– Brenda Boetel, Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Wisconsin-River Falls On April 28, 2020 President Trump invoked the Defense Protection Act to classify meat plants as essential infrastructure that must remain open.  This act does not mean that slaughter and fabrication will return to pre-COVID 19 levels in the short term as plants [...]

– David P. Anderson, Professor and Extension Economist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service The logjam in cattle/beef packing caused by corona virus impacted employees has led to sharply reduced cattle slaughter. As companies and various government agencies respond, there is some evidence that the logjam loosened a little over the last week. Estimated daily weekday [...]

– Victor Shelton, NRCS State Agronomist/Grazing Specialist Most forages will rebound from temporary stunting from cold weather. It’s the first of May and it’s another unusual spring. I suppose that each year is always somewhat unique, but I could really settle for just average for once. This is starting to remind me a bit of [...]

– Steve Boyles, OSU Extension Beef Specialist People are currently investigating methods to control rate of gain. Anna R. Taylor  and Robbi H. Pritchard, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD; and Kelly W. Bruns , University of Nebraska-Linclon, West Central Research & Extension Center, North Platte, NE, looked at backgrounding rate of gain on carcass [...]

– Stan Smith, PA, OSU Extension, Fairfield County When blended with our beef fat, imported lean beef trim increases the net value of U.S. fed cattle Two weeks ago we discussed how COVID-19 has caused challenges for consumers and farmers alike regarding beef supply and demand. As consumers concern themselves with providing quality food for [...]

– Mark Sulc, OSU Extension forage Specialist Deciding how late to plant forages is a matter of balancing the risk versus the cost The Ohio Agronomy Guide states that most cool-season perennial forages should be planted by the first of May. While some of you reading this article were able to plant forages by now, [...]

– Francis L. Fluharty, Professor and Head, Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia The beef and pork industries are in a tremendously stressful period with Covid-19 causing temporary shut downs in several meat processing plants due to worker concerns over their health. This is having devastating short-term losses in all segments of [...]

– Garth Ruff, OSU Extension Henry County COVID-19 has proven to be a catalyst for consumer demand for local product Over the last decade the demand for locally raised meats have steadily increased and that demand has skyrocketed as of late, due to the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on animal agriculture and the meat [...]

Carri Jagger and the Morrow County OSU Extension office have invited you to attend a ‘virtual program’ on May 13 entitled, Planning Your Calf Vaccination Program. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., Alissa Wilhelm, DVM, will cover the vaccinations that calves should be receiving to ensure a healthy start to life. Dr. Wilhelm is an Assistant Professor [...]

– Elliott Dennis, Assistant Professor & Extension Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska – Lincoln In the beginning of COVID-19 much of the attention was focused on managing the redirection of meat product from food service to retail stores. This past month has keenly focused on packing plant closures due to COVID-19 cases [...]