While no beef producer ever wants to experience a catastrophic disease outbreak in the herd, in seeing the BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) and FMD (food and mouth disease) outbreaks that have occurred in the world, cattle raisers must prepare for that possibility. One way to minimize the risks to the herd is to adopt a cattle tracking system such as CattleTrace. With that system cattle are given an ultra high radio frequency tag…

K-State experts advise beef producers on ways to minimize this expense MANHATTAN, Kan. –  When asking cow-calf producers what it costs to raise cattle, often they will list feed and equipment as two of the largest expenses they have. Others might include labor on the list. But experts at Kansas State University say that one cost not often thought of or accounted for is the decreasing value of the cow over time. “Labor,…

Managing feed and health costs while optimizing marketing strategies are keys to success MANHATTAN, Kan. – Cow-calf producers, stocker operators and feedlot managers all have the same end goal in mind: raise high quality beef profitably. Experts at the Kansas State University Beef Cattle Institute say there are many ways that producers can do that successfully. Stocker cattle are typically newly-weaned calves weighing between 300 and 800 pounds. They are often co-mingled with…