K-State experts share tips for adjusting cattle diets to depleting pastures MANHATTAN, Kan. — As summer advances and the grazing pastures begin to mature and dry up, beef producers may need to look at alternative plans for meeting the maintenance requirements of the herd, according to the experts at the Kansas State University Beef Cattle Institute. Speaking on a recent Cattle Chat podcast, nutritionist Phillip Lancaster said that producers first need to calculate the…

By Gail Ellis   STILLWATER, Okla. – The rainy spring season and hot, dry months of summer are ideal times for close inspection of cattle ponds, streams, creeks and spillways. Routine maintenance of these water sources can prevent costly repairs for landowners.  Marley Beem, an Oklahoma State University Extension specialist in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, recommends monitoring pond dams and watersheds after spring overflow events to check for erosion.  “If overflows are clogged with floating debris, consult with…

BIF Selects New Board, Officers | Beef Improvement Federation

The timing of the cutting has a direct correlation to the nutritional value of the hay. Cutting hay when the seed head first appears is best for nutritional value MANHATTAN, Kan. — For farming and ranching families, summertime often brings with it hay cutting. Knowing when to cut the hay is key for optimum nutrition, said the experts at the Kansas State University Beef Cattle Institute on a recent Cattle Chat podcast. “When grass…

USDA to Provide Pandemic Assistance to Livestock Producers for Animal Losses USDA release

By Gail Ellis   STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma State University researchers have received funding from the Environmental Protection Agency to examine how virtual fencing technology could improve the water quality and ecosystems of cattle grazing lands.  The new EPA grant totaling more than $800,000 supports research on how GPS-enabled collars worn by cattle can help producers not only better manage grazing, but also improve water quality and other natural resources, such as wildlife habitat and soil health.  “It’s the…

Adele Harty SDSU Extension Cow/Calf Field SpecialistAdditional Authors: Patrick Wagner Written collaboratively by Adele Harty and Patrick Wagner. Along with being irritants to livestock, horn flies, face flies and stable flies are economically important to producers due to their negative impacts on milk production and calf weaning weights. In addition, they can affect grazing distribution and transmit eye diseases, such as pinkeye and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR). It is difficult to predict what fly…

Professor, SDSU Extension Veterinarian, State Public Health Veterinarian Russ Daly Bulls on pasture during the breeding season are vulnerable to many health risks, including lameness and pinkeye. Unfortunately for cattle producers, the list doesn’t end there. Injuries, particularly to a bull’s reproductive structures, are not uncommon. And when they happen, it usually means that the breeding season (if not the breeding “career”) is over for the injured bull. While preputial injuries in bulls might not occur…

 David P. Anderson, Professor and Extension Economist, Texas A & M AgriLife Extension Service Cow slaughter continues to run ahead of a year ago, led by beef cows.  Even with larger slaughter, prices are ahead of last year.  Over the last three months, beef cow slaughter totaled 818,000 head, the most since the 837,000 during the same period in 2010.  Total cow slaughter over the same period are the largest since 2013.  At…

Steps to Speed up Field Curing of Hay Crops | Agronomic Crops Network (osu.edu)