Time to prep for winter? You bet, says K-State climatologist

Focus on home and car before the weather turns cold MANHATTAN, Kan. -- It’s early October…do you know where your snow boots are? You may not really need them for a while, but assistant state climatologist Mary Knapp says now is about the right time to start preparing for winter. “A couple things you can do right now to get ready for winter is to look at preparations around your house and car,”…

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New Report Examines Cattle Market Issues & Solutions

A new report unveiled today by the American Farm Bureau Federation provides an in-depth examination of the causes and price implications resulting from extreme market volatility in the cattle industry. It also sets the stage to explore policy solutions.   The Cattle Market Working Group, comprised of 10 state farm Bureau presidents, spent more than two months investigating factors that led to market disruptions following the Holcomb packing plant fire and the COVID-19…

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Fall Gardening Made Easier

By Lauren Raley STILLWATER, Okla. – Now that fall has fallen, Oklahoma gardeners can turn to Oklahoma State University Extension for helpful tips on how to prepare for the end of the year. OSU Extension’s fall gardening fact sheet includes a wide range of vegetables that can outlast other summer crops, as well as how to prepare the soil for the next growing season. The foundation for a healthy garden is keeping crops properly watered and monitoring…

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Rural renewal topic of upcoming virtual symposium

By Trisha Gedon STILLWATER, Okla. – Those interested in learning more about rural renewal should make plans to attend the virtual 2020 Rural Renewal Symposium. Slated Oct. 13, the virtual symposium will feature research presentations on the latest work in rural renewal and roundtable sessions for community leaders to discuss strategies that have worked in their own communities. This symposium will engage leaders and researchers in rural renewal from Oklahoma, the United States…

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Cattle Exports to Mexico Surge

David P. Anderson, Professor and Extension Economist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Imports of feeder cattle from Mexico usually are reported with interest because ranchers and feeders in the U.S. import more than 1 million head per year, on average. The U.S. also exports cattle to Mexico, but in much smaller numbers. In recent weeks cattle exports have surged to the highest levels in several years. Weekly cattle exports to Mexico are reported…

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Thinking About Weaning and Preconditioning Calves to Add Value? Know the “Lingo”

Dr. Michelle Arnold, UK Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Traditionally, many KY beef producers with winter/spring born feeder calves market through Special Graded Feeder Calf Sales held in the fall. At these sales, feeder cattle are graded according to the USDA Feeder Cattle Grading Standards, are weighed and sorted into groups (load lots of 48,000-50,000 lbs) and are then sold. Buyers take advantage of these sales to buy larger groups of feeder cattle with similar…

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Demand for Local Beef Remains Strong

Garth Ruff, Field Specialist, Beef Cattle, OSU Extension (originally published in the Ohio Farmer) Growing Demand While 2020 has certainly been a challenging year for agriculture and especially those in the livestock business. However, direct to consumer meat sales have been a bright spot as a result of increased demand. Although a small percentage in the grand scheme of things, direct marketing of farm products has become a more popular route of merchandising livestock.…

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Weighing the alternatives

Beef cattle experts suggest factors for consideration when feeding co-products MANHATTAN, Kan. — Feed cost is often one of the most expensive inputs when trying to balance the beef cattle budget. To help reduce that expense, midwestern producers will sometimes look to alternative feed products such as wet corn gluten, corn dried distillers’ grain with solubles (DDGS) or soy hulls, to name a few.  “Often alternative feeds are a by-product of some other…

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