Burning Your Bottom Line: How Hot Hay Changes Forage Quality

Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Educator Testing forage quality of your hay, whether it’s your own or purchased, is a critical first step to optimizing hay use. Photo credit Troy Walz. Hay put up too wet can lead to a number of issues, most notably mold and heat.  Moisture keeps otherwise dormant microbes and fungi active, decreasing forage quality and creating heat.  Too much heat can actually create a risk of combustion.  However, even…

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Differences Between High-, Medium-, and Low-Profit Cow-Calf Producers: An Analysis of 2014-2018 Kansas Farm Management Association Cow-Calf Enterprise – A Review

Good production with cost control differentiated the most profitable producers from those that were the least profitable. Photo credit Troy Walz. Listen to a discussion of the content in this article on this episode of the BeefWatch podcast. You can subscribe to new episodes in iTunes or paste http://feeds.feedburner.com/unlbeefwatch into your podcast app. This study by Whitney Bowman, Dustin L. Pendell Ph.D. and Kevin L. Herbel can be found at the Kansas State…

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Use the Numbers (correctly) this Bull Sale Season

Matt Spangler, UNL Associate Professor and Beef Genetics Extension Specialist This bull sale season do not make the process more complex than it really needs to be. Photo credit Troy Walz. This bull sale season, profit-minded cattle producers will utilize expected progeny differences (EPD) and economic selection indices when selecting their next group of bulls. These tools are far more accurate at predicting the average difference in offspring than visual appraisal or actual…

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Improving the Bottom-line of Breeding: Three State Beef Conference

Pre-calving nutritional strategies will be discussed at the upcoming Three State Beef Conference. Photo credit Troy Walz. In a joint effort, Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa Extension are hosting three meetings to address how to set up an economical and successful breeding season. The registration fee is $25 per person. It includes a meal and a copy of the conference proceedings. Presentations include: Pre-calving nutritional strategies: Am I staying ahead or getting behind?Dr. Travis…

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Soybean Stubble for Cows

Bruce Anderson, Nebraska Extension Forage Specialist Don’t be misled into thinking soybean residues are as good or better than corn stalks. Photo credit Troy Walz. After soybeans are harvested, cows sometimes are put out on the residues to graze.  Some bean residues are even baled.  But how good is this feed?  We’re all familiar with the usefulness of grazing corn stalks, but I see more and more residue from soybean fields grazed every…

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2019 Women Managing Agricultural Land Conference

Jessica Groskopf, Associate Extension Educator Female agriculture landowners, farmers and ranchers, and industry professionals looking to increase their business management skills are encouraged to register for the 2019 Women Managing Agricultural Land conference.  The conference will be held Dec. 11 at Nebraska Innovation Campus, 2021 Transformation Drive in Lincoln. The Women Managing Agricultural Land Conference will allow women to build relationships with each other, attend workshops and gain valuable knowledge. Keynote speakers and…

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Do Your Herd and Your Bank Account a Favor – Test Your Hay!

Mary Drewnoski, Nebraska Extension Beef Systems Specialist Every year I get calls for help with balancing rations and most don’t have a hay analysis. All hay of the same species is NOT created equal.  For instance, smooth bromegrass hay can range from 48 to 58% total digestible nutrients (TDN) with crude protein (CP) ranging from 6 to 11% CP. This can be the difference between a growing heifer losing 0.25 lb/d or gaining…

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Helping Cows Cope with Cold Stress

Mary Drewnoski, Nebraska Extension Beef Systems SpecialistKarla H. Wilke, UNL Cow/Calf Systems and Stocker Management Taking steps to improve body condition score before cold weather hits can help reduce the impacts of cold weather on the cows. Photo credit Karla Wilkie. Listen to a discussion of the content in this article on this episode of the BeefWatch podcast. You can subscribe to new episodes in iTunes or paste http://feeds.feedburner.com/unlbeefwatch into your podcast app.…

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“Who do you want to work for you?”

Aaron Berger, Nebraska Extension Beef Educator Employee and family business working relationships are often one of the greatest challenges for those working in agricultural operations. Frequently those in leadership or management positions have had little or no training related to guiding and communicating with those they work with.  This lack of education can also impact recruiting and hiring of people to fit into available positions. Finding and hiring the right person for a…

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Tips to Improve Cow Performance While Consuming Low-quality Forages

Rob Ziegler, UNL MS Animal Science StudentTravis Mulliniks, UNL Beef Cattle Nutritionist, Range Production Systems Because of the challenges faced last spring and this year’s projected lower quality hay crop, supplementing cattle this year with protein will be an effective way to increase intake and digestibility of low-quality forages. Photo credit Troy Wal Low-quality range pasture and cold wet winter left cows in thinner than normal condition coming into spring this year. The…

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