Low-stress cattle handling workshop set Oct. 25 in Canyon

A “Low-Stress Cattle Handling Workshop” will be hosted Oct. 25 in Canyon by the Veterinary Education, Research and Outreach, or VERO, West Texas A&M University, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas Cattle Feeders Association. Ron Gill, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service beef cattle specialist, College Station, will discuss low-stress cattle handling. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Kay Ledbetter) The free program will be from 9-11 a.m. in the Bain Event Center,…

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Frost-damaged soybean need special attention

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Late maturing soybean face damage from early killing frost and need special attention for harvest and storage, says University of Missouri Extension soybean specialist Bill Wiebold. Harvest frost-damaged soybean based on seed moisture content rather than how plants look after frost, says Wiebold. Delaying harvest after damaging frost results in grain shatter and subsequent yield loss. Soybean breeders select for shattering tolerance and normally the seam of the soybean pods…

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Dimick delivers reality check on world’s changing environment

Former National Geographic editor says humans have become dominant force on the planet MANHATTAN, Kan. – Former National Geographic environment editor Dennis Dimick offered a dose of reality to the debate on the world’s changing climate Monday, but noted that humans have the ability to provide solutions to complex challenges. “The basic equation that stands today is that we have benefitted greatly by the use of ancient carbon fossil fuels, like coal and…

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Prussic Acid Poisoning

As the first frost date approaches, producers often have concerns about the risk of prussic acid poisoning in livestock. Certain forage plants, especially sorghums and related species are associated with an increased risk of death loss because of prussic acid poisoning. Understanding how poisoning occurs and what factors are involved in contributing to those conditions will help producers take management steps to minimize their risk. What is Prussic Acid and How Does Poisoning…

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USDA Recognizes Hard-Working School Meals Professionals, Empowers Them to Do Right in School Lunchrooms

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2019 – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today issued the following statement in support of President Donald J. Trump’s National School Lunch Week Proclamation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) celebrates food service professionals, school leaders, as well as the farmers, ranchers, and producers who grow the delicious, healthful, American-grown foods that kids enjoy every day in school lunches. “At USDA we recognize the importance a healthy lunch has…

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Huge Beef Quality Price Spreads

David P. Anderson, Professor and Extension Economist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Beef production has dipped below a year ago over the last couple of weeks, leading to some higher fed cattle prices and a widening Choice-Select price spread. Over the last four weeks total beef production is more than half a percent below the same period a year ago. As we all know, not all beef is the same. Over this period,…

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Hay Quality Indicators

Christine Gelley, AgNR Educator, Noble County, OSU Extension The drastic swing in temperatures from one day to the next last week should remind us all that it truly is autumn and that winter is coming. The challenges of the 2019 forage production season continue to add up. With droughty conditions across the state for the past two months, what was too lush for too long, is now crunchy and brown. Some producers are…

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Weaning Calves on Cover Crops

What do we do if it is time to wean calves, but the pen isn’t ready? That can be a real concern during wet fall seasons, such as 2019. Putting calves into muddy pen conditions is far from desirable, but holding calves on the cows deep into fall increases the risk of adverse winter weather and tends to pull body condition off the cows. Using cover crops as a feed resource for weaned…

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Agriculture Groups Urge USDA to Quickly Establish Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine Bank

Representatives of the National Pork Producers Council, the National Milk Producers Federation, the National Corn Growers Association and Iowa State University called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to move as quickly as possible to establish a Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine bank. At a press conference today, these groups recognized the steps USDA has taken to establish the bank, but called for expedient use of mandatory funding included in the 2018 Farm…

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Study: Farm size not always a true gauge of profitability

K-State ag economists rank state’s farms based on 10 years of KFMA data MANHATTAN, Kan. – A pair of Kansas State University agricultural economists have taken a look at the characteristics that make farms successful in Kansas, and have found that bigger doesn’t always mean better. Greg Ibendahl and Terry Griffin reviewed 10 years of data from the Kansas Farm Management Association to develop a ranking of several hundred farms based on their…

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