Regardless if you’re a “beginner” or an experienced cattle feeder, this recent one hour presentation by Dr. Francis Fluharty provides a comprehensive and fast moving overview of the basics of feedlot management. Many of you will remember Dr. Fluharty as the recently retired Research Professor in the OSU Department of animal Sciences, and currently the [...]

– Matthew A. Diersen, Professor and Extension Specialist, Department of Economics, South Dakota State University Anecdotal evidence and supply observations suggest packers have recently had a negotiating advantage over feedlots. Packer margins continue to be wide and the supply of cattle on feed continues to be high. What indicators may be followed to support such [...]

– John F. Grimes, OSU Extension Beef Coordinator Changes on the horizon suggest that simply having the best PRODUCT is no longer enough, merely telling the best STORY is no longer enough, and delivering great CUSTOMER SATISFACTION is no longer enough. We must also elevate consumer TRUST. Over the past week or so, two of [...]

– Stan Smith, OSU Extension PA, Fairfield County (originally published in The Ohio Farmer on-line) Despite the higher price, consumers want quality, and are willing to pay for it! To say the least, suggesting it’s been a wild ride on the path to profitability in the cow-calf sector during this decade is an understatement. Beginning [...]

– Michelle Arnold, DVM (Ruminant Extension Veterinarian, UKVDL) Record-setting rainfall in 2018 has resulted in moldy hay and feed throughout the Commonwealth. Many questions regarding the safety of these feedstuffs and how to test them have come to the UK Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (UKVDL) as producers begin to feed these moldy products. While mycotoxins (mold [...]

– Ruth Correll, UT Extension-TSU Cooperative Extension Agent, Wilson County Soybean harvest in Wilson County was hit and miss this fall. Rainy weather prevented timely harvest. Some beans remain in the field and may not make the grade at grain elevators when harvested. This leaves the dilemma of what to do with these beans to [...]

– Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Each year in December, it is time for a reminder to change the feeding schedule for part, if not all of the spring-calving cow herd. It is generally accepted that adequate supervision at calving has a significant impact on reducing calf mortality. Adequate supervision has been of increasing importance [...]

– David P. Anderson, Professor and Extension Economist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Monday, December 10th was the 5th annual BBQ Townhall, an event that I look forward to each year, held in College Station, TX. It is organized by my meat science (and BBQ gurus) colleagues. The day is for BBQ restaurant folks to [...]

– Dr. Les Anderson, Extension Professor, University of Kentucky Unfortunately, the beef industry sits in the middle of a downturn in the market. When the market is low and margins get slimmer, pressure is on cattlemen to get more efficient in their production. Efficiency is a word that is thrown around in the beef industry [...]

– Mark Sulc, OSU Extension Forage Specialist and John McCormick, OSU Senior Research Associate The 2018 Ohio Forage Performance Trials Report is available online at https://u.osu.edu/perf/. The report summarizes forage yield data collected from forage variety trials in Ohio during 2018, including commercial varieties of alfalfa planted from 2015 to 2017 (3 trials), annual ryegrass [...]