Proper Cow Culling is Important to Your Business

 Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Cull cows represent approximately 20% of the gross income of any commercial cow operation. Cull beef cows represent 10% of the beef that is consumed in the United States. Therefore, ranchers need to make certain that cow culling is done properly and profitably. Selling cull cows when they will return the most income to the rancher requires knowledge about cull cow health and body condition. Proper cow culling…

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Study indicates rising temperatures will increase yield risk, crop insurance premium rates

In a different approach, agricultural economists use ‘cause of loss’ crop insurance data MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State University agricultural economists have taken a different approach than most to determine the risk farmers face in growing crops under increasingly higher average temperatures. The results indicate that yield risk will increase in response to warmer weather, with a 1 degree Celsius increase associated with yield risk increasing by approximately 32% for corn and 11%…

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Keeping an Eye on Body Condition in Fall Calving Cows

Karla H. Wilke, UNL Cow/Calf Systems and Stocker Management While body condition is critical for all lactating cows going into the breeding season, this is especially important for the fall calving cow. Photo credit Troy Walz. With much of the eastern and western borders of Nebraska in a drought, producers with fall calving cows need to be especially mindful of body condition on fall calving cows. In Nebraska, most fall calving herds actually…

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Forage Testing Can Save Dollars

Steve Niemeyer, Nebraska Extension Educator Sampling and testing forages for quality can make designing a feeding program easy and economical. Photo credit Troy Walz. As cow-calf producers strive to reduce feed costs by finding different avenues to increase grazing days, many still have to use harvested forages in their year-round feeding program.  Sampling and testing forages for quality can make designing a feeding program easy and economical.  Nutrient concentration can vary considerably in…

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Choosing a Method for Pregnancy Diagnosis

Rick Funston, Nebraska Extension Beef Cattle Reproductive Physiologist Pregnancy diagnosis is a very valuable tool in the beef industry. Photo courtesy of Troy Walz. Previous research has shown the benefit of pregnancy diagnosis and how it adds to a producer’s bottom line. Keeping one cow over winter can cost $100-$200 in feed and supplements so removing open cows can help decrease winter feed costs. Pregnancy diagnosis is a very valuable tool in the…

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Farm Groups Launch Free Stress Management Course

The training course, geared toward farmers and ranchers, is open to the public and will help individuals identify signs of chronic stress and offer effective communication skills Following the December 2019 announcement of a new farm stress management online training course for employees and members of Farm Credit, Farm Bureau and Farmers Union, these organizations have supported the launch of a free online training available to the general public. Developed by Michigan State University Extension…

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21st K-State Beef Stocker Virtual Field Day scheduled for October 1

This year's Stocker Field Day moves to virtual event. MANHATTAN, Kan. – Making alternative ration ingredient changes work, beef cattle market outlook and nutrition, management, and economic aspects of limit feeding are among topics planned for the 2020 Kansas State University Beef Stocker Virtual Field Day on Thursday, Oct. 1. The conference will be hosted on the Zoom webinar platform. "Due to increasing concerns around this evolving situation and standing by our commitment…

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Ag economist: Farmers increasingly turning to non-traditional lenders

Some farmers are turning to non-traditional lenders to finance their business. (File photo) K-State’s Ifft says the trend is toward alternate ways of seeking funding MANHATTAN, Kan. – A Kansas State University agricultural economist says that non-traditional lenders are becoming a bigger part of doing business in farm country. Jenny Ifft spoke recently at the Risk and Profit Conference, hosted by K-State Research and Extension and the K-State Department of Agricultural Economics. Her…

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Determining record keeping priorities

Maintaining accurate records can be an important component of any beef cattle operation. | Download this photo. K-State beef cattle experts advocate for data as a valuable decision-making tool MANHATTAN, Kan. — Humans consume data daily, from knowing the latest COVID-19 counts to learning which baseball pitcher threw the most strikeouts from the mound. In sports, that data can determine which player gets called up to play. Likewise, data can also help beef producers…

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