits.

Peel: Record Calf Prices and More
Peel: Record Calf Prices and More

The first week in February saw 500-pound steers reach a new all-time record price in Oklahoma, supassing the mark set in November 2014.

New Weekend Dates for Noble Grazing Essentials in Waller, Texas
New Weekend Dates for Noble Grazing Essentials in Waller, Texas

Noble is offering a one-time-only discount in honor of the launch of its 2024 educational series, Noble Grazing Essentials course.

What Producers Need to Know About Coccidiosis?
What Producers Need to Know About Coccidiosis?

Control of the coccidiosis is based on preventing calves from being exposed to large doses of oocysts and maximizing immune function through good nutrition and minimal stress.

Understanding and Preventing Calf Scours
Understanding and Preventing Calf Scours

Neonatal calf diarrhea, or scours, is a common concern among cow-calf producers. Understanding why scours occurs is the first step in preventing the problem.

Tips for Managing Calving in Muddy Conditions
Tips for Managing Calving in Muddy Conditions

Because of health concerns, it is important to reduce the effects of mud in calving areas. The following are a few management strategies to decrease the risk of health events due to mud during calving season.

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Unintended Consequences: Managing Anaplasmosis in Cattle

Cattlemen need to be aware of the causes, symptom and prevention steps for anaplasmosis, a bloodborne pathogen that has shown to be more widespread than previously thought.

Dan Kniffen: Beef Quality Audit Continues to Pay Dividends for the Entire Industry
Dan Kniffen: Beef Quality Audit Continues to Pay Dividends for the Entire Industry

The beef industry has significantly improved efficiency across the entire supply chain, and that’s helped control our production costs, which benefits all consumers.

Nevil Speer
Speer: LRP Needs Measured Approach

This is the third in a series on Livestock Risk Protection. The previous two addressed misperceptions of market impact from LRP. The remaining topic – subsidy harvesting – is the most interesting and controversial.

Using Technology to Streamline Work on Diversified Cattle Operations
Using Technology to Streamline Work on Diversified Cattle Operations

Which segments of your operation aren’t serving you anymore? Luke Kovarik shares the realities of operating a diversified operation in this week’s podcast episode.

Q&A With a Veterinarian: Bovine Lameness
Q&A With a Veterinarian: Bovine Lameness

Bovine lameness is one of the costliest animal health issues to the beef industry and it’s also a major animal welfare concern that we can mitigate.

John Deere Expands W200 Windrower Series Lineup
John Deere Expands W200 Windrower Series Lineup

Joh Deere's new high-horsepower windrower model helps improve productivity and efficiency.

How Much Water do Cows Really Need During Cold Weather?
How Much Water do Cows Really Need During Cold Weather?

Dehydration is an added stress for cows in cold weather. Help cows deal with winter stress and maintain their body condition by ensuring they have adequate water.

CAB Insider: Quality Grades Diverge
CAB Insider: Quality Grades Diverge

Extreme January weather conditions impacting a large portion of cattle feeding regions have been widely impactful to cattle feeders and the beef supply chain.

BT_Calving
When to Assist with Calving

Deciding when to offer assistance for a calving cow is a judgment call and good judgement is the result of experience. Here are tips to help make the determination.

Humane Euthanasia of Cattle
Humane Euthanasia of Cattle

Euthanasia of an animal that is suffering from irreversible disease or injury is a primary responsibility for cattle producers and veterinarians.

Peel: Planned and Impulse Heifer Breeding
Peel: Planned and Impulse Heifer Breeding

Statistically, impulse heifer breeding is about 80 percent more variable than planned heifer breeding. Therefore, impulse heifer breeding plays an important role in the dynamics of cattle cycles.

John Nalivka
Nalivka: Cattle Numbers Lowest in 73 years - the Glaring Headlines

The beef market has become increasingly dependent on consumer demand – consumers who are both willing and able to continue purchasing beef at higher prices.

Nevil Speer
Speer: Let's Beat the LRP Horse Again

Yes, another column about the LRP… because it’s an important risk management tool, it’s misunderstood, and…this horse ain’t dead yet.

Monitor Cow Condition During Weather Stress
Monitor Cow Condition During Weather Stress

Melting snow has created special challenges for beef cattle producers and monitoring the body condition of gestating cows during times of cold stress becomes critical for calving and rebreeding.

Finding Direction: Advice for Developing a Marketing Program for Crossbred Calves
Finding Direction: Advice for Developing a Marketing Program for Crossbred Calves

This week’s podcast episode highlights the importance of having direction and the impact it has on profitability and the ability of an operation to be passed down from generation to generation.

Nevil Speer
Speer: Data, Facts, And Logic

Inspiration for Speer’s latest column came from a rancher who stopped in the middle of feeding cattle to share his thoughts from inside his tractor.

What Are the Financial Implications of Debt-financed Heifer Purchases??
What Are the Financial Implications of Debt-financed Heifer Purchases??

With improved soil moisture and ponds refilled, cow-calf producers are looking to restock drought-diminished herds. However, there are reasons for caution before jumping into the heifer replacement market.

Companies Partner to Launch Single-Application Horn Fly Control Bolus
Companies Partner to Launch Single-Application Horn Fly Control Bolus

To give cattle producers more flexibility and convenience in their fly control program, Cargill has partnered with Central Life Sciences to develop a feed-through fly control bolus containing Altosid IGR.

U.S. Cattle Inventory Down 2%, Beef Cows Down 2%
U.S. Cattle Inventory Down 2%, Beef Cows Down 2%

The U.S. cattle report shows all cattle and calves reported at 87.2 million head, 2% below the 88.8 million last year.

Are Your Cows Too Large?
Are Your Cows Too Large?

The increased cow mature weight equates to an increase in stocking rate if cow numbers are not adjusted. As stocking rate increases we know that weaning weights and rebreeding rates decrease.

Cattle Cycle: How Long Will These Prices Last?
Cattle Cycle: How Long Will These Prices Last?

The complexity and dynamics of the beef industry can create financial opportunities for cow-calf operations willing to take a business approach to their decision-making process.

Nevil Speer
Speer: You Versus You

When we let ourselves focus on outside influences we are succumbing to defeatism. The better approach is to focus on those things you can control: you versus you.

raking_hay_forage_Mississippi
Plan Now to Manage 2024 Forage Costs

January may seem early to start planning grazing for the coming growing season but the ability to minimize non-grazing feed costs will depend on comprehensive grazing plans and management for the entire year.

Study Confirms Facial Recognition Technology’s Success in Disease Prediction
Study Confirms Facial Recognition Technology’s Success in Disease Prediction

Ag tech startup MyAnIML and USDA find first-of-its-kind facial recognition technology successfully analyzes cattle muzzles to predict illness.

Noble Research Institute Brings Regenerative Ranching Course to Southern Texas
Noble Research Institute Brings Regenerative Ranching Course to Southern Texas

Essentials of Regenerative Ranching will be offered Feb. 21-22 in New Braunfels, Texas.

Gardiner Angus Ranch Early Bird Sale Results
Gardiner Angus Ranch Early Bird Sale Results

Gardiner Angus Ranch’s seventh Early Bird Sale saw a total of 474 head sell to 122 buyers from 22 states and Mexico in four hours.

Congress Mulls Bills Meant to Help Ranchers Defend Calves From Vultures
Congress Mulls Bills Meant to Help Ranchers Defend Calves From Vultures

While estimates suggest that black vultures are responsible for the loss of thousands of calves every year, as a protected species, the bird may not be killed without a permit.

What to Feed When There's Nothing to Feed
What to Feed When There's Nothing to Feed

Missouri's drought in 2022 and 2023 may have been underrated, says Eric Bailey, University of Missouri Extension. He offers tips for stretching your feed during the next few months.

Missouri Show-Me-Select Heifer Prices Up 20%
Missouri Show-Me-Select Heifer Prices Up 20%

Despite a state-wide drought and market challenges into fall, average prices for Show-Me-Select heifers posted healthy prices at six sanctioned sale locations.

Cold Weather Calves
Cold Weather Calves

Calves born in extreme cold quickly utilize all body fat reserves and exposure to wind can exacerbate temperatures. Preparing in advance of inclement weather can lead to improved calf survival.

What's a Good Bull Worth in 2024?
What's a Good Bull Worth in 2024?

A little cowboy math to help you determine what that next herd bull is worth in your cow herd.

Cow Herd Report Card III: Calving Distribution & Pounds of Calf Weaned Per Acre
Cow Herd Report Card III: Calving Distribution & Pounds of Calf Weaned Per Acre

Without selecting to increase weaning weight, increasing the number of calves born the first 21 days of the calving season positively impacts total pounds of weaned calf and pounds of weaned calf harvested per acre.

Managing Cows in Severe Cold Weather
Managing Cows in Severe Cold Weather

For each 1-degree Fahrenheit the average daily temperature is below 30 degrees a cow in moderate BCS will need an additional one percent in daily energy requirement.

Sexten: Risks to Making Progress
Sexten: Risks to Making Progress

If you are risk averse—the cattle business may not be for you. It’s a business full of environmental, production and marketing challenges.

Calving Interval and Gestation Length
Calving Interval and Gestation Length

Breeding efficient cows is usually measured by a cows’ ability to calve each year and maintain a yearly calving interval.