Efficient beef production starts when the bull mates with a cow and biological efficiency mates with economic efficiency. By Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist, NDSU Extension A recent conversation regarding economic drivers in the cow-calf enterprise left me with a lot to think about. Let me summarize: The thoroughfare to consumers begins with the conception and [...]
Annual meeting consolidates to one location but expands its focus. by Sarah Moyer, Certified Angus Beef LLC In its 13th year, the 2018 Feeding Quality Forum (FQF) will be reinvented. Until this summer, it has focused on cattle feeders with one-day sessions repeated two days apart in Nebraska and the southern High Plains. This [...]
By Jason Bradley, Agricultural Economics Consultant When it comes to getting replacement females for your cattle herd, multiple options are available. One would be to use your own cow herd and keep the heifers you need. Or you could outsource and purchase virgin heifers from a different operation and breed them to the bull(s) of [...]
The cost of kernel processing should be compared to the expected value to be gained from feed improvement to determine if the additional cost is justified. Photo courtesy of Troy Walz. This article is a summary of the 2018 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report “Effects of Kernel Processing at Harvest of Brown Midrib Corn Silage on [...]
Nearly 8 million residents across the Dallas-Ft. Worth metropolitan area now have the opportunity to indulge in America’s best beef eating experience; Certified Hereford Beef has officially launched distribution in North Texas. U.S. Foods® Dallas, located in Garland, Texas, added the Certified Hereford Beef program to their portfolio during the official program launch on July [...]
John F. Grimes, OSU Extension Beef Coordinator (originally published in the Ohio Farmer on-line) We are entering an exciting time of the year for cow-calf producers. They have started or soon will be weaning their spring-born calves. Weaning is an excellent time to prepare the calf crop to become herd replacements or for future marketing [...]
John F. Grimes, OSU Extension Beef Coordinator What is Beef Quality Assurance (BQA)? BQA is a nationally coordinated, state implemented program that provides systematic information to U.S. beef producers and beef consumers of how common sense husbandry techniques can be coupled with accepted scientific knowledge to raise cattle under optimum management and environmental conditions. BQA [...]
By Sandy Johnson, extension beef specialist, Colby, KS The recent Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Conference marked the organization’s 50th meeting, and this landmark provided a good opportunity for reflection. Over the years, BIF has sought industry cooperation in applying science to improve beef cattle genetics. When the first performance data was collected, a hot topic [...]
The length of time it takes for a cow to resume fertile cycles after calving directly affects the reproductive performance and efficiency of a cow-calf herd. Dr. Robert Larson, professor of production medicine, collaborated with Dr. Doug Shane, Dr. Mike Sanderson, Dr. Matt Miesner and Dr. Brad White to develop a model investigating the effects [...]
Madeline and Carlisle Braman, Refugio, Texas, and their heifer, H VM Mallory 7441 ET, won the polled owned female show and, J Brody and Harley Rogers, Hamilton, Texas, won the horned owned female show with DPH 109 6129 Geisha 701 ET at the 2018 VitaFerm® Junior National Hereford Expo in Grand Island, Neb., July 7. [...]
