Applications Being Accepted for NCBA 2020 Environmental Stewardship Award

Applications are being accepted for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) 2020 Environmental Stewardship Award. Deadline for applications is March 6, 2020. Established in 1991 by NCBA to recognize the nation’s best cattle and livestock operations and their stewardship and conservation efforts, the Environmental Stewardship Awards Program (ESAP) is generously sponsored by Corteva Agriscience, McDonald’s, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Cattlemen’s Foundation. Winner of…

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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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Frequently Asked Questions about Grazing Corn Residue Fields with Excessive Downed Corn

Mary Drewnoski, Nebraska Extension Beef Systems Specialist Prior to grazing cornstalks with cattle, an estimate should be made of the amount of corn that is present in the field. Photo credit Troy Walz. Putting cows out on corn fields with a lot of corn is a recipe for acidosis (grain overload), abortion, and possibly death, if their rumen bacteria are not properly prepared. Cattle that become acidotic for even a short time can…

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What to Do with Wet Hay

Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension EducatorHannah Greenwell, Nebraska Extension Educator While some weathering of bales is to be expected, those that were put up a bit wet, have been sitting in water, or were otherwise saturated need some special considerations. Photo credit Troy Walz. With the wet weather this year, putting up quality hay and keeping it protected from the elements has been a challenge.  While some weathering of bales is to be expected,…

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Inventory Insights

Matthew Diersen, Risk & Business Management Specialist, Ness School of Management & Economics, South Dakota State University The October Cattle on Feed report was very close to trade expectations. Placements during September were 2.1 million head, slightly above expectations. Marketings during September were 1.7 million head, even with expectations. The 11.3 million head on feed is 99 percent of a year ago. The placements by weight categories reflected a slight decrease in the…

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First step in marketing; Identify an endpoint!

Dr. Andrew Griffith, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Tennessee I have been asked to do a program early next year that focuses on step-by-step marketing. At first thought this would seem extremely elementary to most readers and maybe it is to some. However, my experience has been that many producers who have been in the cattle business for decades do not even consider that every decision they make…

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Hay, just how bad is it?

Ted Wiseman, and Dean Kreager Extension Educators in Perry and Licking County Much of Ohio’s 2019 first cutting grass hay was beyond optimum maturity when it was harvested. Laboratory analysis indicates little if any first cutting has adequate quality to meet the nutritional needs of bred cows in late gestation or lactation. You may be thinking enough already with the hay quality talk. Many articles have been sent out on this topic starting…

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Secretary Perdue Announces OneUSDA Internship Program for Summer 2020

(Washington, D.C., November 1, 2019) Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the “OneUSDA Internship” opportunity for Summer 2020. As part of the Federal Pathways Program, the OneUSDA Internship Program will provide students a way to explore serving their country through a career in government while gaining work experience in agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and other career fields.   “Our goal at USDA is to recruit the best and retain the…

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